China’s Tibet marks anniversary with songs, dances, reminders of Party’s rule
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China’s Tibet marks anniversary with songs, dances, reminders of Party’s rule
Tibet marked its 60th year as a Chinese autonomous region on Thursday with songs, dances and a parade in its capital Lhasa. The festivities coincided with a rare visit by President Xi Jinping and a huge delegation from Beijing. In September 1965, six years after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in the wake of a failed uprising, the Communist Party established the Tibet Autonomous Region. China has exerted greater institutional control in Tibet – from requiring Tibetan Buddhism to be guided by the Chinese socialist system to demanding its people to “follow the party” Foreign journalists and diplomats still require special permission to set foot in Tibet, but China argues that the lives of ordinary people have dramatically improved.
BEIJING (Reuters) -Tibet marked its 60th year as a Chinese autonomous region on Thursday with songs, dances and a parade in its capital Lhasa with thousands cheering on, holding little red flags, amid placards telling all to heed the Communist Party’s leadership.
The festivities held at a massive square by the Potala Palace, the former winter residence of the Dalai Lama, coincided with a rare visit by President Xi Jinping and a huge delegation from Beijing that included senior leaders from the party and government.
In the parade broadcast on China’s national television, participants held aloft red placards reminding all of what Tibet needed to accomplish under the guidance of Xi.
“Unwaveringly focus on the four major tasks of ensuring stability, promoting development, protecting the ecological environment, and strengthening border defence,” one placard read.
“Adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and fully implement the Party’s strategy for governing Tibet in the new era,” another said.
In September 1965, six years after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in the wake of a failed uprising, the Communist Party established the Tibet Autonomous Region – China’s fifth and last autonomous region after Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Guangxi and Ningxia.
The designation is meant to confer ethnic minority groups such as the Tibetans greater say over policy matters, including freedom of religious belief. But human rights groups and exiles describe China’s rule in Tibet over the decades as “oppressive”, an accusation that Beijing rejects.
Since Xi became chief of the Communist Party in late 2012 and then president in early 2013, China has exerted greater institutional control in Tibet – from requiring Tibetan Buddhism to be guided by the Chinese socialist system to demanding its people to “follow the party”. Foreign journalists and diplomats still require special permission to set foot in Tibet.
China’s hold over Tibetan Buddhism even extends to how the next Dalai Lama should be picked. As the current Dalai Lama turned 90 this year, Beijing said the Chinese government would have the final say over his successor in the event of his death, rejecting the Dalai Lama’s claim that a non-profit institution set up by him would have the sole authority to do so.
China also opposes all contact between political leaders and the Dalai Lama, saying it would send the wrong signal to “separatist” forces. After Czech President Petr Pavel met with the Dalai Lama in India on a private trip this year, China said it would “cease all engagement” with him.
Amid foreign criticism of its rule in Tibet, China argues that the lives of ordinary people have dramatically improved.
From 2012 to 2024, Tibet’s road network nearly doubled to 120,000 km (74,565 miles), linking every town and village. Its economy also grew to 276.5 billion yuan ($39 billion) in 2024, a 155-fold increase from 1965, according to official data.
“Grateful to the general secretary, grateful to the Party Central Committee, and thankful to the people of the whole country,” one parade placard beamed.
($1 = 7.1722 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Tibet marks anniversary with songs, dances, reminders of Communist rule
Tibet marked its 60th year as a Chinese autonomous region on Thursday with songs, dances and a parade in its capital Lhasa. The festivities coincided with a rare visit by President Xi Jinping and a huge delegation from Beijing. China has exerted greater institutional control in Tibet – from requiring Tibetan Buddhism to be guided by the Chinese socialist system to demanding its people “follow the party” But human rights groups and exiles describe China’s rule in Tibet over the decades as “oppressive”, an accusation that Beijing rejects. The designation is meant to confer ethnic minority groups such as the Tibetans greater say over policy matters, including freedom of religious belief. It also extends to how the next Dalai Lama should be picked, rejecting the Dalai Lama’s assertion that a non-profit institution set up by him would have the sole authority to do so. The Dalai Lama, condemned by Beijing as a “wolf in monk’s robes”, are forbidden in Tibet.
Summary Tibet established by Beijing as an autonomous region in 1965
Xi makes rare visit to Tibet to mark anniversary
Festivities in Lhasa attended by more than 20,000 people
BEIJING, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Tibet marked its 60th year as a Chinese autonomous region on Thursday with songs, dances and a parade in its capital Lhasa with thousands cheering, holding little red flags, amid placards telling all to heed the Communist Party’s leadership.
The festivities held at a massive square by the Potala Palace, the former winter residence of the Dalai Lama, coincided with a rare visit by President Xi Jinping and a huge delegation from Beijing that included senior leaders from the party and government.
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In the parade broadcast on China’s national television, participants held aloft red placards reminding all of what Tibet needed to accomplish under the guidance of Xi.
“Unwaveringly focus on the four major tasks of ensuring stability, promoting development, protecting the ecological environment, and strengthening border defence,” one placard read.
“Adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and fully implement the Party’s strategy for governing Tibet in the new era,” another said.
In September 1965, six years after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in the wake of a failed uprising, the Communist Party established the Tibet Autonomous Region – China’s fifth and last autonomous region after Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Guangxi and Ningxia.
The designation is meant to confer ethnic minority groups such as the Tibetans greater say over policy matters, including freedom of religious belief. But human rights groups and exiles describe China’s rule in Tibet over the decades as “oppressive”, an accusation that Beijing rejects.
Since Xi became chief of the Communist Party in late 2012 and then president in early 2013, China has exerted greater institutional control in Tibet – from requiring Tibetan Buddhism to be guided by the Chinese socialist system to demanding its people “follow the party”. Foreign journalists and diplomats still require special permission to set foot in Tibet.
Amid foreign criticism of its rule in Tibet, China says the lives of ordinary people have dramatically improved and their rights have been under state protection.
From 2012 to 2024, Tibet’s road network nearly doubled to 120,000 km (74,565 miles), linking every town and village. Its economy also grew to 276.5 billion yuan ($39 billion) in 2024, a 155-fold increase from 1965, according to official data.
DALAI LAMA
China’s hold over Tibetan Buddhism also extends to how the next Dalai Lama should be picked. The aging cleric turned 90 last month.
Beijing said it has the final say over his successor when he dies, rejecting the Dalai Lama’s assertion that a non-profit institution set up by him would have the sole authority to do so.
China also opposes all contact between political leaders and the Dalai Lama, saying it would send the wrong signal to “separatist” forces.
After Czech President Petr Pavel met the Dalai Lama in India on a private trip this year, China said it would ” cease all engagement , opens new tab ” with him.
Images of the Dalai Lama, condemned by Beijing as a “wolf in monk’s robes”, are forbidden in Tibet.
“Any attempt to split the motherland and undermine Tibet’s stability is doomed to fail!” said Wang Huning, the Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader, on a stage in the heart of Lhasa while a seated Xi, who did not speak at Thursday’s festivities, looked on.
Despite the cheering crowds, songs and dances, the twin threats of “separatism” and instability in Tibet remain real and well in the minds of Chinese leaders.
Wang, repeating Xi’s exhortation a day earlier, said: “(We must) deepen our struggle against separatism.”
($1 = 7.1722 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Stephen Coates
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Taiwan to massively hike 2026 defence budget as US presses spending increase
Taiwan plans to boost defence spending by a fifth next year, surpassing 3% of gross domestic product. Move comes as China has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims. Taiwan also faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defence, mirroring pressure from the United States on Europe. President Lai Ching-te said this month he wanted to boost spending to more than 3 per cent of GDP next year. The plans included several special defence budget proposals totalling T$117.6 billion, for new fighter jets and boosting naval defences among others, which had been widely expected from the defence ministry in the coming parliament session this year. In March China unveiled a rise of 7.2% in this year’s defence spending, to 1.78 trillion yuan.
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan plans to boost defence spending by a fifth next year, surpassing 3% of gross domestic product, as it invests billions more in new equipment to better face down China and convince the United States it takes seriously calls to bolster its military.
The move comes as China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
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But Taiwan also faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defence, mirroring pressure from the United States on Europe. This month, President Lai Ching-te said he wanted to boost defence spending to more than 3% of GDP next year.
Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai told reporters that 2026 defence spending would reach T$949.5 billion ($31.27 billion). At 3.32% of GDP, the figure crosses a threshold of 3% for the first time since 2009, government figures showed.
“This is another concrete demonstration to the world and to our people of our determination and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and security, maintain stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, and fulfil our shared responsibilities to the world,” Cho said on Thursday.
Taiwan was following the “NATO model” to include spending on the coast guard and veterans in total defence expenditure, he added.
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That represents a rise of 22.9% over this year, Hsieh Chi-hsien, head of the defence ministry’s comptroller bureau, told reporters.
The plans included several special defence budget proposals totalling T$117.6 billion, for new fighter jets and boosting naval defences among others, which had been widely expected from the defence ministry in the coming parliament session this year.
Taiwan was including spending for the coast guard in its total defence budget for the first time, two senior officials briefed on the matter separately told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“They are standing on the frontline,” said one, referring to the coast guard, which figures in regular stand-offs with China’s coast guard and would, in time of war, be pressed into the navy’s effort to defend Taiwan.
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“Facing new types of threat, including grey-zone tactics, it is necessary to include the coast guard in defence spending,” the official said, referring to Chinese pressure tactics such as regular coast guard patrols near Taiwan’s islands.
Taiwan’s government has made military modernisation a key policy platform and has repeatedly pledged to spend more on its defences given the rising threat from China, including developing made-in-Taiwan submarines.
China’s air force flies almost daily missions into the skies near Taiwan, and holds periodic war games, the last in April.
China is also rapidly modernising its armed forces, with new aircraft carriers, stealth fighter jets and missiles.
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In March China unveiled a rise of 7.2% in this year’s defence spending, to 1.78 trillion yuan ($248.17 billion), outpacing its 2025 economic growth target of about 5%.
($1=30.3650 Taiwan dollars)
($1=7.1724 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez)
Trump touts his diplomatic record, but the results are mixed
U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently invoked his success at resolving international conflicts. He has put himself squarely in the middle of the diplomatic attempts to bring peace but has wavered on what he’s willing to do to achieve it. “I was dealing with them a little bit and I said, ‘I’m not going to do a trade deal if you guys are going to fight?’ It’s crazy.” “I got to know them through trade,” Trump said later in a radio interview. “Why you guys fighting?” “Why not?” “I’m going to ask you a question.” “Why don’t you answer it?” “Because I don’t know the answer.” “Because you don’t want to answer it” “Because it’s crazy” “I’ve got a question” “You don’t have a answer” “What do you want to know?” “You can ask me anything.” “What would you like to know about me?” “Can you tell me what you think?” “Would you like me to tell you what I think?”
WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently invoked his success at resolving international conflicts, casting himself as a global peacemaker while his aides and some foreign leaders push for him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize
He has found Russia’s war in Ukraine to be far more vexing. Trump has put himself squarely in the middle of the diplomatic attempts to bring peace but has wavered on what he’s willing to do to achieve it.
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Here are some of the foreign disputes Trump has intervened in since beginning his second term in January, using a mix of threats, inducements and the power of his office to shape the behaviors of allies and foes.
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
Trump brought together the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8 to sign a joint declaration pledging to seek peaceful relations between nations that have been at odds since the late 1980s.
“I got to know them through trade,” Trump said later in a radio interview. “I was dealing with them a little bit and I said, ‘Why you guys fighting?’ Then I said, ‘I’m not going to do a trade deal if you guys are going to fight. It’s crazy.'”
The two countries had committed to a ceasefire in 2023. In March they said they had agreed on the text of a draft peace agreement, but that deal has not been signed.
The White House-brokered declaration falls short of a formal peace treaty that would place legally binding obligations on both sides. One snag is over whether an agreement requires Armenia to revise its constitution.
The leaders also struck economic agreements with Washington that granted the U.S. development rights to a strategic transit corridor through southern Armenia. The Trump administration said this would allow for greater exports of energy. In documents released at the time, the corridor was named after Trump.
CAMBODIA AND THAILAND
Trump helped bring Thailand to the table for talks after long-simmering tensions with Cambodia spilled over in July into a five-day military conflict , the deadliest fighting there in over a decade.
The U.S. president reached out to acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai two days after fighting erupted along a 200-km-long (125 mile) stretch of the border. Trump withheld deals on tariffs with both countries until the conflict ended.
Up to that point, Bangkok had rejected third-party mediation and had not responded to offers of help from Malaysia and China, Reuters reporting showed
Trump’s intervention helped get Thailand to the table, according to Lim Menghour, a Cambodian government official working on foreign policy.
Subsequent talks yielded a fragile agreement to end hostilities, resume direct communications and create a mechanism to implement the ceasefire. Trump went on to impose a 19% tariff on both countries’ U.S.-bound exports, lower than he had initially floated.
ISRAEL, IRAN AND THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Trump has maintained strong U.S. backing for Israel as it pummels Gaza and tries to uproot Hamas. He has also supported its efforts to disable other Iran-backed groups, including Hezbollah and the Houthi movement, and Tehran itself.
The U.S. president is working to expand the Abraham Accords, an initiative from his first term that aims to normalize diplomatic ties between Israel and Arab nations.
But a solution to Israeli-Palestinian and Iranian conflicts has eluded Trump, just as it has all U.S. presidents for decades.
Washington provides weapons and diplomatic cover to Israel as its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed international condemnation of the humanitarian toll of his military campaign in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza in January, after Trump’s election but before his inauguration.
The deal had been mediated by Egypt and Qatar and also involved personnel from the outgoing Biden and incoming Trump administrations. Israel abandoned the ceasefire in March.
Talks toward a new ceasefire collapsed in July. Mediators are trying to revive a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan but Israel is also planning a new, expanded military operation in Gaza. Trump has blamed Hamas for not seeking a reasonable settlement of the conflict and pressured them to do so.
Trump initially pursued talks with Tehran over its nuclear program. Israel launched an aerial war on Iran on June 13 and pressed Trump join in. He did on June 22, bombing Iranian nuclear sites. He then pressed Israel and Iran to join a ceasefire that Qatar mediated.
The situation remains bitter and unstable. Iran continues to reject U.S. demands that it stop enriching uranium for its nuclear program. And Israel has said it will strike Iran again if it feels threatened.
RWANDA AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement on June 27 under pressure from Trump, raising hopes for the end of fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.
The fighting is the latest episode in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide . Rwanda sent thousands of soldiers over the border, according to analysts, to support M23 rebels who seized eastern Congo’s two largest cities and lucrative mining areas earlier this year. Rwanda denies helping M23.
In February, a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal . Then, in March, Qatar brokered a surprise sit-down between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame during which the two leaders called for a ceasefire. Qatar has also brokered talks between Congo and M23, but the two sides are yet to agree on a peace deal and violence continues.
At the White House, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told Trump that past deals had not been implemented and urged Trump to stay engaged. Trump warned of “very severe penalties, financial and otherwise” if the agreement is violated.
INDIA AND PAKISTAN
U.S. officials worried conflict could spiral out of control when nuclear-armed India and Pakistan clashed in May following an attack in India that Delhi blamed on Islamabad.
Consulting with Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance pushed Indian and Pakistani officials to de-escalate the situation.
A ceasefire was announced on May 10 after four days of fighting. But it addresses few of the issues that have divided India and Pakistan, which have fought three major wars since their independence from the United Kingdom in 1947.
Days after the ceasefire, Trump said he used the threat of cutting trade with the countries to secure the deal. India disputed that U.S. pressure led to the ceasefire and that trade was a factor.
EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA
Egypt and Ethiopia have a long dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam , which Cairo regards as a national security issue and worries will threaten its Nile River water supplies.
“We’re working on that one problem, but it’s going to get solved,” Trump said in July.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt later included Egypt and Ethiopia in a list of conflicts that “the president has now ended.”
It’s unclear what Trump is doing on the issue. In public statements, he has largely echoed Cairo’s concerns, and some of his statements have been disputed by Ethiopia.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has vowed to open the dam in September over the objections of both Sudan and Egypt. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who welcomed Trump’s comments on the issue, has vowed to protect his own country’s interests.
SERBIA AND KOSOVO
Kosovo and Serbia still have tense relations nearly five years after agreements Trump brokered with both during his first term in office to work on their economic ties.
Without providing evidence, Trump said in June he “stopped” war between the countries during his first term and that “I will fix it, again,” in his second.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after NATO bombed Serb forces to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians from the region during a 1998-1999 counter-insurgency war.
But Serbia still regards Kosovo as an integral part of its territory. The countries have signed no peace deal.
Kosovo’s prime minister Albin Kurti has sought to extend government control over the north, where about 50,000 ethnic Serbs live, many of whom refuse to recognize Kosovo’s independence.
Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani said in July that “the last few weeks” Trump had prevented further escalation in the region. She did not elaborate, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied that any escalation had been forthcoming.
RUSSIA AND UKRAINE
Trump, who said during the 2024 presidential campaign that he could solve the war in Ukraine in one day, has so far been unable to end the 3-1/2-year-old conflict that analysts say has left more than 1 million people dead or wounded.
“I thought this was going to be one of the easier ones,” Trump said on August 18. “It’s actually one of the most difficult.”
Trump’s views on how to best bring peace have swung from calling for a ceasefire to saying a deal could still be worked out while the fighting continued.
He has threatened tariffs and sanctions against Putin, but then backed off them again after an Alaska summit where the two leaders appeared before backdrops that said “Pursuing Peace.”
Trump, who has sometimes criticized and sometimes supported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, this week said the United States would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal. He subsequently said he had ruled out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine, but the U.S. might provide air support to help end the hostilities.
Europeans have worried that Trump might push Zelenskiy to accept a proposal from Putin that included significant territorial concessions by Kyiv and limited security guarantees from Washington.
Despite talk of a possible meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy, there was no let-up in the fighting. Russia this week launched 270 drones and 10 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, the largest this month.
SOUTH KOREA AND NORTH KOREA
Trump in June vowed to ” get the conflict solved with North Korea.”
The U.S. president and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held three summits during Trump’s 2017-2021 first term and exchanged a number of letters that Trump called “beautiful,” before the unprecedented diplomatic effort broke down over U.S. demands that Kim give up his nuclear weapons.
North Korea has surged ahead with more and bigger ballistic missiles, expanded its nuclear weapons facilities, and gained new support from its neighbors in the years since. In his second term Trump has acknowledged that North Korea is a “nuclear power.”
The White House said in June that Trump would welcome communications again with Kim. It has not responded to reports that Trump’s initial efforts at communication with the North Korean leader have been ignored.
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Fatos Bytyci Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell
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