Quote Originally Posted by tequila View Post
Ray: China has targeted Xinjiang and Tibet for massive economic development for decades. This went into overdrive especially in the past 8 years or so, when development of "interior" provinces became a major priority. Per capita, Tibet receives more subsidies from the central government than any other province. Infrastructure and construction investment in the TAR and Qinghai is at roughly 2x the level as in southeastern provinces. It is this massive government spending that has led to the enormous increase in urbanization in Tibet in the past decade, as well as the correspondingly huge increase in the Han population.

Of course this spending has to be seen in the context of China's program of "modernization" of the TAR and the western regions, where modernization brings both economic development but also greater control from the center. As with most "modernization" programs, the indigenous population is marginalized as it doesn't possess the requisite social or economic skills necessary to compete.
It is an interesting point that you raise about the infrastructure development in Tibet and the huge finances funnelled in for the same.

Since as you say the Tibetans do not have the social or economic skills, it obviously means that the financial spinoff that is being invested in the projects is not going to the Tibetans, but to others.

Therefore, such a situation does bring in heartburns, even if it is irrational.

People, who as a community, are looked as controlling the economy and having the wealth, normally are not very well liked by those who think that they are not getting a share of the pie.

Maybe, that could be the feeling that the Tibetan harbour, notwithstanding the progress done to them by China.

I would also wonder as to how the same Tibetan stock who are socially and economically backward are doing quite well for themselves outside Tibet. This makes one wonder if the Chinese are really doing much to bring emancipation to the Tibetans in Tibet.

After all, the Tibetans outside Tibet and those within Tibet are from the same stock and with the same skills!