China woos overseas Tibetans

The Tibet Autonomous Region is expected to set up an office to communicate with and serve overseas Tibetans this month, according to a Friday report from the Hong Kong-based Ming Pao.

There are about 150,000 Tibetans living overseas, but Tibet does not have an organ to serve them while all other provinces and autonomous regions in China have overseas Chinese affairs offices, the report said.

The establishment of such an organ would be helpful to overseas Tibetans and united front work, Xiong Kunxin, a professor of ethnic studies at the Minzu University of China, told the Global Times.

In the past, some young Tibetans who left with the expectation of meeting the Dalai Lama have to face the fact that they could not meet him and fall into a bad situation, Xiong said. "These Tibetans would like to come back, but they do not have money, and they still worry that they might be arrested on return."

If the office helps them to contact their relatives and support them to come back, it would be better for solving some problems involving overseas Tibetans, Xiong said.

China began to change its thinking toward overseas Tibetan affairs and the united front work in 2009, the Ming Pao reported, when Chinese officials first affirmed it would carry out patriotic work with overseas Tibetans while meeting with overseas Tibetans and their relatives during the Tibetan New Year.

The government's new methods will definitely guide and impact overseas Tibetans, and when returned overseas Tibetans go abroad again and tell others about their personal experiences, more will return, Xiong said.

By the end of last month, the Dalai Lama said that he had seen "encouraging signs" in the central government's attitude toward Tibet, Reuters reported.