Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the regional government of Tibet Autonomous Region, speaks at a press conference in Beijing June 20, 2007. [china.org.cn]
 

The chairman of the regional government of Tibet Autonomous Region has said that the majority of Tibetan people do not want the Dalai Lama to return to the region.

Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the regional government, was asked to comment, at a press conference in Beijing, on two letters written by Puncog Wanggyai, a member of the Communist Party in Tibet, to Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2004 and 2005 asking for permission to let the Dalai Lama come back to Tibet. He was asked if the letters represented the view of the majority of the Tibetan people.

"I have not seen the letters but I have heard about the content. The content I know about differs greatly from the common opinions held by the majority of the Tibetan people," he said.

"His (Puncog Wanggyai) opinion does not represent the view of the majority of Tibetan people, nor does it represent views of the majority of officials in Tibet. It only represents a handful of people," said Puncog.

"The Dalai Lama travels around the world in Buddhist robes not for religious matters but to make Tibet issue an international one and to realize his own political purposes," he said.

He said the Dalai Lama's pursuit of autonomy or establishment of the greater Tibetan area actually disguised his pursuit of independence.

"People from the Dalai Lama side believe, 'once this succeeds, independence is not far away', and this reveals what they really want to do," he said.

Puncog said the channel of communication with the Dalai Lama and his personal representative has always been open. "I think the key question lies in the Dalai Lama giving up the claims of independence and separatist activities," he said, "we all expect him to show his sincerity and truly do some good deeds for the Tibetan people and the country during his lifetime."