Many Chinese media outlets have started to increasingly refer to Tibet as “Xizang” days after Beijing issued a white paper titled “CPC Policies on the Governance of Xizang in the New Era: Approach and Achievements”, which outlines developments in Tibet since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.
The report was released in November by the State Council Information Office to highlight Tibet’s economic, livelihood and cultural development under Communist Party leadership.
Chinese media toes the party’s line
This was the first time that the name “Xizang” was used as the English translation for the Tibet autonomous region.
“Xizang” is the Chinese romanisation of the Mandarin script for “Tibet”.
Since the time the white paper was released on November 10, the English-language website of state news agency Xinhua used “Xizang” in 128 articles, while only five used “Tibet”, all of which were in reference to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the geographic term covering most of the Tibet autonomous region, reports South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Similarly, the English website of People’s Daily, the party’ mouthpiece, has increasingly been using “Xizang” since November 10.
The deliberate attempt at rebranding exercise reflects China’s attempts to establish and destabilise the Tibetan identity, which has long been associated with struggle, freedom, culture, and of course, the Dalai Lama.
By carefully changing names, experts argue, China seeks to foster what Xi has called a “sense of community for the Chinese nation”, intended to strengthen national identity in ethnic minority regions.
“The Chinese government’s change in Tibet’s English name does not reflect a stance on ethnicity but on sovereignty,” Barry Sautman, an emeritus professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, told SCMP.
“It is to vindicate the sovereign right to use a term derived from China’s official language for a part of China’s territory,” he was quoted as saying.
Tibetans react
The move to rename Tibet has drawn condemnation from the president of the Tibetan government-in-exile, accusing China of exterminating the Tibetan identity.
In a statement, Tenpa Tsering, in a statement marking Human Rights Day, said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was “forging a strong sense of the Chinese national as one single community, promoting the Chinese language, the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism and developing socialist values”.
“Such infliction of suffering and oppression on the Tibetan people by the CCP authorities is unparalleled and unprecedented,” he said.
Tsering also said there has been a sharp increase in the appointment of Chinese officials in the Tibetan areas.
(With inputs from agencies)
