South China Morning Post,

LHASA, June 2, 1997 (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE) -- Nearly 50 years after troops sent by Beijing took control of Tibet, the Chinese population has been unable to integrate with the local people, who barely tolerate their presence.

"We have almost no Chinese friends because our relations are not good," said Anjik, 23, a taxi driver in Lhasa, capital of what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region.

"The Hans [ethnic Chinese] go to their own restaurants and karaoke bars and the Tibetans to theirs. There's no mixing and no intermarrying," he added.

The local authorities disagree, seeking to paint an image of harmony between Tibetans and Han Chinese.

"There are lots of mixed marriages and it's a two-way traffic, not just between Chinese men and Tibetan women as was the case in the 1950s," said one official, who has a Han father.

However, hardly any mixed couples can be seen on the streets of Lhasa or other major towns such as Shigatse to the west or Gyantse to the south.

A large number of Han Chinese were sent to settle in Tibet after its "peaceful liberation" by Chinese troops in 1950. Today, official figures put the number of ethnic Chinese at a mere 100,000 in Tibet's population of 2.39 million.

Ma Chongying, the Chinese assistant director of the Nationalities Affairs Commission said, "as for troop strength, that number keeps fluctuating".

Non-Chinese sources say troops deployed by Beijing close to the borders with India and Nepal could run into tens or even hundreds of thousands.

Tibetan opposition groups, still loyal to their religious leader, the Dalai Lama, say the Chinese authorities have sought to colonise Tibet. They say Han Chinese even outnumber the Tibetans.

"These accusations are baseless," Mr Ma said. "It's true that Tibet attracts a floating population, especially from the neighbouring Sichuan province, who come during the spring to work in restaurants, markets and on building sites.

"But most of these migrant workers leave before winter, since the climate here is very harsh and it's tough to adjust to the thin oxygen level," Mr Ma added.

Lhasa is 3,600 metres above sea level and some Tibetan towns are situated at 4,000 metres and even 5,000 metres altitude.

In Tibetan monasteries supervised by "democratic committees" maintained by the Chinese Government, rancour towards the Han Chinese is scarcely hidden.

"The Chinese are no good," declared a young monk at Gyantse.

"They jail our monks and forbid us to worship the Dalai Lama. But when he returns, Tibet will recover its happiness."