Published by: World Tibet Network News, Sunday, Apr 21, 1996

BEIJING (April 19) XINHUA - Chinese leader Li Ruihuan said here today that every minority ethnic group, including the Tibetan people, is an inalienable member of the large family of China.

Li, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee (CPPCC), made this remark during his meeting with visiting Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deupa.

China has established autonomous regions for certain minority ethnic groups in the place where the majority of them live, such as the Tibet Autonomous Region, he said. However, he added, some ethnic groups are scattered across the country, and the Tibetan people are distributed over the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan, apart from Tibet.

Meanwhile, people from other ethnic groups besides the dominant ones also live in the autonomous regions, he added.

So, the concentration of an ethic group in a region cannot be taken as a reason for splittism, he noted.

Li spoke highly of Nepal's support for China concerning the Tibet issue, and expressed his thanks for Deupa's recent statement that Nepal totally accepts and supports the principle that Tibet is part of China, and for the prime minister's banning of anti-China activities in Nepal.

Deupa recalled that Li's 1993 Nepal visit was deeply impressive, and the frequent exchange of visits by senior leaders of the two countries will help deepen understanding and enhance the bilateral ties.

He expressed his hope that his current visit would, too, cement the bilateral relations.

China's assistance to Nepal over many years has played an important role in furthering Nepal's economic growth and increasing the living standards of the Nepalese people, he said.