No immigration of other ethnic groups: Tibetan official

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, September 25, 2003

No immigration of other ethnic groups: Tibetan official

There has been no immigration of other ethnic groups into Tibet and Tibet "will make good use of every cent given by the central government and other provinces and municipalities", said Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional Government, told a group of Russian journalists at a joint interview.

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A leading official of the Tibet Autonomous Region said Wednesday in Lhasa that there has been no immigration of other ethnic groups into Tibet.

Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional Government, told a group of Russian journalists at a joint interview that the population growth in the region was mainly natural growth rather than immigration of any other ethnic groups.

"Tibet now has a total population of 2.62 million, and 92 percent are ethnic Tibetans," he said of the Tibetan ethnic group as the majority of the Tibetan population and no such issue as immigration in Tibet.

The birth rate in Tibet is 18 per thousand and the mortality rate six per thousand. This makes the growth rate around 12 per thousand, which means a natural growth of about 30,000 persons annually, he said.

Tibet's rural areas are free from the implementation of the national family planning policy. Instead the local government encourages local residents to "bear and rear better children."

The chairman said the migrant population in the region is increasing with economic development and the construction of a railway into the region.

But these people will not end up as permanent residents because of the bad weather and geographical conditions, he stressed.

"The ratio of ethnic groups in Tibet will not change dramatically," he said.

Tibet to make good use of every cent from central government

Qiangba Puncog said that Tibet "will make good use of every cent given by the central government and other provinces and municipalities."

The official noted that the autonomous regional government attached importance to the use of capital allocated by the central government and the assistance given by other provinces and municipalities as the Tibetan people knew very well that all this money was hard earned.

Since the central government has granted Tibet the maximum preferential policy and selfless assistance, the local regional government will make good use of the precious funds for the leap-frogging development of Tibet, he said.

During the Tenth Five-year Plan period (2001-2005), the central government and all other provinces and municipalities provided Tibet with more than 90 billion yuan (about 10.88 billion US dollars).

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