Chinese XI Touts Unity and Development in Surprise Tibet Visit

President Jinping called unity on a surprising visit to Tibet, appearing in front of 20,000 people to celebrate 60 years since China created the autonomous region after annexing it.

In what is only his second presidential visit to the strictly controlled region, he praised the local authorities for “participating in a thorough fight against separatism”-a reference to decades of Tibetan resistance to Beijing.

A visit to Lhasa, which sits at an altitude that could create health problems for the 72-year-old, offers a desire to seal his authority over the region.

His comments published do not mention the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who has lived in exile in India since he fled in 1959.

“To manage, stabilize and develop Tibet, the first thing is to maintain political stability, social stability, ethnic unity and religious harmony,” he told himself, according to the official summary of his speech.

His visit on Wednesday comes just two months after the Dalai Lama announced that his cabinet, not China, would choose his heir. However, Chinese leaders claim that only they have the power to monitor this decision.

The 90-year-old has always advocated for a “middle road” to resolve Tibet-real self-government status in China-but Beijing considers him a separatist.

China has long claimed that Tibetans are free to practice their faith, but this faith is also a source of centuries -old identity that human rights groups say that Beijing is slowly eroded.

When the BBC visits a Tibetan monastery in Sichuan province in June, the monks claim that the Tibetans were abandoned by human rights and that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to “suppress and pursue” them.

Beijing says that the standard of living of people in Tibet has significantly improved in its rule and denies the suppression of their human rights and freedom of expression.

The party established the autonomous region of Tibet or what he calls Xizang in 1965, six years after an unsuccessful uprising against Chinese rule.

The surprising visit of the Chinese president was the leading story in every state media newspaper and television newsletter on Thursday, where the tour of the SI in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa was presented as a celebration.

Photos posted on the front pages showed that he was greeted by Tibetan dancers and applauding crowds.

At his meeting with local authorities on Wednesday, which was also attended by senior leaders of the CC, the Chinese president encouraged the bilateral economic, cultural and staff exchange of and from Tibet, as well as the promotion of a national common language and heroes.

XI also outlined CCP’s vision for Tibet and emphasized what he views as the four main tasks in the region: ensuring stability, facilitating developmental development, environmental protection and borderline strengthening, Chinese state media said.

CCP policies include new laws governing the education of Tibetan children who now need to attend state Chinese schools and learn tangerine.

XI also called on a stronger regulation of “religious affairs” and the need for “the leadership of Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to socialist society.”

The visit comes a month after the CCP has begun construction in the region for what will be the largest dam in the world. The dam – also known as Motuo hydropower – is located on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which flows through the Tibetan Plateau.

When it is completed, it will outstrip the Tree Courges dam as the most large in the world and can generate three times more energy.

Beijing says the scheme costing approximately 1.2tn Yuan ($ 167 billion; £ 125 billion) will prioritize environmental protection and enhance local prosperity.

But experts and employees have set out fears that the new dam will allow China to control or divert cross -border Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows south in India, Arvardal Pradesh and ASam, as well as Bangladesh, where he feeds on the Siang, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers.