The Tibetan culture has been well preserved and is developing, senior Chinese Tibetologist Tobdrub Wangben said during his visit to Canada on Wednesday.

Wangben, a professor at the Chinese Central University for Nationalities, said in an interview with Xinhua that the Dalai Lama's claim of the so-called "cultural genocide" in Tibet is totally groundless, CRI writes.

Wangben is heading a four-person delegation on a three-day visit to Canada to promote understanding on the Tibet issue. The visit includes meetings with scholars from the Canadian International Council, local media outlets, government officials and parliamentarian representatives, CRI says.

According to Wangben, the total population of the Tibetan ethnic group in Tibet has increased from nearly 1 million before 1951 to 2.77 million last year. The illiteracy rate among Tibetans has also dropped from 95 percent in 1951 to 28 percent last year, which is indicative of the direction of development in the region.

In response to inquiries about foreign media restrictions in the region, Wang Pijun, a senior official with the China Association for International Cultural Exchange, said that the Chinese government wants to to strengthen communications and understanding with the international community on the issue of Tibet, and has arranged several rounds of visits by foreign correspondents to Tibet, CRI writes.

As for the Dalai Lama's claim of not seeking Tibet independence, Lian Xiangmin, Director of Science and Research Office at China Tibetology Research Center, said that people should not only look at what he says but also at what he does.

Luorong Zhandui, professor of the Social and Economic Research Institute under the China Tibetology Research Center and a Tibetan himself, affirmed that the economy of Tibet and living standards of people there have improved greatly during the past years, CRI says.