PARIS, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- A top French Foreign Ministry official met visiting Chinese Tibetologists on Tuesday to discuss ways of strengthening mutual understanding and expanding exchanges.
Frederic Laplanche, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Department of the French Foreign Ministry, held talks with a delegation of Chinese Tibetologists headed by Shen Kaiyun, vice chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Region's Foreign Cultural Exchange Association.
Shen said Tibet has made remarkable achievements in social and economic development since the democratic reform in 1959.
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Shen Kaiyun, the delegation leader, presents Hada, a symbol of purity and happiness, to the dean of the International School of Napier University in Edinburgh, capital of Scotland, Britain, on November 19, 2009. (Photo: tibet.cn)
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However, he added, many people outside China have misconceptions about Tibet due to their limited knowledge of the region.
Shen hoped his delegation's visit could provide more information on Tibet to the French public so that they may have objective perspectives.
The Chinese official also stressed that China, as a developing country, must safeguard its core interests and will firmly crack down on any actions that would harm China's stability and unification.
He said he hoped friends of China should not give any wrong signals to those who want to split China.
Dawa Tsering, a member of the delegation, said Western societies tend to misunderstand Tibetan issues, in particular, human rights, cultural protection and environmental protection.
Dawa, a research fellow at the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences, noted that Westerners are not getting enough information directly from Tibet to form a complete picture of the region due to the fact that Tibet has limited communication channels with the outside world.
To make things worse, certain forces are taking advantage of the communication limitations to distort facts, and as very few Westerners have actually travelled to Tibet, they easily fall victim to misinformation, Dawa said.
Zhang Xiaoping, chief editor of China Tibet Information Center, said, by Western standards, development remains a big issue for Tibet. But Tibet moved into modern society directly from a social model of the Middle Ages. Changes, however small, are often of historic significance.
The senior Tibetologist said the best way to know about Tibet is to visit the place and get to know its history and culture and see its achievements in modernization.
Laplanche expressed his gratitude to the delegation for the information. He agreed that more contacts and communication will help promote mutual understanding and that dialogue is better than confrontation. He stressed that an open Tibet is beneficial to all.
The French official also solicited opinions from the Chinese Tibetologists on what France and the European Union can do to help develop Tibet. He also asked about the current security situation in Tibet, its social development and the central government's opinion on the Dalai Lama and contacts with his representatives.
The six-member Chinese Tibetologists' delegation arrived in Paris on Monday evening after a trip to London.
