“西藏和想象中很不一样！”外籍人士赴藏参观后这样说……
一段时间以来，一些国家炒作所谓“西藏人权”议题，他们声称“藏族文化、民俗得不到保护”，“民众缺乏宗教信仰自由”，“当地的生态环境遭到破坏”等等。但是，事实究竟是怎样呢？
随着越来越多外籍人士走进西藏，亲眼看到西藏的样子，他们表示有很多话想说。
5月23日，来自36个国家和地区的150多名中外嘉宾参加了在北京举办的“2023·中国西藏发展论坛”。
在此之前，很多嘉宾都参加了5月16日至21日的赴藏参观考察团。对于来自北京外国语大学的教师伊斯曼来说，这是他第一次踏上西藏的土地，而西藏和他想象中的大不一样。
西藏和我想象的很不一样，以前我觉得那里会没有高速公路，也没有高铁，但是当我到那里时，这些我都看到了。而当我们到拉萨的时候都很震惊，感觉拉萨跟北京差不多，没有很大区别，来自索马里的伊斯曼说。
Tibet is very different than how he has imagined it. Abdilahi Ismail from Somalia, a teacher at Beijing Foreign Studies University said he didn't expect to see highways and high-speed trains there. He was shocked to see how modern the regional capital of Lhasa is and that life there is not so different than it is in Beijing.
给伊斯曼留下印象最深的是西藏的文化保护。“中国政府十分关心西藏的文化保护。中国是一个很大的国家，文化信仰都不一样，是一个很包容的国家。” 他用中文说。
曾经多次走访西藏和其他藏区的中国政府友谊奖获得者、澳大利亚知名汉学家马克林则表示，很多西方媒体的报道都会提到中国政府对西藏的宗教、语言、生活方式、建筑和艺术所谓的“压迫”。1996年，达赖喇嘛更是在英国议会指责中国在西藏实施了所谓“文化灭绝”。后来，他和其他人也多次提过这个说法。
"Many Western reports have talked of the so-called 'suppression of Tibetan religion, language, lifestyle, architecture and arts'. In 1996, the Dalai Lama, in the British Houses of Parliament in London, went so far as to claim that China was practicing 'cultural genocide' in Tibet. He and others have made this claim many times since then."
“我认为这个说法很荒谬、不合逻辑和充满恶意。我在西藏看到了各种传统文化的延续，比如藏语言文字、服饰、建筑和艺术。另外，藏传佛教和其他传统宗教在西藏都发展得很好，而且越来越欣欣向荣，”马克林说。
"That claim I believe to be nonsense, irrational and malicious. During my visits to Tibet, I have witnessed many aspects of surviving traditional culture. These include Tibetan language, clothing, architecture, and arts, while it seems to me that Tibetan Buddhism and other forms of traditional religion are well and truly alive and flourishing," said Colin Mackerras, sinologist and professor emeritus at Griffith University in Queensland, said.
马克林还表示西藏并不是中国的发达地区之一，但是它的发展取得了很大的进步。“我们从人口寿命的数据中可以看到，它有了很大幅度的增长。对于百姓来说，这是很重要的。同时，人们的生活水平、生活方式和住房条件都得到了很大改善。”
1951年5月23日，《中央人民政府和西藏地方政府关于和平解放西藏办法的协议》的签订，宣告西藏和平解放，维护了祖国统一和民族团结，开启了西藏走向繁荣进步的光明前程。西藏的人均预期寿命，从和平解放之初的35.5岁，提高到现在的72.19岁，增长了一倍多。另外，西藏的地区生产总值和人均地区生产总值，1951年分别为1.29亿元和114元人民币，2022年分别达到2132.6亿元和58438元，按可比价计算，分别增长了346.8倍和110.3倍。
On May 23, 1951, the 17-Article Agreement was signed by the central government and the local government of Tibet on the peaceful liberation of Tibet. Since then, the people of Tibet have embarked on a bright road of unity, progress and development. Furthermore, the average life expectancy in Tibet rose from 35.5 years prior to the peaceful liberation, to 72.19 years. In 2022, Tibet's gross domestic product soared to 213.26 billion yuan ($30.16 billion), a remarkable increase of over 1,650 times compared to that in 1951.
中国石油化工集团法籍员工吉尔姆则想说西藏的发展道路无疑会继续被一些从没去过西藏的人和靠制造假新闻为生的人指责，但是西藏人民和西藏的建设者们大可不必理会这些指责，他们应该做的是为自己取得的成就感到骄傲。
Tibet's development path will continue to receive criticism from people who never went to the region and live thousands of kilometers away, or those who make a living from making up fake stories. Tibetan people and those who contribute to the region's development should just ignore them. Instead, they should feel proud of their achievements, Guibe Guillaume from France, said.
“想象一下，如果一个旧西藏的农奴能够看到他或者她的后代在西藏如今的生活，会是什么反应？”吉尔姆说。“你们在短短几十年的时间里一起完成了一个几乎没有其他人可以完成的挑战。你们把一个农奴制下的落后地区带上了现代和繁荣发展道路。”
"Imagine a serf's reaction if he or she could see their descendants today," said Guillaume who works for China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation. "You've achieved altogether a major challenge that almost nobody in the world could achieve in only a few decades of time. You've put a feudal and hugely large sub-developed region on the track of modernity and prosperity."
记者：崔佳
编辑：陈月华
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