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BEIJING - Tibetans are enjoying a "golden age" under Chinese rule, while the Dalai Lama aims to drag the region back to the "dark ages" of feudal serfdom, China said on Tuesday.
"I believe you can see clearly that the economic, social and cultural development of Tibet are in a golden age," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.
She spoke after defending Chinese rule by listing policies she said had benefited the Himalayan region, including ethnic autonomy, religious freedom and preferential policies for Tibetans.
"The Tibetan people have seen substantial benefits. A handful of rioters cannot speak for all the Tibetan people," she said.
China has come under fierce international criticism over its crackdown on protests that began in Tibet on March 10 and spread to other areas of China with Tibetan populations.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people have been killed in the crackdown.
China, however, says 20 people have been killed by rioters, and blames the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, for instigating the protests.
"The Dalai Lama was a ruler of theocratic serfdom, which is the darkest slavery in mankind's history, with no form of democracy, freedom or human rights," Jiang said.
"The Dalai Lama is seeking to put millions of emancipated serfs back into the dark ages. I wonder, who in the world will accept that?"
Jiang said many in the West were "deceived" by Tibetan "separatists" and ignorant of Chinese government policies on the region. China has consistently emphasised what it says is the West's lack of understanding of the situation.
It has blamed foreign media for distorting the facts about the protests despite barring Western reporters from affected areas.
China insists it will not talk with the Dalai Lama until he renounces the goal of Tibetan independence.
However, the exiled spiritual leader consistently denies supporting independence, saying he wants only cultural autonomy for his people. - AFP/ir
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