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Autonomy and The Railway (Himal)
Himal, Nepal.
BY | Woeser
Translated by | Susan Chen
Perhaps no other railway in the world could have competed with the new
Qinghai-Tibet railway for the amount of attention, comment and opinion it
inspired. The fact that the Chinese government decided on 1 July 2006 - the
85th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China - as the
day for the formal inauguration of the railway leaves no room for ambiguity
regarding the project's 'political colour'. Driven by the intense media
coverage of the new track, a massive collective interest in Tibet suddenly
broke out throughout China - and, indeed, around the world. According to the
numbers put out by the Tibet Autonomous Region's Tourist Bureau, 90,000
visitors arrived in Tibet within the first 20 days the railway was in
operation. This has not only added an unbearable burden to the crumbling
Potala Palace - which is supposedly designated as a World Heritage Site -
but has significantly impacted on the lives of Lhasa locals. The prices of
staple foods, vegetables and meats have all gone up dramatically, while
worshippers are being forced to fight crowds inside temples.
The reaction of Tibetans to the new rail line is complex. This writer took a
ride on the train from Beijing to Lhasa in January. Because it was winter -
the slow season for visitors - there were few tourists on board. Instead,
there were many Tibetan students heading home for the winter break. These
students had been sent to 'inland' China for schooling from a very young
age. In the past, because of the high cost of transportation, they could
have gone for years without going home for Losar, the Tibetan New Year. The
cheaper price of a train ride now helps in easing their homesickness, and
this might well be the major benefit that the Qinghai-Tibet railway has
brought Tibetans. The other benefit has been that the faithful from the
Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham can now take the train to go on
pilgrimage in U-Tsang, and vice-versa. Besides these, it is hard to locate
the railway's merits.
During the first seven months of the new service, the cars were overloaded
in the summer and almost completely empty in the winter; the imbalance
between supply and demand was evident. Indeed, this writer met a conductor
on the train who acknowledged that the railway line lacks economic value,
but has political and military significance. Despite agreeing that the
railroad itself may not make economic sense, many Tibetans are concerned
about the opportunity it provides to businessmen and transient labourers
from inland China to exploit Tibet's natural resources. According to
official statistics, approximately 2500 potential mining sites have been
identified within the TAR - which could in the future mean more than 30
mining sites for each of the TAR's 76 districts (See accompanying story,
"Prospecting the treasure house"). With 'gold-mining' expeditions already
taking place along the tracks, the nightmare that the plateau's fragile
ecosystem might be further destroyed has become more real than ever.
Even though the crises of natural resources and environment that Tibet has
been facing could darken the railway's reputation, they remain irrelevant to
Chinese officials and state-controlled scholars. Instead, these people
consider themselves messiahs and spokespersons for the Tibetans: "We want
Tibetans to also have the right to enjoy modernisation," goes the official
line. "Neither tradition nor modernisation should be missing." While such
sentiments might at first sound logical, what is important for Tibetans is
not necessarily the issue of modernisation, but genuine autonomy. When there
is no power, where can one find rights? And what can one do with tradition?
Furthermore, what actually constitutes modernisation? The current reality of
Tibet already attests to the falsity of the kind of modernisation that has
come to the plateau. Ultimately, it is just another form of invasion -
sugar-coated and equivalent to colourfully beautified violence. For
Tibetans, who are deprived of autonomous rights, it is absolutely necessary
to learn to recognise different types of invasion.
In fact, the railway by itself is not a problem. If Tibet's genuine autonomy
were put into practice, the idea of having railroads connecting villages
could be internally debated. But when Tibetans lack autonomy, their fate is
decided by others. They can only watch as their rights are taken away, and
they are further marginalised in their own land. Rather than the indigenous
Tibetans, it is the flocks of 'gold-miners' who are the real beneficiaries
of such 'development' projects.
Unfortunately, under the banner of 'development', the modernisation
symbolised by the Qinghai-Tibet railway is flourishing in Tibet. It has not
only altered the appearance of Tibetan tradition, but has also begun to
change the inner essence of Tibetans themselves. Gradually, all aspects of
Tibet will be completely rewritten. Is this the blessing that Tibetans have
received from those who hold power? Since Tibetans do not have the right of
autonomy, the Qinghai-Tibet railway cannot be, as the Chinese state claims,
the "Road of Fortune". Instead, it is a road of no return - of the sacrifice
of the land once known as Tibet.
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