Locals gather in front of the Potala Palace on the Serfs’ Emancipation Day, Tibet, 28 March, 2015. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

China has issued a white paper on its southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region, applauding its development and denouncing the "middle way" advocated by the Dalai Lama.

The white paper, released by the Information Office of the State Council, says Tibet's current development path is an objective requirement of modern civilization.

The paper says it accords with the progressive trends of society, the current reality in China, and the fundamental interests of all ethnic groups in Tibet.

Meanwhile, the report points out there is a party clustered around the 14th Dalai Lama, attempting to create a "state within a state" on Chinese territory as an interim step towards full independence.

The paper says only when the Dalai Lama abandons his stance on independence and his attempts to divide China, can he improve his relationship with the central government in a real sense.

For more on this, Shane Bigham spoke with CRI's special commentator Lin Shaowen.