Care needed in handling impact of Tibetan railway
The opening of the first railway to Tibet tomorrow is as much about China's economic development, strategic interests and politics as the nation's engineering prowess. But while such matters can be clearly defined, uncertainty remains on what impact the project will have on one of the world's most pristine landscapes and Tibetans' ancient culture and traditional way of life.
Beijing says it has the interests of Tibetans at heart with the rail link. There will be business opportunities and increased tourism that will create jobs, decrease poverty and usher in a better standard of living. Tibet, as one of China's five autonomous regions, will prosper, officials say. They also promise that the Tibetan way of life will be preserved.
Few societies have managed the feat of balancing modern development and growth against tradition. China established its autonomous regions on the pretext of allowing cultural minorities to maintain their way of life, but that has been gradually eroded in the four other zones, Guangxi , Xinjiang , Inner Mongolia and Ningxia . Tibet has escaped much development because of its isolation - and the railway takes that away.
No one could doubt that the railway is an outstanding engineering feat. Four decades in the making, it traverses rugged Himalayan terrain and will carry passengers up to 5,068 metres above sea level, higher than any other train in the world can go. Solving the problems of laying tracks on ground that freezes and thaws and is prone to landslides, while allowing the unfettered movement of wildlife, took the combined ingenuity of thousands of engineers. A total of 1.54 billion yuan has reportedly been allocated to preserve the fragile environment beside the line.
There has been no such allocation to ensure that Tibetans get the same security as the region's wildlife. Nor have efforts been taken to address issues that run deeper to the core of their culture, such as the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, or the tens of thousands of Tibetans who live as refugees from their homeland in India and elsewhere in the world. Dozens of Tibetans are political prisoners, and carrying a photograph of the Dalai Lama is considered a crime.
President Hu Jintao , as the Communist Party's secretary in Tibet from 1988 to 1992, has a special understanding of the region. He believes that Tibet's future lies in accelerating economic development, promoting reforms and improving Tibetans' living standards. The opening of the railway line will go a long way towards achieving such aims.
But if Tibet's environment and the culture and traditions of its people are to be truly respected, Beijing also has to do its utmost to preserve what exists. Development must be planned, controlled and sensitive to the need to preserve. Only with such efforts can a truly special culture continue to flourish.
