A January 3 telegraph dispatched from Lhasa by Xinhua correspondents Li Jinghua and Doqung says, in 1999, numerous foreigners visited Tibet. Witnessing the tremendous changes that had taken place in the region, they lavished praises on the implementation of China's policy toward nationalities.

According to Bianba, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Tibet Autonomous Region, in 1999, a total of 548 people in 101 delegations, including foreign government officials, parliament members, diplomats, officials of international organizations and correspondents visited Tibet; and 763 members in 258 foreign investigation groups in the field of economy, trade, health and science and technology also came on visit. Bianba said, "these foreign groups who came to visit Tibet in 1999 were most concerned about the livelihood and democratic rights of the Tibetan people, for example, the right of Tibetan cadres with government offices to decide on local affairs, the benefit gained by common Tibetan people from the huge assistance extended by the Central Government to Tibet and the religious freedom enjoyed by monks and nuns and religious believers.

A deputy speaker of the Australian Parliament who visited Tibet in 1992 said that compared with his first visit to Tibet, amazing changes had taken place in Tibet. During his visit in various parts of the region, he saw many beautiful houses where electric lights were available for villagers, new buildings and stores could be found everywhere in cities and towns, presenting a scene of prosperity there.

After visiting Lhasa Middle School, a correspondent with Yomiuri Shinbun of Japan commented, "the teaching level and scale of Lhasa Middle School are better than the scale and teaching level of 90 percent of Japanese middle schools." A newsman with Thailand's Independence TV Station indicated, "While covering news in Tibet, I am excited to see with my own eyes Tibet's economic development, social stability and the good and comfortable life of the people."

Bianba said that visiting foreign correspondents generally reported that they felt the atmosphere was quite relaxed for covering news in Tibet, through covering news an American correspondent indicated what he saw and heard in Tibet showed that the Dalai Lama's propaganda about organized migration by the Han nationality was untenable.

A visiting Brazilian human rights delegation indicated that before they came to Tibet they had read some articles about the region, but they came to know that Tibet was in reality much better than what they had imagined only after their arrival in the region. Tibet's development showed history would not go backward.

Bianba said that many visiting foreigners previously knew very little about the reality of Tibet, particularly about the so-called human rights situation, some of them even remained at the same level of 50 years ago in their understanding of Tibet, he continued, "along with the growing number of foreign visitors, I believe Tibet's reality will be understood by the world's people."

According to the Tourism Administration of Tibet, the number of foreign tourists to Tibet in 1999 topped 100,000.