TRACKING THE STEEL DRAGON How China’s economic policies and the railway are transforming Tibet A report by the International Campaign for Tibet Washington, DC l Amsterdam l Berlin l Brussels www.savetibet.org Acknowledgements We are indebted to a number of individuals who contributed original material, infor- mation and advice, and without whom this report would not have been possible. Due to the political environment in Tibet and the restrictions placed on information gathering and the expression of views, it is not possible to name many of our sources and advisors. In addition, in some places in the report, ICT has deliberately changed names and other information which could be used to identify sources. Even though their names are not listed here, ICT wishes to acknowledge their invaluable contributions and their gen- erosity — in particular, some Tibetan friends for sharing their in-depth knowledge and understanding of the current situation on the plateau — their insights were invaluable. A special thanks to our Tibetan field team in India and Nepal for their dedication under often difficult circumstances, determination and high quality research. This report was written in-house at ICT’s DC office and indispensable groundwork was laid by Gabriel Lafitte in the provision of sources, analysis, and notably, original material for the section on environmental impacts of the railroad. We are immensely grateful to Gabriel for his research, writing, and attention to detail. For their invalu- able comments on drafts of the report and provision of material, we’d like to thank the following: Andrew Clark, Susette Cooke, Steven D. Marshall, Andrew Fischer, Emily Yeh, Pankaj Mishra, Jane Caple, David Guest, a friend in Nepal, Amanda Noonan and Susan Chen. Tashi D. Lek provided the images of Tibet from space and essential source material. For their unstinting work, unearthing of obscure and other sources and fine The front cover image, ‘Train to Tibet #1’ by Washington, DC-based Tibetan artist Losang prose, Jigme Page, Dawa Bowie, Merlot Spice and Rubicon Spice and for tech support, Gyatso, depicts the ancient Kyung bird, which is traditionally depicted as a serpent-killer, Roy the Magician. Thank you also to Tashi Rabgey, Adam Koziel and Claire Scobie, and and a significant symbol from the ancient Bon (pre-Buddhist) tradition in Tibet. In the to a solitary winter traveler as well as Robert Barnett and Zoeann Murphy for images painting, it is symbolic of the Tibetan space through which the train moves. Gyatso says: of the plateau. We are grateful to artist Losang Gyatso for allowing us to use his paint- “The passengers in the train don’t know what’s in front of them or behind them, but only ing, Train to Tibet (1), on the cover, and to Michelle Kleisath, for her book, ‘Heavy Earth, what they see out of the window.”www.gyatsostudio.com Golden Sky: Tibetan women speak about their lives’ — essential reading for anyone in- terested in the realities of life in Tibet today. Thanks also to our designer, Bill Whitehead, who is always graceful and charming to work with. The image on the back cover depicts the Tibetan plateau taken from space. Tibet is often referred to as the ‘roof of the world’ or the ‘world’s third pole’ because it contains the largest ice fields outside of the Arctic and Antarctic. It is now threatened by melting glaciers Many people help us, and our field teams, behind the scenes. Here is a final comment and other extreme weather phenomena. This image vividly shows how this is likely to from one of them, in Dharamsala, India, on watching Tibetan children, newly arrived affect the lives of millions of people in Asia as well as those on the plateau — Tibet is the in exile, playing video games and chatting to their parents in Tibet online: “I watch source of many of Asia’s major rivers, flowing into India and China. IMAGE COURTESY OF them and know that there is hope the other side of the mountains, and the skills and NASA/GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION STUDIO, svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?2356 spirit to make things happen when the time comes.” CONTENTS Executive Summary ............................................................. 3 A golden path to prosperity?: The political and economic significance of the ‘Sky Train’ to China’s rise — and to Tibet ..................... 9 ‘The second invasion’: Chinese migration to Tibet and the railroad............. 37 Social exclusion and China’s economic policies: Declining education and the health care crisis in Tibet ........................... 61 Poem: Kept at bay by modern steel ............................................... 73 Tourism, the railroad, and Tibetan cultural identity ........................... 75 Social exclusion as a result of China’s economic policies: Resettlement, relocation and urbanization........................................ 105 Portrait of urbanization.......................................................... 135 Aboard the Steel Dragon: Environmental impacts along the route of the railroad........................... 139 ‘Winter worm, summer grass’: The risks of dependency on yartsa gunbu trade and increasing competition from Chinese traders .......................... 177 Perspectives: The importance of protecting a ‘poetic world’..................... 187 Note on geographical terms Perspectives: ‘All one can do is pray in the darkness of one’s room’.............. 190 Tibet was traditionally comprised of three main regions: Amdo (northeastern Tibet), Foreign investment in the railroad and mining in Tibet........................ 193 Kham (eastern Tibet) and U-Tsang (central and western Tibet). The Tibet Autonomous Perspectives: Black humor from Lhasa .......................................... 208 Region (Chinese: Xizang zizhiqu) was established by the Chinese government in 1965 and covers the area of Tibet west of the Yangtse River (Tibetan: Drichu), including part The impact of the railroad on Tibetan wildlife: of Kham, although it is often referred to now as ‘central Tibet’ in English. The rest of New threats to the ‘high altitude Serengeti’ ....................................... 211 Amdo and Kham have been incorporated into Chinese provinces, and where Tibetan The railroad’s frailty: A journey across the roof of the world .................... 225 communities were said to have ‘compact inhabitancy’ in these provinces, they were des- ignated as Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures and Tibetan Autonomous Counties. As a The world’s ‘third pole’: Climate change and development in Tibet............. 231 result, most of Qinghai and parts of Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces are Perspectives: A way ahead — protecting a culture of global importance........ 239 designated by the Chinese authorities as ‘Tibetan’. The term ‘Tibet’ in this report is used to refer to all of these Tibetan areas designated by the PRC as ‘autonomous’. Recommendations ............................................................... 251 1 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HE WORLD’S HIGHEST RAILROAD across the Tibetan plateau to Lhasa (completed in July 2006) is the most high-profile symbol of Beijing’s ambitious plans to Tdevelop the western regions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As an indispensable element of Beijing’s ‘transportation revolution’, the aim of its construc- tion is to expand the influence and consolidate the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which regards this as crucial to China’s successful rise in the 21st century. This report documents the immediate impact of the railroad from Golmud in Qinghai to Lhasa in the context of China’s strategic and economic objectives and shows that Beijing’s policies on the plateau are: • Leading to a ‘second invasion’ of Tibet by accelerating the influx of Chinese people; • Causing the further exclusion of Tibetans from economic activity — which even Chinese analysts believe risks provoking the very despair and opposition feared by the Chinese state in its quest for ‘political stability’; • Damaging Tibet’s fragile high-altitude environment, with disturbing implications for millions of people in the entire Asian region; • Threatening the extinction of one of the last examples of sustainable pastoralism on earth; • Heightening military readiness on the Tibetan plateau through the expansion of Chinese influence and construction of civil and military transport links, causing concern in neighboring India linked to disputed territory issues in the border areas between the two Asian giants; • Causing concern for the survival of Tibet’s culture and religion, which is integral to Tibetan identity and important not only to Tibet, but also to China and the wider world. This report presents an alternative. It argues that only a re-orientation of economic strategy towards local integration — in effect, ‘Tibetanizing’ development — and the participation of Tibetans in decision-making in their economy could reverse the trend of marginalization and estrangement, and ultimately benefit the entire Asian region. 2 3 TRACKING THE STEEL DRAGON: HOW CHINA’S ECONOMIC POLICIES AND THE RAILWAY ARE TRANSFORMING TIBET INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET China’s twin-track agenda in Tibet Although the railroad will bring economic growth to Tibet, the wealth it generates will be concentrated in urban areas and resource extraction centers, and therefore The construction of the railroad to Lhasa reveals Beijing’s political and strategic the main beneficiaries will be Chinese. objectives in controlling Tibet. The US $4.1