Beijing: Tibet will help improve China's image, said a state-run Chinese daily as it went on to describe Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as a "cruel ruler in exile".
An editorial "Real Tibet can't be concealed by Dalai's lies" in the Global Times on Tuesday said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
"For all these years, there have been two Tibets in public opinion. One is the real Tibet. The other is an imaginary one hyped by the Dalai Lama clique and Western opinion who often denounced that Tibet is not what it used to be under the rule of the CPC (Communist Party of China)."
Chinese media have often castigated the Dalai Lama, who escaped a Chinese government crack down on Tibet, leading a delegation of 20 close followers, including ministers, and sought exile in India.
The daily said that the "imaginary Tibet does not exist, but with the instigation of Western media and the Dalai Lama, this Tibet has a certain influence in the international opinion sphere" and called it "perhaps the longest-lasting lie in the modern world".
"This lie even forms moral and political correctness in the Western world, which blocks Westerners from knowing about the real Tibet. Some people believe only changes in the power structure and political relations between China and the West can break the lie," it added.
The BBC had then reported about the repression in Tibet. It said that a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed, and a military commission began ruling the city. The BBC report said that an estimated 2,000 people died during the three days of fighting between the Tibetans and the Chinese army.
The Global Times editorial said that the 14th Dalai Lama is lauded as a "saint" and his image was made into a smiling and wise old man.
"But his record when he ruled Tibet will thwart the Western public's notions. The Dalai Lama never dares to talk about his past. This cruel ruler in exile once received the Nobel Peace Prize plotted by Western forces. He also enjoyed the spotlight as a guest of Western leaders. But once the Western opinion reveals his shadowy past, he will be exposed as a cheater," it said.
Posing a query "What should Tibet be like?", the daily quickly added: "Western opinion articulates it into an original ecological community with no association with the modern world. They view Tibetan people as aborigines and see all modern facilities in Tibet as destruction."
"This is an unfair and unreasonable mentality. It is for the Tibetan public and Chinese people as a whole to assess the social achievements of Tibet. They know what Tibet most needs and care more about Tibet's development than any external forces," it said.
The editorial went on to say that Tibet has achieved remarkable political progress and undergone unprecedented modern infrastructure construction.
"Besides, this was all done with Tibet's culture and ecology protected. Compared to Native Americans in the US, the Tibetans have kept their originality more.
"The lies told by the West will not last long. As China gradually moves to the center of the world stage, people across the world will have the chance to see the real Tibet. Tibet will help improve China's image. The Dalai Lama clique that has become an appendage to external forces to destabilize Tibet is bound to be the loser as time goes by," it stressed.
