By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, January 23: China, during a government meeting on urbanization this week, announced its decision to increase the permanent urban population of Tibet by 30 percent by 2020 — a figure that represents roughly 280,000 new Chinese immigrants to Tibet, where Tibetans appear often marginalized in many regions.
The population of cities and towns in Tibet have skyrocketed. In 1980s, less than 300,000 people lived in cities and towns in Tibet and in 2013, the number rose to over 740,000 people in 140 towns and cities in Tibet.
Analysts say the number will rise to over one million in 2020.
Lobsang Jamcan, Chairman of the regional Tibetan government, said that Tibet’s urbanization still lags behind many regions and that Tibet must improve public services in small cities and towns to attract more talent and to boost local economy without ignoring environmental issues.
With the opening of railway line between Gormo and Lhasa in 2006, around 2000-3000 Chinese travel everyday to settle in Tibet indefinitely, statistics say.
The UK based Free Tibet called it China’s propaganda to show that Tibet and Tibetans are prospering under their rule.
“The increase in population in Tibet is not due to Tibetans prospering but because of the huge influx of Chinese migrant workers. Chinese people are offered incentives by their government to move to Tibet,” said Free Tibet. “China believes that by populating its occupied territories with Chinese people, it will make protests and Tibetans resistance weaker and homogenize Tibet.”
In September 2011, China announced plans to spend 300 billion Yuan (US$46.89 billion) on 226 key projects ranging from railway, dam building, mining and promotion of tourism in Tibet within the next five years.
The exile Tibetan Administration maintains that Beijing, “under the guise of economic and social development, encourages the migration of Chinese population to Tibet, marginalizing the Tibetans in economic, educational, political and social spheres.”
