In recent years, I have been to the US and other European countries as a member of the Chinese Tibetologist delegation. Local politicians, think tanks, media and even the public have the same misperception toward the Tibetan issue.

For a long time, the mainstream Western media have been biased about Tibet. Meanwhile, as the Dalai Lama has constantly appeared in the Western public eye since the 1980s, the West has been misled.

China's rise has granted it a say in the international arena. In the last five years, the governments and the public in Western countries have shifted their attitudes toward the Tibetan issue from extreme to neutral.

Take Norway as an example, which has long held biased views toward the Tibetan issue. On March 14, 2008, a violent riot took place in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. When we visited Norway later, we found people there didn't hold such fierce and extreme views toward Tibet as we imagined. A Norwegian diplomat told us that Norway had cultivated many sociologists specializing in Tibet.

However, it still requires long-term efforts to eliminate the West's deeply rooted misconceptions about the Tibetan issue. The Western public knows little about Tibet. But they are still very curious about Tibet, and may easily accept the first explanations and theories on the Tibetan issue that they see.

Therefore, reporting Tibet positively and objectively is our first task to let the West learn about Tibet.

I remembered when we traveled on a train to Bergen, Norway, we showed the video of Tibetans' wedding ceremony to passengers. They were greatly interested, and said they would love to go to Tibet.

To avoid being led by Western opinions over the Tibetan issue, we might invite foreign media to come to report on Tibet. In June, an activity where more than 40 media outlets from 20 countries were invited to Tibetan areas in Sichuan Province was successfully held. Reporters covered a wide range of topics such as economic development, cultural protection and after-quake reconstruction work, winning great applause.

Meanwhile, we can set up long-term cooperation with well-known international scholars and research institutes, so that they can tell the world what Tibet really looks like from their own perspectives and by citing their own research achievements.

We should take the initiative in reporting on Tibet. Meanwhile, the Western public's feelings should be respected, and a progressive and objective attitude is needed.

The author is a researcher at the Institute of Ethnic Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn