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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENGDU 000254 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KIPR CH
SUBJECT: LHASA TECH COMPANY COMMERCIALIZES TIBETAN LANGUAGE 
E-DICTIONARIES 
 
REF: CHENGDU 87 
 
CHENGDU 00000254  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.   (SBU) Summary:  The Tibet Luozang Digital S&T Co., founded 
by an ethnically Tibetan computer science professor at Tibet 
University, produces two innovative Tibetan-Chinese-English 
electronic dictionary and language learning machines.  Professor 
Luozang, who holds four PRC patents on his electronic dictionary 
designs, discussed his work October 22 with PolEconOffs. 
Luozang's work has been strongly supported by the Chinese 
central government's 15-year old program to make it easier to 
use the Tibetan language on computers, and by grants from the 
Science and Technology (S&T) Bureau of the Tibet Autonomous 
Region (TAR).  Luozang expects that the product will help 
Tibetans become more proficient in both Chinese and their native 
Tibetan.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Tibetan-Chinese-English Electronic Dictionary Locally Designed 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  Professor Luozang's Tibetan-Chinese-English 
e-dictionary and Tibetan language learning machine and his 
recently founded Tibet Luozang Digital S&T Co. are the fruit of 
one decade's work in the Chinese government's program on 
computerization of the Tibetan language, and of his research 
years in the United States at the University of Virginia and 
elsewhere.  Luozang (who uses only one name) graduated in 
computer science from Qinghai Normal University in 1994, 
whereupon he moved back to the TAR and become a teacher at Tibet 
University.  After attending a summer course on networking 
technology at the Chinese University of Electronic Science and 
Technology in Chengdu, he set up the first Tibetan language 
website in the TAR at Tibet University.  As a visiting scholar 
at Nanjing University in 2000 - 2001, he developed a 
Tibetan-Chinese-English three-way dictionary and a Tibetan 
dictionary that ran in software.  Luozang has been involved in 
the Chinese government's efforts to develop a national standard 
for computer code representation of the Tibetan language since 
¶1993.  In addition, he has worked on various problems in Tibetan 
language computing, including Tibetan language fonts, databases, 
electronic maps with Tibetan language text, and Tibetan language 
text input. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U)  Luozang spent four years of work-study at the 
University of Virginia from 2004 - 2008, where he earned an MA 
in information technology and designed Tibetan and Chinese 
language data retrieval systems for the university library. 
While in the United States,  the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. 
introduced Luozang in September 2005 to visiting President Hu 
Jintao as an outstanding  young Chinese researcher.  Luozang 
returned to Tibet University in March 2008.  Luozang's 
achievements were celebrated in a June 2009 Tibet Commercial 
News report article (URL at  tinyurl.com/luozang-tibetarticle ). 
  Luozang currently teaches a course in Tibetan on Tibetan 
language computing as well as other courses in the Chinese 
langauge. 
 
 
 
Tibet Luozang S&T Co. Founded  by Returned Scholars 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶4.  (U) Luozang in June 2008 along with other students who had 
returned from study abroad founded the Tibet Luozang Digital 
Science and Technology Company (website URL at www.tibetweb.net/ 
) and registered it in Lhasa as a small business.  The company 
has thus far won four patents from the State Intellectual 
Property Office of the PRC.  The company has already marketed 
three Tibetan-Chinese-English electronic products: 
 
 
 
--  An electronic trilingual Tibetan-Chinese-English dictionary 
which sells for RMB 1200  (USD 175).  The e-dictionary contains 
many Tibetan and bilingual general and specialized dictionaries. 
 
--  The "Tibetan-Chinese-English" learning machine, which was 
marketed for RMB 1700 (USD 250) in October 2009,  which runs on 
Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system.  The Learning 
Machine contains Tibetan, Chinese, and English language study 
materials from the PRC national curricula, a dictionary, and a 
function that pronounces words and phrases in both the Lhasa and 
Amdo dialects of the Tibetan language. 
 
 
CHENGDU 00000254  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
-- Software that enables computers running the Microsoft Windows 
XP operating system, by far the most popular operating system in 
the PRC, to use the Microsoft Himalaya Tibetan language input 
system.  (Note: More recent Microsoft operating systems, 
including Vista and Windows 7 include native support for 
Microsoft Himalaya language font and not need to use this 
software.) 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Subsidies from the Chinese government help bring the 
prices of the e-dictionaries down by several hundred RMB so they 
can be more affordable to Tibetan students.  Luozang said that 
thus far 2000 units of the Tibetan-Chinese-English Electronic 
dictionary, which was marketed in late 2008, have been sold. 
The software and design are developed by the Tibet Luozang S&T 
Company in Lhasa, while production is handled by a company in 
Shenzhen. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The company has nine full-time employees and some 
part-time workers.  Luozang himself is a part-time employee 
since the company is a sideline from his day job at Tibet 
University, where he teaches computer science to undergraduates 
and graduate students.  Luozang continues to apply for and 
receive assistance from a number of government organizations, 
including the TAR Education Department, the TAR Financial 
Department, the TAR S&T Bureau, as well as the TAR Committee on 
Reform and Development.  Thus far, the TAR S&T Bureau has 
provided 270,000 RMB (USD 34,000) in support of development of 
the company's products.  Luozang plans to go the United States 
in December 2008 to make agreements with bookstores that will 
market the company's products in the United States. 
 
 
 
Luozang Products Benefit from Ongoing Language Input 
Standardization 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The widespread adoption of the Microsoft Himalayan 
Tibetan language input system, and native support for the system 
in the most recent two releases of Windows, has made computing 
in Tibetan much easier than it was earlier, when Tibetans used a 
variety of less functional and mutually incompatible Tibetan 
text input applications programs.  (Note:  The development of 
input methods for Tibetan had been complicated by its 
complicated writing system, borrowed from Sanskrit, that 
vertically stacks certain letters to make word components and 
from a history of competing transliteration systems making input 
using the Roman alphabet challenging.  End Note.)  E-mail and 
website use in Tibetan has become much easier over the last 
several years as the use of this input system has spread in 
Tibetan areas of China (reftel).  According to a February 2009 
Lhasa Daily report (at URL tinyurl.com/gangjie), the TAR 
government ordered government cadres to use a separate software 
package developed at Tibet University named Gangjie, which uses 
the same internationally accepted standard Tibetan character 
codes.  According to the report, Gangjie is an alternative to 
the flood of many Tibetan language input software packages from 
outside China used in the TAR.  An online notice about training 
in Tibetan language computing in Chamdo, TAR (at URL 
http://tinyurl.com/tibetan-software ) mentions other Tibetan 
language software packages developing in China, including a 
Tibetan language version of Red Flag Linux and the Shanghai 
NeoShine Tibetan office software developed by the China Standard 
Software Corp. and Tibet University. 
 
 
 
For Fear of Pirates, 
 
No Software Version of the Trilingual Electronic Dictionaries 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Luozang told PolEconOff that the company has no plans 
to market software products that provide the same functionality 
as its hardware products.  "If I did this, the pirates would get 
it, my company would be left without any income and just 
collapse," Luozang said. 
 
 
 
ConGen Chengdu Warmly Welcomed in Its October 22 Visit 
 
 
CHENGDU 00000254  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  PolEconOffs visited the Tibet Luozang Digital S&T Co. 
on October 22.  Many company employees, including Luozang, wore 
traditional Tibetan dress and large banners in Chinese welcomed 
the Consulate's visit.  PolEconOff, who was greeted by Luozang, 
electronic dictionary in hand, as the Consulate group entered 
the company office asked Luozang questions in Tibetan about the 
company's products.  The conversation and the visit were 
recorded by the company on video tape and film.  (Pictures of 
the visit are at URL tinyurl.com/luozangvisit  )  Luozang said 
that his company's main aim is to produce products useful to 
society; they cannot hope to make a great deal of money in the 
small Tibetan language market.  Luozang said that the software 
and dictionaries are being improved and new functions are being 
added.  For example, the third major Tibetan dialect, Khamke, 
will be added to the Tibetan learning machine's Tibetan text 
pronunciation function. 
 
 
 
¶10.   (SBU) Luozang offered three of the Tibetan Learning 
Machines to the visitors from ConGen Chengdu.  PolEconOff 
declined the gifts, saying that "Our disciplinary commission is 
tougher than yours," eliciting a smile from the accompany FAO 
officer who is a Communist Party member.  (Note: The 
disciplinary commission of the Chinese Communist party and local 
party committee counterparts are charged with preventing and 
prosecuting cases of corruption among communist party members. 
End Note.]  PolEconoff bought a copy of the Tibetan Learning 
Machine and a computer keyboard marked in the Tibetan alphabet 
for the going prices while the company video cameraman taped the 
purchase. 
 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Two Xinhua journalists who did not declare themselves 
also attended the meeting. 
 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment: Strong support for the computerization of the 
Tibetan language and now this inexpensive 
Tibetan-Chinese-English dictionary are a positive side of the 
PRC's policy towards Tibet.  The Chinese government is now 
struggling with the implications of greater online use of 
Tibetan, as enforced vacations for some Tibetan language 
websites and the recent ban on Tibetan language messaging on QQ, 
China's most popular instant messaging service shows. 
PolEconOff has found the Luozang Trilingual dictionary helpful 
in studying Tibetan.  The Tibetan-English dictionaries are much 
less useful than the Tibetan-Chinese dictionaries.   Although 
improvements are still needed in the dictionaries, it is 
already, especially the Tibetan language pronunciation function, 
helpful for foreign students of Tibetan and for Tibetans 
studying Chinese, as many rural Tibetans have inadequate Chinese 
and Tibetan language skills.  This and other Tibetan language 
information technology products can help.  This product and its 
descendants will likely prove helpful to students, especially as 
improvements in technology and perhaps also TAR government 
subsidies make it more affordable to Tibetan students.   The 
Luozang company is small and may benefit from finding a 
technologically powerful partner. 
BROWN