World Tibet Network News Monday, June 22, 1998

Monday, June 22, 1998; Letters: Page A20

Washington Post

Once again, the Chinese government has chosen to fall back on rhetoric rather than seek a solution regarding Tibet ["Tibet's Old System Deserved Its Demise," letters, June 16]. China's definition of "peaceful liberation" means an invasion that has caused the death of 1.2 million Tibetans. If Tibet was part of China, then why did China need to "liberate" it?

The Chinese government's claim of 96.7 percent Tibetans in Tibet and only 80,850 (3.3 percent of 2.45 million) non-Tibetans is grossly exaggerated. Any visitor to Tibet will see that there are at least three times that number of Chinese in Lhasa alone.

I was in Tibet last summer. I am a Tibetan, but in Lhasa, Mandarin has become the language of commerce and government.

How can the Chinese government claim religious freedom when Tibetans are forced to renounce their spiritual leader? Even pictures of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are banned in Tibet. Religious sites are open in Tibet primarily for tourism.

NIMA GYALTSEN

Calgary, Alberta, Canada