Tibetan envoys in Beijing as China revamps policy
Reuters[Tuesday, January 26, 2010 17:58]
By Lucy Hornby and Ralph Jennings

BEIJING - Envoys from the Tibetan government in exile arrived in China on Tuesday for open-ended talks, a week after Chinese authorities laid out a new policy approach that for the first time includes all Tibetan regions.
China's fifth work conference on Tibet includes all Tibetan regions under the same policy umbrella and will set targets for accelerated development and better social services.
The new integrated framework and relatively relaxed rhetoric before the envoys' visit may stem from a policy review triggered by demonstrations in nearly every town across the Tibetan plateau in March 2008, the extent of which surprised Beijing.
If successful, the talks and the new policy could signal a mild thaw in Beijing's relations with Tibetans, an ethnically, religiously and linguistically distinct people who often chafe under Chinese rule. They could also provide a model for relations with Muslim Uighurs, who rioted in western Xinjiang last summer.
"You can't say there will be a deal, but you can say a better understanding," said Khedroob Thondup, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile.
Beijing may also hope to ease tensions ahead of an expected meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, who China blames for the 2008 demonstrations.
Senior Chinese leaders pledged to "leap-frog" development of Tibet by improving infrastructure and lifting rural incomes to national levels by 2020, helping to address resentment by Tibetans left behind by China's economic boom.
"This time we are really focusing on improving livelihood, whereas previous policies were mostly concerned with industry and infrastructure," said Luorong Zhandui, a specialist in development economics at the China Tibetology Research Center.
"Without human capacity, Tibet will always fall behind and need others to take care of it," said Luorong, who did not attend the forum but advised the government to include all Tibetan areas in its policy deliberations.
Taxes from Chinese firms operating in Tibetan areas will also flow to local governments, rather than to headquarters elsewhere in China, and the centre will help fund better health and education in all Tibetan areas, Luorong said.

RELIGIOUS LIFE
One of the big unknowns under the new policy is how much control over religious life will be relaxed, if at all.
China tightened control over Tibetan intellectuals, musicians and monasteries in the months after the demonstrations, detaining thousands, according to Tibetans in China and exile estimates.
Still, travellers to Tibetan areas of Sichuan province in recent months say Tibetans once again openly display photos of the exiled Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader.
Although China officially scorned Tibetan proposals for greater autonomy encompassing all Tibetan areas at the last round of talks, it recently asked for more details on the proposal, said Robbie Barnett, a Tibet scholar at Columbia University.
"The Chinese government's stance on Dalai Lama is consistent and clear," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.
"We hope the Dalai Lama's side will cherish the opportunity and respond positively to the central government's requirements."
Fruitful talks may lead to a compromise where the Dalai Lama gives up pushing for greater autonomy in Tibetan regions in exchange for more religious freedom, said Lin Chong-pin, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan.
"Beijing feels more confident," Lin said. "There's some light down the tunnel for Beijing-Dalai Lama relations."
Talks began in 2002 but broke down amid acrimony in 2008. This round has no set agenda, and could continue into next week.
"The bottom line of these talks is that people inside Tibet have to be happy," said Tenzin Taklha, an aide of the Dalai Lama. "The most important thing is that the Chinese side have to be realistic and to understand that there is a problem inside Tibet, in order to bring about long-lasting peace and stability."

(Additional reporting by Krittivas Mukherjee in NEW DELHI; Editing by Paul Tait)