The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday updating the "2002 Tibetan Policy Act." Tibet is surely a sensitive, multifaceted topic, but what is singular and simple is the commitment of the Chinese government to alleviate all absolute poverty in Tibet, sending in substantially more resources than Tibet sends out. 

Are religious rites being respected? How do ethnic Tibetans participate in the governance of the Tibet Autonomous Region? To have a deeper understanding of the issue, CGTN interviewed Ye Xiaowen, administrator of the State Administration of Religious Affairs from 1995 to 2009.

According to Ye, due to its particularities, the living Buddha was not only admired by Tibetans, but also played a critical role in local governance. That's why the central government must approve the candidates. The approval was given since the Yuan Dynasty up to the end of the Qing Dynasty. 

The 14th Dalai Lama did not go through the lot-drawing from the golden urn during a turmoil period, but still, Wu Zhongxin, chairman of the then Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the then Republic of China, traveled to Tibet in particular to identify the child and reported to Chiang Kai-Shek. It was only legal after Chiang Kai-Shek's approval.

Ye said China's Regulation on Religious Affairs aims to protect the freedom of religious belief and rule of law. No matter one's religion, all citizens must follow the laws.

Taking crossing the street as an example, one must stop during a red light. No matter what religion one believes in, when the red light is on, he or she should wait until it switches to the green light. The traffic rule is like the entire legal system, covering all areas. As long as it is within the legal system, one enjoys the freedom to believe in any religion, which are not obstructed. The red light may be seen as an obstruction, but they are actually for the sake of safety. One cannot declare that driving is forbidden in a country because of a red light.

With regard to the irresponsible remarks judging the roads and electric lamps made accessible to Tibet, Ye laughs and states that in their perspective, the so-called Shangri-La is to remain what it was like in the Middle Ages for travelers to visit. 

Back in the medieval period, people starved to death and a brutal serf system persisted. In Tibetan Buddhism's tradition, people beat drums during memorial ceremonies. The drums were made of human skin because they reportedly were acoustically more aesthetic. But unlike cow leather, human skin easily gets ruptured, so a lot of people had to die.

How could we restore such practices? How could serfs get randomly killed? These practices must be eliminated through reforms. It is through reforms that Tibet can become a more prosperous place.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)