The Editor, Sir:

It was with surprise and shock that we read Ian Boyne's article on October 28 titled 'China's threat to freedom', which contains some main points that are either groundless, biased or irresponsible. We feel obliged to clarify the facts so as to set the record straight.

The author's assertion of China's threat to liberty was based on its protests over the United States' decision to grant the Dalai Lama its Congressional Gold Medal. Here, the author totally missed the point, as the Tibet issue is, in nature, China's internal affair and what China opposes is the interference in its domestic affairs by another country.

It is regrettable that the author would neglect to consult history before rushing to his conclusion. As a member of a united multi-ethnic country, Tibet has been part of Chinese territory way back in history. Tibet became an inalienable part of China in the mid-13th century of Chinese Yuan Dynasty, and since then, the central government has exercised jurisdiction over Tibet. Shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the central government signed an agreement with the local government of Tibet regarding the peaceful liberation of Tibet, and then the Tibet Autonomous Region was established in 1965. So why should someone point fingers at China when it was just stating its stand on internal affairs?

Extensive rights

The author's argument of "China's oppression of its own minorities and its aversion to political freedom" is a deliberate distortion as it flies in the face of the facts. Since Tibet was peacefully liberated, especially after the inauguration of democratic reform and the abolishment of the serf system in Tibet in 1959, drastic changes have taken place in Tibet, and Tibetans have fully enjoyed all political, economic and cultural rights. Tibet enjoys extensive autonomous rights in such fields as legislation, use of Tibetan language, personnel management and natural resource management. Up to now, 92 per cent of the autonomous region's 2.7 million population is Tibetan, and nearly 80 per cent of local officials are Tibetan or other ethnic minorities.

Freedom of religious belief and religious activities are protected by the law. There are more than 1,700 monasteries, temples and religious venues and 46,000 nuns and monks in Tibet. Buddhism associations and special academies of Tibetan Buddhism are set up and religious books are printed in large quantities to meet the need of religious activities.

The Dalai Lama as a seperatist

The Dalai Lama served as the chairman of the Preparatory Committee for Establishing the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1956. However, after a failed rebellion in 1959, he fled China and later set up the so-called provisional government abroad.

Since then, the Dalai Lama has been engaged in secessionist activities. What he has done is to ally himself with 'anti-China' forces and publicise his separatist beliefs, which deviate from the practice of religion.

The Dalai Lama used to be an acknowledged religious leader, but his words and deeds in the past decades have proven that he is by no means a purely religious figure, but a political exile who has conducted secessionist activities under the camouflage of religion.

As media tycoon Rupert Murdoch puts it, the Dalai Lama is "a politician in Buddhist robes and Italian shoes". How can someone who seeks to split his own country deserve the title of "a man of peace and compassion"?

The author further based his hypothesis of the so-called 'China threat' on the untenable premise that China will become aggressive when it becomes strong enough. Without any supporting data, this observation is at best hasty, ungrounded and irresponsible.

We hope that the remarks made by the author, who obviously has little knowledge about the Chinese history and the true situation in Tibet, are out of mere ignorance rather than anything else.

We are, etc.,

The Chinese Embassy

Kingston