Published by: World Tibet Network News Tuesday, September 23, 1997

Letters to the editor (Page 4, Date: 09/22/97)

China Daily

EDITOR:

It is a farce that some anti-China forces in the West frequently use the issue of Tibet to attack China's religious policy and other policies to defame China.

However, their wanton charges reveal nothing but their arrogance and ignorance of Tibetan history and reality there.

According to historians, Tibet has been part of China's territory since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The term the "Province of Tibet" can also be found in "The Travels of Marco Polo" (China Daily, September 4, 1997). Tibet has never been a sovereign state which was "invaded" or "swallowed" by China, as claimed by some Westerners.

The allegation of so-called "religious oppression" in Tibet is often found groundless as religious freedom has been written into China's Constitution.

While accusing China of violating human rights in Tibet, these self-appointed human rights defenders often shun to mention that the brutal serfdom once practised in Tibet had deprived Tibetan people of their individual rights and personal freedom.

It will not be difficult for people of insight to find these malicious attacks harbour ulterior motives.

Those attackers, who fear a strong, stable and prosperous China will harm their interests, are trying various means to derail China's further economic and social progress by making up sensational stories and sowing discord among the Chinese.

Wang Zhanjie, Beijing