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'Tibet independence' daydream of separatists

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-27 19:45

BEIJING - So-called "Tibet independence" is a daydream of separatists and such a concept never existed in history, a Tibetan lawmaker, also a living Buddha, said Friday.

Shingtsa Tenzinchodrak, head of a five-member Tibetan legislative delegation, told a press conference after the delegation's trip to the United States and Canada over the past two weeks, that the region had witnessed great changes and received support from the central government and other parts of China after Democratic Reform in Tibet in 1959.

"Do you think Tibetans still want independence?"

He said a video, made public online recently by the Dalai Lama's "Tibetan government-in-exile" that showed Chinese police "using excessive force" last March, was to "deceive the public who do not know the truth."

An official from Tibet had said the video was a lie. The official said technology experts found that the video and audio had been edited using material involving different places, times and people.

Shingtsa Tenzinchodrak said the Dalai Lama used the word "peaceful protest" to describe the March 14 riot but local people's lives and property were threatened and 18 people lost their lives during the riot.

"When lives or property are damaged and the production order is affected, it's inappropriate for the government not to take any action," he said.