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RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3113

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000192 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, DRL, G/STC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  7/23/2032 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI CH
SUBJECT: TAKING A STROLL DOWN "TIBET STREET" 
 
CHENGDU 00000192  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate 
General , Chengdu. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
¶1. (C) Summary:  A recent visit to "Tibet Street" in the Sichuan 
provincial capital of Chengdu underscored the neighborhood's 
role as a magnet for a mostly transient or floating population 
of ethnic Tibetans, which may number as many as 300,000 during 
any given year.  Some of the area's denizens shared their 
concerns on tight monitoring by local security and religious 
affairs officials.  Others expressed overall pessimism about 
talks between Chinese authorities and representatives of the 
Dalai Lama.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
LOCAL TIBETAN POPULATION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Congenoff and Consulate's ethnic Tibetan political 
assistant recently made a trip to Chengdu's Tibet Street to try 
to get a better feel for the political and social pressures 
faced by the city's ethnic Tibetans.  Hard information on the 
number of ethnic Tibetans resident in Chengdu -- a city of over 
ten million people -- is difficult to obtain.  Figures from the 
Chengdu Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) indicate the 
number of "permanent" Tibetan residents to be only about 10,000. 
 A 2005 article in the academic publication "Tibetan Research" 
entitled "The Contribution of the Floating Tibetan Population to 
Chengdu's Diversity," however, states the number of "temporary" 
Tibetan visitors each year to the city to be in excess of 
300,000.  Chengdu has traditionally served as China's gateway 
into and out of Tibetan areas and the western Sichuan 
prefectures of Ganzi and Aba (Tibetan:  Kardze and Ngaba), which 
have a combined population of over one million ethnic Tibetans, 
are now just a few hours drive out of the city. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
TRYING TO STEER CLEAR OF BIG BROTHER 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Several people with whom we spoke during our visit 
stressed that Tibetans in Chengdu are closely monitored by local 
security organs and the Religious Affairs Bureau.  One 
individual noted, however, that ethnic Tibetans from outside of 
the city also come to Chengdu specifically in order to use 
long-distance telephone and Internet services to communicate 
with relatives in India and in other countries under the 
assumption that the telecommunications facilities may be "safer" 
(i.e., more private) than those in their own hometowns. 
According to the interlocutor, this assumption is misplaced as 
Tibet Street is closely "eavesdropped upon" by security organs. 
 
¶4. (C) We were told that until fairly recently several shops and 
restaurants had displayed (albeit discreetly) photos of the 
Dalai Lama as well as of the rinpoche (living Buddha) known 
formally as the 17th Karmapa Trinlay Thaye Dorje, or "Karmapa," 
who escaped from China to India in 1999.   According to a number 
of shopkeepers, however, RAB teams swept through Tibet Street in 
early June and forced businesses to remove all such photos. 
When asked whether photos of the Karmapa Lama were available, 
print shop owners said that such sales were now forbidden - "We 
don't dare."  Nevertheless, we were able to find one photo of 
the Dalai Lama in a Tibetan restaurant, displayed discreetly 
inside a private dining room. 
 
----------------------- 
THE TALKS 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Local scholars we came across at Tibet Street shared with 
us their understanding of discussions between the Dalai Lama's 
representatives and central government authorities in Beijing. 
One university professor commented, "I have heard about (the 
talks), but I hold few hopes.  I think the Chinese Government is 
negotiating only to help its international image and create a 
good environment for the Olympics ~ China is just waiting for 
the Dalai Lama to pass away."  On the other hand, a Tibetan 
academic originally from Ganzi Prefecture in western Sichuan 
despaired over the lack of understanding of China among Tibetans 
in exile.  "They have a policy (of approaching China), but no 
tactics ~ I think China is `sincere' in dealings with the Tibet 
issue, but it's extremely hard for China to make any political 
compromises within the framework of its Constitution." 
 
------------------------------------ 
STREET IMPRESSIONS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) From what we picked up during our trip, Tibet Street 
serves as a "magnet" for ethnic Tibetans not just due to its 
approximately one hundred shops and restaurants that cater to 
Tibetan tastes.  The area is also home to two hospitals, the 
Number 363 Military Hospital and the Tibetan Autonomous Region 
Hospital, which have a history of treating Tibetan patients. 
 
CHENGDU 00000192  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
In addition, Tibet Street is close to the Southwest Minorities 
University, a center for ethnic minority students from 
throughout the region.  Chengdu itself is home to three 
retirement facilities for ethnic Tibetan government officials: 
one near Tibet Street, one near the main railroad station, and 
one in the Shuangliu District. 
 
¶7. (U) Tibet Street boasts numerous shops selling Tibetan 
religious goods such as prayer flags, thangkas (religious 
paintings), yak butter, incense, and statuary.  According to 
shopkeepers, most of the smaller statues on sale are imported 
from Nepal or Taiwan.  Larger statues are manufactured in 
Chengdu's outlying districts or in Yunnan.  Some thangkas come 
from the Tibetan Autonomous Region, while others (generally 
cheaper and lower in quality) are made in Chengdu or Kunming. 
Incense comes from Nepal or India.  Cheaper goods such as prayer 
flags and khatas (white scarves used as ritual gifts during 
audiences with religious figures) are manufactured in rural 
areas of Chengdu and Sichuan.  Other shops sell non-religious 
goods in demand by Tibetans, such as blenders used for making 
butter tea and clothing for both monastic and lay use.  In 
addition, many shops sell items obviously intended for the 
tourist trade. 
 
¶8. (SBU) At least half of the merchants and tourists in the area 
actually appeared to be Han Chinese.  Many Tibetan shopkeepers 
were sinicized in dress and speech, as were younger Tibetans 
with whom we came in contact.  However, many more traditionally- 
garbed Tibetan monks and laypeople were also present - locals 
said that these were mostly visitors to the area, mainly from 
the ethnic Tibetan areas of Sichuan.  There were at least one 
half-dozen cheap hostels with signs in Tibetan, where rooms 
could be had for as little as five RMB (about 65 cents) a night. 
 Many of those establishments had so-called "massage parlors" or 
"hair salons" nearby, where young women (mostly of Han descent, 
judging from appearances) lounged on couches.  Han and Tibetan 
beggars were both common and aggressive. 
 
---------------------- 
COMMENT 
---------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) While our stroll of several hours through Tibet Street 
could not of course give us a comprehensive look at Chengdu's 
ethnic Tibetans, it did provide an interesting glimpse at some 
of the undercurrents issues at play within the community.  While 
the great majority of the city's Tibetans live and work near 
Tibet Street, smaller populations live in the Shuangliu District 
(near the airport in the southwest quadrant of the city) and 
near Chengdu's main railroad station in the north.  In addition, 
there are other clusters of ethnic Tibetan populations in 
outlying rural districts such as Pixian, to the city's northwest. 
BOUGHNER