The foreign depiction of Tibet as a hideous place where religious freedom is ignored and culture and ecology ravaged is far from the truth, Tibet Autonomous Region Chairman Qiangba Puncog said in Hong Kong on July 18.

Puncog made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the Tibetan Culture Week, which opened in Hong Kong last Friday.

He said that Tibet now has over 1,700 religious venues and more than 460,000 registered monks and nuns, and important religious festivals and activities are regularly held. Each year, the capital Lhasa alone receives nearly 1 million Buddhist pilgrims.

"Tibetan people's religious freedom and traditional custom are fully respected and protected here," he stressed.

Besides, Tibet now boasts 410,000 square kilometers of natural conservancy areas, taking up about one-third of the region's total area, Puncog said, adding Tibet is still the best place in China in terms of water and air quality and promising more measures will be taken in the future for ecological preservation.

The chairman said the central government and the Tibet Autonomous Region government have always attached high importance to the issue of environment protection when developing the region. And nowadays, environmental concerns are given attention as never before.

"Taking the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which is still under construction, as an example. A great amount of money has been put into the preservation of plantation and animal environment as the railway goes ahead. In fact, the project has become a model in solving the contradiction between development and environment protection."

Responding to a question seeking his comment on suggestions that Tibet should be left at its primitive look for the best of preservation, Puncog said Tibetan people also want to savor the modern civilization and they cannot just live in a backward situation as in the past.

"Development is the key to all kinds of problems," he said. "In developing Tibet, we stick to two criteria, that is, what is the best for the Tibetan people and what is the fastest way for its development."

"I myself am a Tibetan," said the chairman. "My forefathers had been living on this piece of land, and so will be my descendants. You can count on me that I will love Tibet as I love my eyes."

The China Tibetan Culture Week is being held in Hong Kong from July 15 to 21 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region, which features a large exhibition of Tibetan cultural relics, religious rituals conducted by the Living Buddhas as well as performances of Tibetan songs and dances.

The cultural week is jointly sponsored by the Information Office of the State Council, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the people's government of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Source: Xinhua