Publications

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Racial Discrimination in Tibet (2000)

Discrimination in Housing

Residential Segregation and Discriminatory Development

With the rapid and uncontrolled development of urban centres in Tibet, the Tibetan quarters of most towns and cities are now dwarfed by larger and more expansive Chinese quarters, which generally enjoy a much larger range of public facilities. The reason for this is that the local governments focus the majority of their housing budget on areas with large populations of Chinese settlers, and in most cases ignore the more pressing needs of the Tibetan communities.

30 year-old Tsering worked as a staff member in the Audit Office ("Dhom-tsi Chuy") of Malho County from 1992 before escaping to India in October 1999. "It was my responsibility to keep accounts of the annual developments of the County and research on the overall productions and revenues of the county. The county authorities would receive around 12 lakh (1, 200,000) yuan from the central government for the purpose of developments in the area. Every year they would use at least 9 lakh yuan - or 75% of their grant - on building government offices and improving the Chinese residential quarters. They would only designate a small percentage for the development of facilities in the Tibetan quarters, if they gave any at all. It made me very angry, but I said nothing for fear of losing my job."

It is the discriminatory distribution of housing funds like these that have caused massive discrepancies in the standard of living between Tibetans and Chinese in the same city. These were apparent as early as 1979, when the first official delegation of representatives from the Tibetan government-in-exile were allowed to view the communist's "progress" in the Qinghai (Amdo) town of Tashikyil:

"Here they found two entirely separate worlds: the original city, still inhabited by Tibetans, and a Chinese "new town" surrounding it. The Tibetan section's buildings were in total disrepair, its streets muddy and impassable. The people lived in dark, decaying rooms with barely any furniture or utensils and no running water and only intermittent electricity. On the other hand, the Chinese quarter, though itself showing signs of neglect, was newly built, its inhabitants far better fed and clothed than the Tibetans."

One 44 year-old farmer from Gyantse County arrived in exile in February 2000. "There are 12 members in my family, and we all lived in a tiny 2-room house next to the land where we grew crops. Over the last 10 years there was a lot of construction in my area, and the local authorities spent a lot of money building new housing. They even used some of our land for their construction, saying that it belonged to the government and they didn't have to pay for it. When the buildings were finished, they were immediately occupied by the families of Chinese settlers. They have electricity, running water, inside toilets and many other facilities, but nothing has changed for the Tibetan families living in poor houses next to them. We had to use kerosene lamps for light, and collect our water for cooking and drinking from the river. We weren't even allowed to try and improve our houses ourselves, because the authorities told us that we had to get a special permit if we wished to make any alterations. Yet the Chinese residents next door can do what they like, when they like."

28 year-old Buchung was a nomad from Damshung County, Lhasa Municipality, before escaping to India in January 2000. "There are nine members in my family. When we took the animals grazing we would live in large traditional tents, but otherwise we lived in mud houses. Many Chinese settlers came to the area over the last few years, and with their arrival the local authorities also decided to install electricity. We were very excited at this new development, but we soon found out that we would be unable to afford it. The authorities collected 50 yuan from each family for the "privilege" of using electricity, and then a further 40 yuan per month for each 100 watt light bulb. Most Tibetan families in my area could not afford this, but the Chinese would use a lot of electricity, and leave lights on even when they went out. I think they were paying a lot less than us, or else received the power free of charge."

One interview with a Tibetan farmer from a village in northwest Sichuan described how substantial differences in living standards exist even when Tibetans and Chinese live in close proximity. "The Chinese do have running water [in their houses] but not a single Tibetan family has running water" The Chinese houses do have some kind of sewerage system; it's not very good, but it is some kind of system, and they also have electricity, which the Tibetan families don't have" Even where the [Tibetan and Chinese] houses are mixed together, the Tibetans do not have electricity."

An extensive examination of a Chinese and Tibetan town in close proximity in Eastern Tibet also revealed substantial inequalities. In the Chinese town of Liang He Gu, where government-run work units coordinate the transport of food from the city of Chengdu, there was a basic health clinic, running water and abundant electricity. The residents were even promised a satellite dish from the Chinese government. In sharp contrast, the nearby Tibetan town of Dhargye had no electricity, no health clinic and no government benefits:

"The children were almost all barefoot, the houses built of mud bricks, and an old electricity pole with no connecting wires stood next to a murky, lime-green pond in the centre of the village. With no evidence of any modern improvements in the town, it is entirely plausible that the town reached its current state of "development" by the turn of the century."

The absence of adequate electrical power for cooking in Tibetan dwellings has forced many to rely heavily on kerosene. But this fuel can only be purchased with special coupons, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions such as attending work sessions or neighbourhood meetings. While coupons may be bought on the open market, their validity may be cancelled at any time without compensation, and their prices are liable to massive increases without prior warning. Tibetans are thus forced into a no-win situation.