TO GO WITH FEATURE BC-CHINA-TIBET-INVESTMENT, 1999-07-04 (photo)

FOR RELEASE WITH FEATURE BC-CHINA-TIBET-INVESTMENT - Tibetans gather in front of an old building near the Hamburg Beer City (L) in Shigatse, Tibet's second holiest city, the spiritual seat of the Panchen Lama, June 27. The microbrewery, backed by state industry in Liaoning province, must surely rank as one of the more bizarre Chinese investments Tibet. While there is little doubt that all the investment from other parts of China has raised living standards across the board, the clash of styles and values - and a Han Chinese influx that has accompanied the investment flows - is fuelling ethnic tensions. The Tibetan government-in-exile, led by the Dalai Lama, bitterly denounces what it calls the economic colonisation of Tibet by its Han rulers. ASW/DL