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Australian Official: Tibet Has Improved Greatly
A visiting Australian official who visited Tibet last month and in September said the region has improved greatly in the eight years since he first saw it.
"There has been a great deal of progress," said Garry Nehl, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia.
He first visited Tibet in 1992 and last from May 15 to 20.
Statistics indicate that the average life expectancy in Tibet has changed from 36 in the late 1950s to 65.
"It is amazing and it shows the change in Tibet," Nehl said. "It is one of the best indicators of people's life improvement."
Nehl said he was amazed to see that one 147-person village now has a satellite TV receiver and cable TV and that every household has a television.
He said a government-backed programme let him visit Tibet again. It aims to provide children and women of child bearing age with capsules of iodine oil. He said 78 per cent of Tibetans live in iodine deficient areas.
"The investment (of the programme) is very small, but the dividend is amazing because what we are going to see is the total change in the health profile of the people," Nehl said.
Asked to comment on western negative reports about Tibet, Nehl said all he can do is tell the truth based on what he sees.
"I am a pretty good observer and I have taken 30 rolls of film this time," he said. "Pictures do not lie."
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