China holds 65th anniv event of Tibet takeover along India, Bhutan borders
BEIJING: China, which is building numerous villages in Tibet close to its borders with India and Bhutan, has held several celebratory events to mark its takeover of Tibet in the new border villages with a mix of border troops and the local population, the official media here reported.
China, which refers to Tibet by its Chinese name Xizang, in recent years as part of new nomenclature of all references to the Tibetan region celebrates March 28 as democratic reform day in the Himalayan region marking the end of the rule of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959. Chinese troops took over Tibet in 1951.
“Last Thursday marked the 65th anniversary of the democratic reform that ended feudal serfdom in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, with multiple grand celebrations and commemorative activities held across the region,” state-run Xinhua news agency reported. State-run Global Times in its report highlighted the commemoration of the day in the new border villages built along the borders of India and Bhutan.
China has been pressing ahead with its plans to build well-furnished villages in both the Indian and Bhutan borders, raising concerns in both countries.
According to a report by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post last month, three of the villages with new buildings to accommodate locals and soldiers were built on the disputed boundary with Bhutan. The Post report said the villages were part of China’s state-led poverty alleviation scheme to provide better living conditions but they also doubled as “citadels” to strengthen national security.