It is not uncommon for some Western governments and the so-called Tibetan government-in-exile to play up and distort incidents, such as the one last week between the law enforcement forces and local residents in Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province.

On Monday and Tuesday, police stations in two counties of the autonomous prefecture were attacked by mobs, prompting the police to defend themselves.

According to Xinhua News Agency, one of the clashes involved a mob of more than 100 people, who had gathered following rumors that three monks intended to commit suicide by self-immolation there.

They smashed two police vehicles, two fire trucks and stormed into nearby shops and a bank.

The clashes caused at least one death and others, including policemen, were injured.

As usual, Western government officials and the self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile spared no effort in taking the opportunity to criticize the Chinese central government.

The London-based Free Tibet advocacy group claimed that police opened fire on Tibetans peacefully protesting against religious repression in the southwestern province of Sichuan, killing at least one and injuring more than 30.

This was refuted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which said the true cause of the clash was a mob intent on storming stores and the police station.

"Overseas forces promoting 'independence for Tibet' have always fabricated rumors and distorted the truth to discredit the Chinese government with issues involving Tibet," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

The so-called Tibetan government-in-exile, led by the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed separatist attempt, was quick to seize the opportunity to self-aggrandize themselves and beg support from their Western supporters. That may be the reason why the Dalai Lama clique is always so eager to stir up trouble in the region.

Globalization has also had an influence on the Tibetan-inhabited regions, providing more opportunities for the self-titled Tibetan government-in-exile overseas to promote itself to people within China.

Unfortunately any political collusion between domestic and foreign forces tends to hide their real motives with religion, masking the destructive power of these extreme incidents and their true instigators.

It is always easier to destroy than to maintain order and build. In today's world, a handful of extremists have the ability to cause havoc to a region or even a country, never mind the Dalai Lama clique, which cloaks its real agenda behind religion and which is financed and supported by some Western governments and media with their own agenda against China. It is obvious that they are capable of causing trouble now and then in the Tibetan-inhabited regions.

However, the Dalai Lama clique will never win the hearts of Tibetans in this way, as it has greatly damaged the development of the Tibetan-inhabited regions, and harmed the interests of Tibetan people.

Peace and development are the common desire of most Tibetan people, while political assertions such as "independence" and "high-degree of autonomy" have no solid social foundation at all. What Tibetans want most is a stable society and improved livelihoods. The Chinese central government has made huge investments into the Tibetan-inhabited areas, which has greatly raised the standard of living and protected the traditional culture of Tibet. It is easy to see that petitions for "independence" and self-immolations are actually ideas imported from overseas.

In the past three decades, to protect and maintain the cultural relics of the Tibet autonomous region alone, the central government has invested 1.3 billion yuan ($210 million), including the renovation of the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

The Dalai Lama is abusing his religious status in the Tibetan-inhabited regions. He and his supporters are kidnapping the broad interests of all the people in the Tibetan-inhabited regions to satisfy their own interests - the interests of the clique of exiled Tibetans. Such a selfish political motive does not have the support of people in the Tibetan-inhabited regions and is doomed to failure.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/30/2012 page8)