China issues white paper on Tibet, denouncing Dalai Lama's "middle way"

The Chinese government on Wednesday issued a white paper on southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, applauding its development path and denouncing the "middle way" advocated by the Dalai Lama.

The white paper, under the title "Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide", holds that Tibet's current development path is correct.

The "middle way" advocated by the Dalai Lama and his supporters negates a sound development path and attempts to create a "state within a state" on Chinese territory as an interim step towards the ultimate goal of full independence, says the white paper, released by the Information Office of the State Council.

"The only sensible alternative is for the Dalai Lama and his supporters to accept that Tibet has been part of China since antiquity, to abandon their goals of dividing China and seeking independence for Tibet, and to begin to act in the interests of Tibet and the country at large," it says. Endi