Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday made a rare trip to Tibet — only his second since taking office — to mark the 60th anniversary of Beijing’s consolidation of control over the Himalayan region.
Xi arrived in Lhasa, Tibet’s regional capital, where he was welcomed by residents from various ethnic communities waving flowers and dancing, according to state news agency Xinhua. He called for building a “modern socialist Tibet” that is “united, prosperous, civilised, harmonious and beautiful.”
China’s Communist forces took control of Tibet in 1951, and in 1965, Mao Zedong’s government established the Tibet Autonomous Region. The decades since have been marked by political repression, including the destruction of monasteries, arrests of monks, and restrictions on religious and cultural freedoms.
In recent years, Beijing has tightened its grip further: journalists and foreigners are largely barred, Han Chinese migration has reshaped the region, Tibetan children are placed in Mandarin-language boarding schools, and expressions of identity outside Communist Party oversight are heavily curtailed. China also claims the authority to appoint the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 and turned 90 this year.
The visit coincided with protests by exiled Tibetans in India against a visit by the Chinese foreign minister. Critics argue repression in Tibet has intensified since Beijing crushed mass protests in 2008, while China highlights poverty reduction and infrastructure development as signs of progress.
Beijing insists Tibet has been part of China for centuries, but many Tibetans maintain they were largely independent under a Buddhist theocracy until Chinese occupation. The region also borders India, where China has been expanding roads and military infrastructure along the contested frontier.
