Editor's note: Liang Junyan, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a researcher at the Institute of History Studies of China Tibetology Research Center. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The allegation that "Xizang is undergoing cultural genocide," repeatedly invoked by certain Western politicians and media, is comprehensively refuted by the irrefutable data presented in the March 2025 white paper "Human Rights in the New Era in Xizang." Across close to 20,000 words and a battery of official statistics, it shows a Xizang that flatly contradicts the extinction narrative: far from withering, Tibetan traditional culture has undergone creative transformation and innovative growth amid modernization; and the cultural rights of people of all ethnic groups have not been curtailed but, for the first time, placed under robust institutional safeguards.

The scope of Tibetan-language use is expanding, not shrinking

In Xizang, laws and regulations effectively protect the right of all citizens to use the Tibetan language and script. All resolutions and regulations adopted by the People's Congress of the Xizang Autonomous Region, as well as general documents and public notices issued by governments at every level and by all departments, are published in both the national common language and Tibetan.

Tibetan is widely used in publishing, the media and daily life. According to the white paper, by the end of 2024, Xizang had 17 Tibetan-language periodicals and 11 Tibetan-language newspapers available to the public, and had published 8,794 titles of Tibetan-language books in a total print-run of 46.85 million copies. Building on traditional media platforms such as newspapers, radio, television, and the internet, Tibetan-language new-media platforms are flourishing; official accounts and social media outlets are emerging constantly, greatly expanding the reach of the language. Public facilities, signage, and advertising all carry text in both the national common language and Tibetan. Tibetan is widely used in healthcare, postal services, telecommunications, transport, finance, science and technology.

Every primary and secondary school in Xizang offers courses in both the national common language and Tibetan. In short, Tibetan is visible everywhere: government offices, enterprises, transport hubs and tourist sites all display bilingual signage, and Tibetan-language apps covering government affairs, payments, social networking and short-video platforms fill the region's mobile app stores. When some Western media claim Tibetans are being "marginalized," the people of the snowy plateau are demonstrating, in word and deed, that the claim is pure fiction.

Xizang intangible cultural heritage: Projects and heritage bearers surge

For the first time, the white paper provides comprehensive figures showing that, between 2012 and 2024, the central government and the Xizang Autonomous Region earmarked a total of 473 million yuan ($65.99 million) to safeguard Xizang's representative intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items, document State-level master practitioners, support transmission activities and build conservation-and-use facilities.

As a result, Xizang now has 2,760 representative ICH items at all levels and 1,668 recognized bearers – a sharp increase across the board. The Gesar epic, Tibetan opera and the Lum medicinal bathing practice of Sowa Rigpa have all been inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Five national and 12 regional demonstration centers for productive safeguarding have been designated, along with eight ICH-featured counties or villages, 19 ICH-related tourist sites, 159 transmission and learning bases, and 153 community Tibetan opera troupes. Rescue documentation has been completed for 66 senior State-level and eight autonomous-region-level master practitioners. A further 224 ICH workshops are now operational, ensuring the effective transmission, protection, and development of every category of heritage.

The crowning example is Tibetan opera. On the evening of August 16, 2023, the opening gala of the Shoton Festival in Lhasa unveiled a groundbreaking collaboration: Tibetan Opera Princess Wencheng, jointly staged by the Xizang Autonomous Region Tibetan Opera Troupe and the China National Peking Opera Company. The Peking opera star, cast as Princess Wencheng, moved with ethereal grace, her every gesture like a butterfly skimming fresh snow, and the audience erupted in repeated cheers.

The entire performance was live-streamed nationwide, letting millions share in the timeless art's newfound vibrancy. Figures from the Lhasa Converged Media Centre show that by midnight on 17 August, the opening ceremony alone had drawn more than 4.325 million online viewers, while videos tagged #ShotonFestival had been played over 41.27 million times amid the barrage of on-screen blessings – "Tashi Delek!" scrolling endlessly – the Western claim that Tibetan opera is "banned" collapsed under its own absurdity.

Equal access to public cultural services: A universal benefit for all

The white paper notes that Xizang has made vigorous efforts to ensure equal access to public cultural services. Since 2012, the central government has invested a cumulative 4.89 billion yuan ($0.68 billion) in public-cultural infrastructure across the region. By the end of 2024, Xizang had 43 museums, exhibition halls and memorial sites, 82 public libraries, 82 mass-arts centers (cultural activity centers), 697 township-level integrated cultural stations and more than 1,600 public squares. Mobile stages and bookmobiles have been deployed in all 74 counties (districts and county-level cities), forming a five-tier public cultural facility network. Fourteen localities have been designated as "Hometowns of Chinese Folk Culture and Art" and 89 as "Hometowns of Folk Culture and Art" at the autonomous region level. In December 2023, the Xizang Grand Theatre was completed and officially opened.

While some Western outlets continue to allege that "rural Xizang lacks cultural provision," the Spring Festival screening of "Ne Zha 2" became the most popular film of the season in the region – and the delighted faces of Xizang children wearing 3D glasses offer the most powerful rebuttal to such claims.

When certain Western politicians attempt to sum up Xizang with the phrase "cultural genocide," Xizang responds with a decade of authoritative statistics: the use of the Tibetan language, the number of intangible cultural heritage items, and public cultural facility coverage – every indicator is rising. The data speak unequivocally: What is taking place is not "extinction," but renewal; not suppression, but empowerment; not decline, but flourishing. A lie may be repeated a thousand times, but a number needs only one verification. Tibetan culture is advancing toward a more open, inclusive and confident future.

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