Italian specialists on Tibet say exchanges and dialogue between
Chinese specialists on Tibet and their European counterparts are
needed to help the West understand the "real" Tibet.
At
a conference at Florence University on Tuesday, Silvio Calzolani, a
professor in the religion department, said it is necessary to
listen to what people living in Tibet have to say about the reality
of their lives.
At
the one-day workshop, about 200 Sinologists or Tibet specialists
from across Italy and a visiting group of Tibet specialists from
China exchanged views on issues including the protection of
cultural heritage, economic development and religion.
Calzolani criticized certain Western politicians and media for
turning a deaf ear to the true voice of the Tibetan people. He
welcomed the visiting scholars from Tibet as those "who are best
qualified to speak on the issue of Tibet.''
Telling the audience about his experiences in Tibet, Professor
Giorgio Mantici, vice chairman of the Italy-China Friendship
Association, said Tibet, like the rest of China, has witnessed
rapid development and remarkable progress since the democratic
reforms in the region in 1959, and particularly since the opening
up of the whole country 22 years ago.
He
strongly rejected the Dalai Lama's saying that Tibet sees nothing
but poverty and backwardness and people living there enjoy no
religious freedom.
"The Dalai Lama's propaganda based on distorted facts is aimed at
splitting China up,'' Mantici pointed out. "Seeing is believing,''
he added, and he encouraged more Italians to visit and see a
"beautiful Tibet'' for themselves.
Mantici said studying Tibetan history should be done in the context
of Chinese history. "An isolated study of Tibet is not helpful,''
he said. He also said Western scholars should pay more attention to
today's Tibet.
Kalsang Gyaltsen, leader of the visiting Tibetan group, said
significant achievements had been made in Tibet since the
democratic reforms.
He
said the Chinese government attached great importance to economic
development, social progress and education in Tibet, as well as the
protection of Tibetan culture.
"In old Tibet, there was not a single modern school; only two
percent of school-age children were in school and 95 percent of
young and middle-aged people were illiterate.
"Today, Tibet has 4,365 schools. Some 83.4 percent of school-age
children are in school. The illiteracy rate among young and
middle-aged people has dropped to 42 percent,'' he said.
(Xinhua 10/26/2000)