BEIJING: President Xi Jinping attended a grand ceremony in Lhasa on Thursday during a rare visit to Tibet, where he urged “ethnic unity and religious harmony” in a region where China is accused of rights abuses.
The vast high-altitude area on the country’s western edge, established as an autonomous region in 1965 — six years after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile — was once a hotbed for protest against Communist Party rule.
Rights groups accuse Beijing’s leaders of suppressing Tibetan culture and imposing massive surveillance, though authorities claim their policies have fostered stability and rapid economic development in one of China’s poorest regions.
“To govern, stabilize and develop Tibet, we must first safeguard political stability, social stability, ethnic unity and religious harmony,” Xi, visiting for the first time since 2021, told a group of the region’s officials on Wednesday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
On Thursday, party officials lauded the region’s progress and urged ethnic unity during an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the autonomous region.
