Railway Report Tracking the Steel Dragon

rmpHTMLEditThe world's highest railroad across the Tibetan plateau to Lhasa (completed in July 2006) is the most high-profile symbol of Beijing's ambitious plans to develop the western regions of the People's Republic of China (PRC). As an indispensable element of Beijing's 'transportation revolution', the aim of its construction is to expand the influence and consolidate the control of the Chinese Communist Party, which regards this as crucial to China's successful rise in the 21st century. A new report by the International Campaign for Tibet, 'Tracking the Steel Dragon', details the strategic significance to China of the extension of its national rail network into central Tibet, which Beijing describes as 'the southwestern frontier of the motherland', and the projected expansion of the line within Tibetan areas of the PRC and to Nepal. The Chinese government has recently acknowledged the military applications for the railway for the first time. ICT has documented the immediate impact