Xi Jinping meets top military officials in Lhasa

Xi Jinping meets top military officials in Lhasa.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of long-term stability and prosperity in Tibet during a meeting with senior military officials in Lhasa, state media reported on Saturday, a day after he paid an unannounced visit. to the strategically important region, which included Nyingchi, a city near the border with Arunachal Pradesh.

Xi, also general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission, met with senior officials from the Tibet Military Command of the People’s Liberation Army, which guarded the Chinese-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh, and also called for “Fully Strengthening Soldier Training and War Preparation Work,” Global Times reported.

Xi, 68, paid his first visit to Tibet as president from Wednesday to Friday. But his important visit was kept secret by China’s official media until the end of the tour on Friday due to the sensitivity of the trip.

As part of his journey, he first went to Nyingchi, a strategically located city near the border with Arunachal Pradesh.

On Thursday, Xi went to the Nyingchi train station and learned about the general design of the Sichuan-Tibet railway and how the Lhasa-Nyingchi section has been operated since June 25.

This was the first time in recent years that a senior Chinese leader visited the Tibetan border town of Nyingchi. (AP)

It was the first time in recent years that an important Chinese leader visited the Tibetan border city. From there he headed to the provincial capital, Lhasa, on the recently opened high-speed train.

He concluded his visit to the politically sensitive Himalayan region on Friday by meeting with “representatives of the troops stationed in Tibet.”

“Xi met with representatives of troops stationed in Tibet, calling for efforts to strengthen military training and readiness in all aspects and to make contributions to the lasting stability, prosperity and development of Tibet,” the news agency reported. state Xinhua.

However, the CCP Global Times tabloid said that Xi in his meeting with representatives of the PLA “emphasized that local troops should fully strengthen the work of soldier training and preparation for war and contribute positive force to promote stability and long-term prosperity of Tibet. ”

Xi’s first visit to Tibet took place amid ongoing military tensions between India and China in eastern Ladakh.

According to Xinhua, Xi visited the Tibet Autonomous Region in connection with the 70th anniversary of the “peaceful liberation of Tibet, the first time in the history of the Party and the country.”

He extended his congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, visited officials and ordinary people of various ethnic groups, and conveyed the care of the CPC Central Committee to them, according to the report.

Xi Jinping at the Drepung Monastery, near Lhasa. Beijing has cracked down on Buddhist monks and followers of the Dalai Lama, who despite his exile remains a spiritual leader widely admired and adored by Tibetans. (AP)

He said that at present, Tibet is at a new historical starting point of its development, and the leadership of the CCP must be maintained and the path of “socialism with Chinese characteristics” must be followed.

Xi said that over the past 70 years, Tibet has made historic advances in the social system and achieved comprehensive economic and social development, with significantly improved people’s living standards.

“It has been shown that without the CCP, there would have been neither a new China nor a new Tibet,” Xi said. “The guidelines and policies of the CPC Central Committee regarding work in Tibet are completely correct.”

China is accused of suppressing cultural and religious freedom in the remote and primarily Buddhist Himalayan region. China has rejected the accusations.

At his meetings in Tibet, Xi emphasized the full implementation of the “fundamental guidelines of the CCP governing religious work, respecting the religious beliefs of the people, adhering to the principle of independence and self-government in religious matters.

He also emphasized governing religious affairs in accordance with the law and guiding Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to a socialist society, according to the Xinhua report.

Since he became president in 2013, Xi has pursued a firm policy of intensifying security control in Tibet. Beijing has cracked down on Buddhist monks and followers of the Dalai Lama, who despite his exile remains a spiritual leader widely admired and adored by Tibetans.

Xi also lobbied the Tibetan government and army to strengthen border security by improving infrastructure in border villages, including building new homes for residents.