CHINA:CHINA'S LEADERSHIP has reiterated its hard line on Tibet, linking stability in the Himalayan region to overall stability in China and urging leaders to focus on economic development, a clear warning to those seeking more autonomy in an Olympic year.
"Tibet's stability has to do with the entire country's stability, Tibet's safety has to do with the entire country's safety," President Hu Jintao told Tibetan members of parliament, calling on leaders to promote "sound and rapid economic development".
In photographs accompanying the text carried in major Chinese newspapers, Mr Hu was shown smiling with Tibetan leaders gathered in Beijing for China's annual parliament, the National People's Congress.
China's presence in the largely Buddhist region is set to become one of the most controversial issues in this year's Beijing Olympic Games, which activists will use as a platform to draw attention to religious oppression and damage to the region's cultural heritage.
China considers Tibet its inviolable territory, just as it does the occasionally restive province of Xinjiang in the west of the country.
The People's Liberation Army entered Tibet in 1950 and has been there ever since. On March 10th, the Tibetan community in exile will mark the 49th anniversary of the day when the Dalai Lama (72) fled to India after a failed uprising against communist rule.
The Chinese condemn the Dalai Lama, who won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, as a dangerous separatist, and over the years have brutally suppressed demonstrations by Tibetan Buddhist monks.
Beijing's defence is that it is spending billions of dollars to develop the region and improve living standards.
There were certainly no signs in Mr Hu's remarks of any softening on the autonomy issue in Tibet. Speaking as head of the Communist Party - one of his three roles which include head of the army and president - he praised the hard work of Tibet's cadres, and said they needed more support from their Han Chinese counterparts.
Meanwhile, Tibetan Communist Party chief Zhang Qingli said on the sidelines of the National People's Congress that "the instigation of 'Tibet independence' is doomed to fail". The Dalai Lama "has never stopped his plot to separate Tibet from China since he betrayed the country", said Mr Zhang. "I have never heard that the Dalai Lama refrains from splitting Tibet from China. We never tolerate those who are dead set on splitting activities."
Meanwhile, Tibet Autonomous Region government chairman Qiangba Puncog said he was confident Tibet would not prove a security issue during the games. "Anyone who wants to sabotage the games will get nowhere."