TIBET 15 YEARS LATER: CONGENOFF'S OBSERVATIONS OF CHANGING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CHENGDU 000252

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/9/2034
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI CH
SUBJECT: TIBET 15 YEARS LATER: CONGENOFF'S OBSERVATIONS OF CHANGING
LIFE IN TIBET

REF: A) CHENGDU 251 B) 08 CHENGDU 78 C) 07 CHENGDU 239

CHENGDU 00000252 001.2 OF 004


CLASSIFIED BY: David E. Brown, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General Chengdu.
REASON: 1.4 (d)

1. (C) Introduction and Summary: ConGen Chengdu Officer visited
Lhasa in mid-October for the first time since 1994, when he was
a university student in religious studies (including Buddhism).
This cable provides his informal vignettes of life in Lhasa.
ConGenOff noted that Western tourists in Lhasa were numerous
compared to 15 years earlier, and the city was like night and
day in the degree of its economic development. Tibetans
storekeepers and street hawkers benefit from the tourism trade,
while facing significant barriers to full participation in the
broader local economy. Strong Han Chinese cultural influences,
dominance of the economy, and heavy security presence were
clearly visible through most parts of Lhasa; one encouraging
sign, however, was the presence of a master Tibetan "thangka"
(religious scroll) painter, who was teaching apprentices with
support from the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government.




2. (C) In terms of religious freedom, there were contradictions:
on the one hand, numerous Tibet pilgrims freely practiced their
religion through prostrations and circumambulations after long
trips from the hinterland; on the other hand, security cameras
were omnipresent even in a remote monastery, and monks were
hesitant to speak freely with us when Chinese or cameras were
present. One Tibetan tour guide spoke freely with us about the
Dalai Lama's early life in Lhasa in the presence of Chinese
tourists, and even our Han Chinese Foreign Affairs Office (FAO)
handler appeared interested in Buddhism.




3. (C) An American NGO is facing difficulties finding a local
partner because of pressure from the TAR Government; an ethnic
Tibetan anthropologist at the NGO told us that many Chinese
officials really do believe that the Dalai Lama and
international NGOs were behind the events of March 14 (2008).
This is partly because PRC officials "cannot face the
possibility that there could be problems with their own system."
Increased cultural influences from Nepal may simply be a return
to the pre-1951 situation. End Introduction and Summary.



Tourism: A Net Plus for Tibetans,

But Full Participation in Economy Elusive?

--------------




4. (C) Compared to 15 years ago, there are now many
tourist-oriented shops along Lhasa's Barkhor district of which
the Jokhang Temple -- one of the holiest sites of Tibetan
Buddhism -- is a central part. There were numerous western
tourists walking about, including Americans and Europeans. The
Barkhor is still very Tibetan, and many shops are run by
Tibetans, though of course there are also ethnic Han Chinese.
There were also numerous stalls selling trinkets, while stores
and hawkers of food essentials such tea, butter, etc. have moved
to secondary streets. Dico's Chicken -- a Chinese fast food
chain -- is now right on the main square that fronts the
Jokhang; the Tibet Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) told us that
U.S. chains KFC and McDonalds were not in Lhasa yet because its
population is not large enough (but perhaps also because of
sensitivity by American multinationals about operating in
Tibet). The butter shop we visited on a side street had local
butter, but also was selling "genuine Tibet margarine" from
Shenzhen.




5. (C) ConGenOff found a thangka (Tibetan painted scroll with
religious motif) shop where a real master is still teaching
students. ConGenOff understood previously from exiles in
Dharamsala (where he studied for several months) that all the
old masters had either died or gone into exile. It was
encouraging to see that at least one real master continues to
work and teach in Lhasa, and that the work of his students (who
some mostly from Tibetan areas of Sichuan Province) appeared
quite skilled. One of the students explained that the school is
well-supported by the TAR government -- which is also
encouraging.




6. (C) While some say that the rapid expansion of tourism is
excessive and all negative, in reality a vastly expanded economy
should mean more opportunities for both Tibetans and Han. On

CHENGDU 00000252 002.2 OF 004


the other hand, there appear to be impediments to Tibetans
becoming full participants in their own economy. (See reftel A
on Vice Governor meeting and discrimination faced by Tibetans
and reftel B on discrimination Tibetan merchants in Lhasa face.)
A shopkeeper at our hotel told us that it isn't just banks
where they only use Mandarin Chinese, it is in all official
buildings and offices. When asked if Tibetans were upset by
this, she said, "Oh, there are so many things Tibetans are upset
about." She said that learning Tibetan is not useful, and that
you really need to speak Chinese to have a job or a future.



Han Cultural Influence -- and Security Presence -- Very Visible

-------------- --------------




7. (C) The Han Chinese influence is very visible, culturally, in
the local architecture, and through a heavy security presence.
There was a giant floral display for China's 60th National Day
anniversary lined up directly in front of the Jokhang for easy
photo-taking by tourists. ConGenOffs visited Chinatown on
"Thieves Island." This new part of Lhasa did not exist 15 years
ago and is completely Chinese. Many shop signs were in Chinese
only, lacking Tibetan (even though local law requires it),and
not a single Tibetan or other foreigner was spotted. The
entrance to Chinatown was through a gate guarded by heavily
armed soldiers.




8. (C) The Public Security Bureau (PSB) building, part of the
Beijing-based Ministry of State Security, now has the tallest
building in Lhasa, overlooking everything, and looking very
ominous. There was a vast police and military presence in
Lhasa, with security cameras everywhere including all major
intersections and around the Jokhang, and there were 4-15 man
units of People's Armed Police (PAP) regularly patrolling the
Jokhang area with shotguns, AK-47s, and teargas grenade
launchers.




9. (C) When ConGenOff tried to take a photo of a temple that
included a group of PAP soldiers, one came over and politely
asked what he had taken a photo of. When ConGenOff said the
temple roof, he said he was concerned that ConGenOff had also
taken their photo, and asked to see his camera. LES slipped
between us and said, "These are diplomats, you should not make
yourself look ugly to them." This gave ConGenOff enough time to
delete the photo without the solider noticing, and then to
proudly show him that he had no photo of the soldiers.



Pilgrims abundant and active -- At Least Some Religious Freedom

-------------- --------------




10. (C) Despite this oppressive security presence, Lhasa is
still teeming with Tibetan pilgrims, doing prostrations in front
of Jokhang and the magnificent Potala Palace, which rises on a
hill in central Lhasa. We got caught up in the "kora"
(circumambulation) around temples by literally hundreds of
pilgrims -- evidence that there are some truly positive signs of
free practice of religion among the depressing stories of forced
political education of (and disappearance of) monks and nuns.
While we were in Lhasa, a respected Tibetan religious figure --
the "rinpoche" -- died, and we noted the line of people 3-4 city
blocks long waiting to see his remains. There was also a long
line of hundreds waiting to see the Jowo statue in Ramoche
Temple. Among the pilgrims, we noted many from Amdo and Kham
who had traveled great distances some of them having done
prostrations all the way as they travelled on foot.




11. (C) At Ramoche, a Tibetan man standing some kind of official
guard was busy keeping visitors from stepping on chalk drawings
of the eight auspicious symbols, and the huge incense burners
outside were going so strong the air was thick with a smog of
juniper smoke. At Tsemonling Temple, we saw wonderful old
Tantric murals. The monk said they were only partially damaged
in the Cultural Revolution, as the temple had been converted
into a warehouse and thus the paintings had survived
desecration. Some rooms had completely intact murals, though

CHENGDU 00000252 003.2 OF 004


they had suffered from age. At Jokhang, a monk who asked, "what
country?" gave us a huge grin when we said, "America." Another
other monk exclaimed to us "Dalai Lama!", but then a Chinese
officer arrived looking very serious and we had to go.



Tibetan Tour Guide Openly Discusses Dalai Lama's Life

-------------- --------------




12. (C) At Norbulinka, a sort of summer palace on the outskirts
of Lhasa, we had an extremely knowledgeable guide, a recent
graduate of cultural preservation from Xi'an University. She
gave an unvarnished, in-depth tour that surprised even our
ethnic Tibetan LES. When several Han tourists heard her and
joined our group, she made no change to her tour, nor did she
switch to offering propaganda. Interestingly, she did not seem
to receive any hint of disapproval from our FAO minders or be
signaled to change the tour in light of it having become public.
ConGen Chengdu's Tibetan LES later said that she is young and a
recent graduate, and is a professional in cultural preservation
rather than being a normal tour guide, which probably explains
her different style.




13. (C) She went into great detail about the earlier life,
belongings, and daily routines of the 14th (current) Dalai Lama,
and took us into an area normally off limits to tourists that
includes a detailed mural of his life. Again, Han tourists were
allowed to watch and listen from nearby (though they were not
allowed behind the gate with us). (Comment: It is encouraging
that a student fresh from Xi'an University would have such a
command of Tibetan culture and history, contrasting starkly with
other tour guides ConGenOff has encountered on travels in China.
Over the past several years, many Tibetan tour guides in Lhasa
resent their replacement in many cases by presumably more
politically reliable "help Tibet" Han tour guides who started
guiding tourist after short term training about Tibetan culture.
End Comment.)



Even FAO Handlers (Secretly) Interested in Buddhism

-------------- --------------




14. (C) Our FAO handlers were a Han and a Tibetan. ConGenOff
noticed Han FAO "Help Tibet cadre" Wu (discussed in reftel C)
making what appeared to be a typical Chinese prayer movement
with his hand in front of his chest near a statue, but he
quickly stopped when he saw ConGenOff looking at him. At the
Norbulinka, when ConGenOff guessed at the identity of a
particular image in a wall mural, the Tibetan FAO handler
quickly rattled off the names of the past, present, and future
Buddhas using their Sanskrit names. When asked whether she had
studied Tibetan Buddhism she quickly said, "No, I just like to
visit these places. I have an interest."



But Security Cameras Watch Monks Even At Remote Monastery

-------------- --------------




15. (C) At the remote but huge Ganden Monastery, an hour's drive
from Lhasa at 14,000 feet elevation, ConGenOff asked about the
presence of security cameras. Our ethnic Han FAO handler Wu
argued it was, "just like buildings anywhere, like in the United
States or Beijing." The cameras are there "to prevent fires and
for the security of the monastery." When ConGenOff asked
further about the security question, Wu asked, "Don't
supermarkets in America have cameras?" ConGenOff responded that
these were because of thieves, and asked Wu whether he meant
there was a problem with thieves at Ganden, to which he said,
"They are for fires." PolEconOff asked if there were because
the government feared the monks following the unrest of March,
2008, to which the Han FAO handler heatedly replied, "They are
just monks, we are China, why should we fear them?" On the
positive side, Ganden has been mostly reconstructed -- with
significant financial help from the Chinese Government -- after
being shelled by PLA artillery in the 1960s, and leveled into
rubble.

CHENGDU 00000252 004.2 OF 004





American NGO's Tibetan Anthropologist:

Chinese Leaders Really Believe in Dalai Lama Plot

-------------- --------------




16. (C) Our Tibetan, US-trained anthropologist contact, Ben
Jiao, is with the U.S.-based NGO "The Bridge Fund (TBF)," said
his NGO was having problems finding a new local partner. Its
last MOU expired in 2007, and it recently received news of USD
10 million in new funding from USAID, which it will subcontract
to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and Save the Children UK.
TBF's existing local partner (the TAR Forest Bureau) was
actually involved in the work, and was not just a silent
partner. Ben Jiao stated that, while international NGOs (INGO)
with a U.S. background/backing are facing great difficulty,
non-US INGOs are doing ok.




17. (C) Asked whether China really believes that NGOs and/or the
Dalai Lama were behind the events of March 14 (2008),Ben Jiao
said "yes," PRC officials "cannot face the possibility that
there could be problems with their own system."




18. (C) Another Tibetan with several friends in TAR Public
Security Bureau told us that his friends there have warned him
against working with international NGOs, explaining that TAR
Public Security considers those NGOs one of the top ten security
threats to the TAR. The Tibetan also said that he has to be
careful about meeting with foreign teachers at Tibet University
since a Tibetan who meets groups of foreigners is politically
suspect.



Nepali influence: New, or Just Making A Comeback?

-------------- --------------




19. (C) Lhasa's Tibetan section (how odd to have to call it
that) now resembles the Tibetan area in Kathmandu as well as
other exile communities. Now there is chicken curry and banana
lassies (a local milkshake-like concoction),plus the same
T-shirts that were for sale in Nepal in 1994. Is this real
Nepali influence brought by traders, or being carried back by
exiles from when it was easier to travel, or is it catering to
the Western tourists? The Chinese are not looking for curries,
so this must be for Westerners; moreover, you don't see this
kind of influence in Zhongdian or in Tagong -- other ethnic
Tibetan areas further off the tourist track. In addition to
food influence, you see oxygen for sale in shops, and adventure
sporting goods stores catering to extreme travelers from the
West.




20. (C) Our lower-level FAO handler opined that the influence
was simply a factor of Tibet's proximity to Nepal, but this
logic does not work as, when ConGenOff visited in 1994, there
was no noticeable influence of this kind. Ben Jiao, the
US-trained, Tibetan anthropologist that we met over lunch argued
that Lhasa used to have lots of Nepali influence, but it went
away when the border got locked down and it became difficult for
traders to travel. Nepali influence was not new; it was in
Lhasa pre-1951 and now is returning to "normal," he felt. Many
Tibetans have returned from Nepal and India, though it is not as
easy to travel as it was previously, as now it is more difficult
to obtain a PRC passport.
BROWN