China: its rise and rise by Le Monde diplomatique

Author:Le Monde diplomatique
Language: fra
Format: epub
Publisher: Le Monde diplomatique
Published: 2020-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Afternoon puja: at the 15th-century Ani Tsankhung nunnery in the centre of Lhasa

Guenter Guni · Getty

Will the poorest benefit?

But there is no sign that the wealth will trickle down to the poorest, or that it will be enough to fulfil Beijing’s hope of quenching Tibetan nationalist sentiment. Our hosts emphasised the wish of central government to preserve local culture. Tibetans fear the marginalisation of their language and the folklorisation of their culture as much as, if not more than, the war on their Dalai Lama. We visited the university, where 70,000 Buddhist documents and sutras are preserved, attesting to the fact that ‘Tibetan writing has existed for over 3,000 years’, a traditional Tibetan hospital (a subject of considerable interest), dynamic artisan workshops and holy sites.

Tibet specialist Françoise Robin, a professor at Inalco (France’s National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilisations) returned from Lhasa in October. She confirmed that ‘anxiety about the loss of their language is palpable everywhere.’ Many witnesses say this is partly due to poor-quality teaching. And a growing number of Tibetans opt to send their children to Chinese schools and universities, so they are no longer confined to their region of origin and can work anywhere. But, Robin said, ‘they tend to become Chinese and lose their sense of community. In a sense, they lose their “Tibetanness”.’ Ludup Gyatso, a young Tibetan rapper with dreadlocks, sunglasses and a noisy motorbike, made a video, Citizens, that calls for Tibetans to return to their roots. Robin sees this as a positive sign; despite the obstacles, ‘there is a dynamic Tibetan intellectual community.’ She cites many examples, including Tibetan writers.

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