On　September 30,　Dalai Lama, who is living in exile abroad, sent his representative to the Chinese Embassy in India, claiming that　the　People's Government of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, had announced that five people would be executed on October 1, including Gesang Luosang Wangqiu Lama of the Daipung Monastery and other dissidents.

The representative also said this action was aimed at making Dalai Lama cancel his plan to visit Tibet in 1985. On the next day, some Tibetans who had followed Dalai Lama to India gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy to "lodge a protest" against this "incident." Some foreign news agencies gave　this　issue　continuous coverage, making it seem as if Dalai Lama's claims were true.

Our correspondent learnt from the People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region there was no such "incident" as the execution of Gesang Luosang Wangqiu and four others in Lhasa. The fact is that before October 1, six criminals who had committed particularly serious crimes were publicly convicted　and　executed　in Lhasa. Of these, three were of the Han nationality, one of the Manchu nationality and two of the Tibetan nationality. One of the Tibetans was Qimei Duoji, who sold guns for profit, committed burglary on more than 20 occasions, and had escaped from jail five times. He also resisted arrest with arms. The other one was Suolang Ciren, leader of a gang, who committed robbery 19 times.

Earlier, both the Chinese and foreign press had reported that a campaign to crack down on criminals had been launched all over China, including Tibet. China practises a policy of national unity, national equality and common prosperity for all nationalities, and applies the principle that citizens of all nationalities are equal before the law. The severe punishment for felons like Qimei Duoji and Suolang Ciren is aimed at protecting the lives and property of the Tibetan people, and the normal order of socialist construction.

The central authorities and the People's Government of Tibet have repeatedly said that Tibetan compatriots now residing abroad are welcome to come back to visit their relatives and friends or settle down again. But they must, like other Chinese citizens, abide by the laws of the state. If they violate the law, they will be called to account legally in the same way as other law-breakers.

We hope our Tibetan compatriots now residing abroad will give no credence to rumours and guard against the schemes of the separatists and other people harbouring malice against China. The central authorities and the People's Government of Tibet sincerely welcome Dalai Lama and his followers to return to China at an early date and, together with the people throughout the country, make contributions to safeguarding the unification of China, promoting national unity and achieving the four modernizations.

(This article appears on page 5, No. 42, 1983)