Dharamsala, April 1 (IANS) The migration of Han Chinese to Tibet in large numbers is having an adverse impact on the region’s ethnic culture, social life and environment, according to a US report.
‘The growth boom in Tibet has attracted many Han Chinese migrants and businesses, so today Lhasa no longer has the feel of a Tibetan city but rather that of a Chinese city with a Tibetan quarter,’ said a post on the website of the Tibetan government-in-exile here, quoting a US Senate delegation report issued Wednesday.
The delegation visited Tibet in September last year.
China’s policy to modernise Tibet was eroding Tibetan culture, and causing environmental damages and social ills from drugs to prostitution, it said.
The delegation underlined the need to involve and empower more Tibetans in decision-making and called for a US Consulate in Lhasa.
During the visit, the delegation assessed changes in economic development, infrastructure, Chinese migration, monastery restoration, environmental protection and other issues.
The Dalai Lama and his government-in-exile are based here. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed anti-Communist uprising.
