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To: zonder who wrote (286)	12/20/2002 9:01:54 AM
From: Condor	Read Replies (1) of 603

Thanks for the factual feedback on Amsterdam and check out the following (look for the bolded): China Finishes First Leg of Tibet Railway By JOE McDONALD 12/20/2002 06:01:55 EST Laborers working in mountain air so thin they have to breathe bottled oxygen have completed the first leg of a railway linking Tibet to the rest of China, part of multibillion-dollar efforts to develop the country's poor west, the Chinese railway minister said Friday. The 75-mile segment stretches south from the western Chinese city of Golmud but hasn't reached the mountainous Tibetan border yet, Fu Zhihuan said at a news conference. The railway is controversial because activists worry it will bring a flood of ethnic Chinese migrants who will dilute Tibet's Buddhist culture while reaping most of the economic benefits. Chinese officials say they are trying to ensure Tibetans benefit from the project and that they are taking steps to protect the region's fragile environment. To stress the point, typically secretive officials have taken the unusual step of inviting foreign reporters to visit the construction site. "This railway is a route to happiness and prosperity," said Sun Yongfu, the deputy railway minister. The railway, whose route crosses mountain passes more 16,700 feet high, is meant to bind Tibet to China both politically and economically - helping Beijing to raise living standards and stifle pro-independence sentiment. Its projected $3.3 billion cost will make it Beijing's biggest investment in Tibet since communist troops marched into the region in 1950. The railway is part of China's "Develop the West" campaign aimed at raising incomes in regions that have lagged behind eastern cities such as Shanghai. Due to be completed in 2007, the railway will stretch 693 miles from Golmud to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. Railway officials say that to shield passengers from the thin air at the highest points, they are building special train cars that will be pressurized like aircraft. Chinese officials say the railway will propel Tibet's economy by slashing the cost of exporting its goods, which currently are moved at high cost by truck over a rough, two-lane highway. The segment built this year crosses territory so high that some of the ground is frozen year-round. In other areas ground shifts as it freezes and thaws, forcing the railway builders to invent technology to keep bridges and track beds stable.

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