China slams Dalai’s ‘middle way’ as step to ‘independence’

China on Wednesday issued a white paper on the Tibet Autonomous Region, denouncing the "middle way" advocated by the 14th Dalai Lama as an attempt to achieve "Tibetan independence."

It called on the Dalai Lama to "put aside his illusions in his remaining years, face up to reality and adapt his position." 

The white paper, released by the State Council Information Office, states that Tibet's current development path is correct and the development is sound.

However, the report points out that the Dalai Lama and those around him, driven by the political goal of "Tibetan independence" and a sentimental attachment to the former system of theocratic feudal serfdom, have been negating the achievements in Tibet.

The report slams the "middle way," an approach proposed by the Dalai Lama, calling it an attempt to create a "state within a state" on Chinese territory as an interim step toward the ultimate goal of full independence.

The "middle way" advocates a "Greater Tibet" with "a high degree of autonomy" within China that includes Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Qinghai and other areas inhabited by Tibetans.

The white paper says the idea of a "Greater Tibet" has never existed and the autonomy put forward by the Dalai Lama denies the leadership of the central government and Tibet's present social and political systems.

"This year is the 50th anniversary of the Tibet Autonomous Region, so it is the right time to show the world the region's development in the past half century as well as the Dalai clique's separatist activities," said Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the Ethnic and Religious Committee under China's top political advisory body.

In recent years, the "middle way" concept has deceived some who don't fully understand the Dalai's true intentions. Some outside China have colluded with the clique, creating an impression that the Chinese government would change its policy toward the Dalai Lama, Zhu said.

"It's not that the door to talks has closed, the key is that there is no premise for talks as the Dalai never abandoned his illusion of Tibetan independence," Zhu noted.

The Dalai Lama expressed optimism over the establishment of the "Greater Tibet" in an interview with France 24 in December 2014.

This white paper will help clarify the government's consistent attitudes and policies toward Tibet and it unveils the separatist intentions of the Dalai Lama clique, Zhu said.

In terms of negotiations, the paper says the Dalai group is opportunistic in talks with the central government.

The paper adds that the relationship can only improve when the Dalai Lama makes a public statement acknowledging that Tibet has been an integral part of China and abandons attempts to divide China.

The white paper also presents evidence to prove that the Dalai Lama and his supporters continued to employ violence to promote "Tibetan independence," despite the Dalai's use of peaceful and non-violent rhetoric as cover.

Since the 1980s, the Dalai Lama and his supporters have been linked to a series of violent incidents in Tibet, including an incident in March 1988 that led to 299 casualties, and another in March 2008, in which 18 people were burned or hacked to death, and 382 were injured.

Since 2011, they have incited Tibetan lamas and lay followers inside China to engage in acts of self-immolation. 

"The Dalai Lama, an influential figure in Buddhism, has stolen the concept of Buddhist philosophy to garner support," said Lian Xiangmin, an expert with the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing.

However, Lian noted, with years of economic development and patriotic education, the Tibetan people know how to separate religious beliefs from political inclination.

In 2013, Tibet's regional GDP was 80.77 billion yuan ($13.15 billion) while the per capita net income of rural Tibetans was 6,578 yuan. Tibet's population rose to 3.12 million in 2013, tripling the figures of the early 1950s. The average life expectancy has doubled to 68.2 years.