Sixty Years Since Peaceful Liberation of Tibet

4. Implementing reform and opening up, promoting Ti-betan economy to change from a closed one into an open one and from a planned one to a market one

The 1980s witnessed a great upsurge of the reform, open-ing-up and modernization drive in Tibet, as in all the other parts of China. In 1980 and 1984, respectively, the Central Authorities held the First and Second Tibet Work Forums, setting the guiding principles for work in the region — focusing on economic de-velopment, changing from a closed economy to an open one and from a planned economy to a market one. The central gov-ernment also formulated a series of special policies for economic development in Tibet, such as “long-term right to use and independently operate land by individual households” and “long-term right to have, raise and manage livestock by indi-vidual households,” to promote the reform of the region’s economic system and its opening-up program. Since 1984, 43 projects have been launched in Tibet with state funds and aid from nine provinces and municipalities. The implementation of the policy of reform and opening up and the state aid have in-vigorated the Tibetan economy, raised the overall level of in-dustries and the level of commercialization of economic activities in Tibet, and helped Tibet take another step forward in its economic and social development.

5. Exploring and formulating the basic policies for the work in Tibet in the new period as required by the new situ-ation, constantly speeding up the development of Tibet and maintaining its stability

Ever since the Dalai Lama and his clique fled abroad, they have stuck to their claims and efforts for “Tibet independence” and secessionist activities. With the support of the CIA of US, they proclaimed the setting up of an “independent Tibet” in India, and established bases for armed forces in India and Nepal, launching armed attacks on China’s borders intermittently. In 1964, at the 151st Conference of the State Council, the Decision on the Removal of the Dalai Lama from His Official Positions was adopted, which stated, “After the Dalai Lama staged the treasonous armed rebellion in 1959, he fled abroad and orga-nized a ‘government-in-exile,’ issued a bogus constitution, sup-ported Indian reactionaries who invaded our country, and engaged in the organization and training of remnants of Tibet’s armed forces who had fled abroad with the objective of attack-ing our borders. All this proves that he has alienated himself from the country and the people, and been reduced to a traitor working for imperialists and reactionaries abroad.” After the policies of reform and opening up were implemented in Tibet, the Dalai Lama clique pressed on with their infiltration and sa-botage activities, and plotted the Lhasa riots in the late 1980s, which were quickly quelled by resolute actions adopted by the central government. In 1989 the Chinese government put for-ward ten propositions to guide the development of Tibet, which served to unify the people’s thinking and promote stability, thus constituting a turning point for the work in Tibet in the new pe-riod. In 1994 the central government held the Third Tibet Work Forum, and set the guiding principles for work in the region in the new era as follows: Focusing efforts on economic develop-ment, firmly grasping the two major tasks of developing the economy and stabilizing the situation, securing a high-speed development of the economy, overall social progress and lasting political stability in Tibet, and ensuring the continuous improvement of the Tibetan people’s living standards. At the Forum, the Central Authorities also adopted the important decisions to devote special attention to Tibet and ask all other parts of China to aid Tibet, and formulated a series of special favorable policies and measures for speeding up the development of the autonomous region. The Forum led to the birth of a mechanism for all-round aid for the modernization of Tibet, in which the central government would directly invest in construction projects in the region, provide financial subsidies, and the other parts of the country would provide paired-up aid. In 2001 the Central Authorities held the Fourth Tibet Work Forum, at which it was decided that more effective measures would be adopted and efforts would be further strengthened to support Tibet and push forward in an all-around way the region’s development and stability. Since 1994 the central government has organized 60 state organs, 18 provinces and municipalities and 17 state-owned enterprises to provide aid to Tibet in the fields of human resources, finance and materials, technology and management in a paired-up way to cover all the cities at the prefectural level and 73 counties (including cities and districts at the county level) in Tibet. The completion of 62 aid projects identified in 1994 and 117 aid projects identified in 2001, respectively, in Tibet gave a strong impetus to its economic and social development. In the meantime, the central government overcame interference and sabotage from the Dalai Lama clique, identified the reincarnated soul boy of the 10th Panchen Lama, approving Gyaltsen Zangpo’s position as the 11th Panchen Lama, and resolutely struggled against the Dalai Lama’s secessionist group, all of which helped to maintain stability in Tibet.

6. Upholding the Scientific Outlook on Development, vigorously accelerating Tibet’s development to realize leapfrog development, and achieving lasting peace based on stability

After the 16th National Congress of the CPC, in light of the new historical conditions, the Central Authorities explicitly stated that its priorities for Tibet’s economic and social devel-opment would be to ensure and improve the production and living conditions of farmers and herdsmen, and to increase their incomes as required by the Scientific Outlook on Development. By doing this, it helped to promote the region’s economy and society to develop in a better and faster way, and make all ethnic groups in Tibet enjoy the fruit of the reform and development. In 2006 the central government formulated 40 preferential policies aiming to accelerate Tibet’s development and maintain its stability, and identified 180 (the actually completed number is 188) construction projects for its 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), which helped Tibet to score remarkable achieve-ments in development and stability. Tibet’s economy developed at a high rate, infrastructure construction in transportation and energy improved markedly, a large number of major projects including the Qinghai-Tibet Railway were completed and have produced satisfactory economic benefits, social undertakings showed all-round progress, the living standards of people of all ethnic groups in Tibet were greatly improved and Tibet’s self-development capacity was further enhanced. In the mean-time, the government put down the March 14th Lhasa Incident according to law, resolutely prevented and cracked down on splittist activities instigated by the Dalai Lama clique, further conducted education in patriotism and law in the monasteries, scored a great victory in the anti-secession struggle and streng-thened ethnic unity constantly. In January 2010 the Central Au-thorities held the Fifth Tibet Work Forum, at which they further enriched and perfected the guiding principles for the work in Tibet, and drew up comprehensive plans for every aspect of its development and stability, which were: Focusing efforts on economic development, safeguarding ethnic unity, taking im-provement of people’s livelihood as both the starting point and final aim of all work, holding fast to development and stability, ensuring a leapfrog development of economy and society, na-tional security and prolonged peace in Tibet, and working for the constant improvement of the standard of people’s material and cultural life, and a sound ecological environment. At a new starting point in its history, Tibet is showing great momentum for prosperity again.

III. Historic Achievements That Capture World Attention

In the 60 years since its peaceful liberation in 1951, Tibet, under the leadership of the Central People’s Government and with the support of people of all ethnic groups in China, and with the hard work of all ethnic groups in the autonomous region, has fulfilled two historic leaps from a society of feudal serfdom to one of socialism, and from a state of isolation, poverty and backwardness to one of opening, prosperity and civilization, scoring historic achievements in various undertakings that caught world attention.

1. Tibet has scored brilliant political achievements and made historic changes in its social system.

Since its peaceful liberation Tibet has abolished feudal serf-dom, implemented regional ethnic autonomy and established socialism featuring people’s democracy. The former serfs and slaves have since become masters of their own country and society. They enjoy both the right to equally participate in the administration of state affairs and the right to handle local and ethnic affairs on their own. In the elections of people’s con-gresses at the autonomous regional, prefectural (municipal), county and township (town) levels in 2007, 96.4 percent of the eligible residents participated in the electoral process. Of the more than 34,000 deputies directly or indirectly elected to the people’s congresses at the aforementioned four levels, more than 94 percent were members of the Tibetan or other ethnic minorities. Of the deputies to the current National People’s Congress, 20 are from Tibet, including 12 Tibetans, one Monba and one Lhoba. People from all walks of life in Tibet also attend the people’s political consultative conferences at various levels to participate in the deliberation and administration of state af-fairs, and to exercise their democratic rights. Among the deputies to the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, quite a number of them are Tibetans and a few are from the Tibetan religious circle. Since the founding of the Tibet People’s Political Consultative Conference in 1959, an overwhelming part of the members have been Ti-betans or members of other ethnic minorities.

Regional ethnic autonomy has constantly been institutiona-lized. Statistics show that since 1965 the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region has enacted 279 local regulations, resolutions and decisions with legal effect, which cover political power buildup, economic development, culture and education, spoken and written languages, justice, medical care and public health, relics protection, protection of wild animals and plants, protection of natural resources, and environmental protection. Now Tibet has established a legal regime of local autonomy, with autonomy-related regulations and separate regulations as the mainstay, protecting the special rights and interests of the people in Tibet in the areas of politics, economy and social life, and promoting the development of various local undertakings. These regulations have distinctive local features. They include the Regulations on Legislation of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Implementing Rules for Election of Deputies to the People’s Congresses at Various Levels in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Resolutions on the Study, Use and Development of the Tibetan Language in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Resolutions on Maintaining National Unification, Enhancing Ethnic Solidarity and Opposing Secessionist Activities, Regulations of the Tibet Autonomous Region on the Protection and Management of Cultural Relics, and Regulations of the Tibet Autonomous Region on Environmental Protection.

Cadres of the Tibetan and other ethnic minorities constitute the main body of cadres in Tibet and the backbone of the con-struction and development of the region. Since the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965, all chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress and all governors of the People’s Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region have been Tibetan citizens. Cadres of the Tibetan and other ethnic minorities account for 70.3 percent of the total at the autonomous regional level and 81.6 percent at the county and township levels. At present, Tibet has 54,000 specialized tech-nical personnel, among whom 76.8 percent are from ethnic minorities.

2. The local people’s living standards have been greatly improved along with leapfrog economic development.

Before the peaceful liberation, the economy in Tibet was in a state of stagnation, and the masses lived in dire poverty. Since the peaceful liberation, however, the economy has leaped for-ward with each passing day. To boost local economic and social growth, the central government has adopted a series of preferential policies for Tibet in such areas as banking, finance and taxation, investment, infrastructure construction, industrial development, farming and animal husbandry, environmental protection, education, public health, science and technology, culture and physical education, and has rendered Tibet strong support in terms of finance, materials and manpower. The cen-tral government has never taken a cent from Tibet, but constantly increased the allotment in the central budget for Tibet. In the period from 1952 to 2010, the central government sent a total of 300 billion yuan to Tibet as financial subsidies, with an annual growth rate of 22.4 percent. Over the past 60 years the central government has allocated more than 160 billion yuan in direct investment to Tibet and approved at different periods 43, 62, 117 and 188 major projects respectively concerning Tibet’s long-term development and its people’s livelihood. Highways, railways, airports, telecommunications facilities, energy and other key infrastructural projects have been completed one after another, thus greatly improving Tibet’s infrastructure and its people’s living and production conditions. Statistics show that from 1994 to 2010 state departments, provincial and municipal governments, and state-owned enterprises involved in the paired-up support program launched 4,393 aid projects in six batches, with a total of 13.3 billion yuan in aid funds and 4,742 cadres from across the country dispatched to work in Tibet.
Thanks to the care of the Central Authorities and the support of the whole nation, Tibet has witnessed a historic leap in its economic and social development. From 1959 to 2010 fixed assets investment in the region totaled 275.1 billion yuan, regis-tering an average annual growth of over 15 percent. The figure was 264.3 billion yuan from 1994 to 2010, and the annual growth rate in that period was more than 20 percent. The local GDP soared from 129 million yuan in 1951 to 50.746 billion yuan in 2010, a 111.8-fold increase or an average annual growth of 8.3 percent at comparable prices. Since 1994 the local GDP has grown at an annual rate of 12 percent, registering double-digit growth for 18 years in a run. During the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) Tibet’s GDP exceeded 30, 40 and 50 billion yuan successively. In 2010 the per-capita GDP was 17,319 yuan, and the local budgetary receipts reached 3.665 billion yuan, showing an average annual growth of over 20 percent for eight consecutive years.

There was no modern industry in old Tibet. But the region now has a modern industrial system covering over 20 sectors with distinctive local features, including energy, light industry, textiles, machinery, mining, building materials, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing, folk handicrafts and Tibetan medicine. The total industrial output value increased from 1.4 million yuan in 1956 to 7.561 billion yuan in 2010, registering an annual growth rate of 14.1 percent. Competitive industries with local features keep expanding. The Gyama copper-polymetallic deposit in Tibet has been put into operation and gone public in Hong Kong. Some specialty products, such as Lhasa barley beer, “5100 Tibet Glacier Spring Water” and Ganlu traditional Tibetan medicine have entered the market in other parts of the country as well as the international market. Tourism in Tibet has also maintained a sustained and rapid growth. Some 6.8514 million people visited Tibet in 2010, and the tourism revenue reached 7.14 billion yuan. Tibet is set to be one of the most popular destinations for visitors from all over the world.

Tibet’s energy, transportation and other basic industries are also flourishing. On the eve of Tibet’s peaceful liberation, there was only one 125-kw hydropower station in the region, which supplied electricity only to a handful of senior officials and aristocrats. Now, an extensive energy system has been formed, with hydropower as the mainstay, backed up by geothermal, wind and solar energy sources. In 2010 the installed power-generating capacity in Tibet reached 974,000 kw, and more than 82 percent of the population had access to electricity. The Qinghai-Tibet DC Power Transmission Line is under con-struction, which will link the Tibetan grid to those of the rest of the country. In the old days there was not a single highway in Tibet. Today, a comprehensive transportation network has taken shape, with highway, rail, air and pipeline transportation as the backbone. All townships and more than 80 percent of the administrative villages in Tibet have gained access to highways, which now total 58,200 km. China’s last “isolated” county is soon to be connected to the country’s highway network with the completion and operation of the Galung La Tunnel on the Medog Highway. The operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway ended Tibet’s history of being without railways. The navigation lighting project at the Lhasa Gongkar Airport, and the Nyingchi Menling Airport, Ngari Gunsa Airport, Xigaze Peace Airport have been completed and put into use, allowing night flights into and out of Tibet and greatly increasing the number of air routes. An airport layout has taken shape in Tibet, with the Lhasa Gongkar Airport as the main hub, and the Qamdo Bangda, Nyingchi Menling, Ngari Gunsa and Xigaze Peace airports as the branches, catering to 22 domestic and international air services. In old Tibet, letters were carried by people or beasts of burden and relayed via posthouses. Nowadays, Tibet has entered the information age, having established a modern telecommunications network with cables, satellites and the Internet as the backbone. It has also realized broadband coverage in all townships and telephone communication in all villages.

In the old days Tibet’s agriculture and animal husbandry were completely at the mercy of the weather. Nowadays, mod-ern facilities have been widely introduced. The added value of primary industry in Tibet increased from 128 million yuan in 1959 to 6.813 billion yuan in 2010, registering an average an-nual growth of 4.8 percent. Grain output rose from 182,900 tons in 1959 to 920,000 tons in 2010. Meanwhile the grain output per mu (15 mu equal one ha.) rose from 91 kg in 1959 to 357.4 kg in 2008, with the number of livestock rising from 9.56 million head in 1959 to 23.21 million head at the end of 2010.

Before the peaceful liberation, more than 90 percent of the people in Tibet had no private housing, nor had they enough food and clothing. But over the past 60 years the Tibetan people’s living conditions have constantly improved. In 1951 the per-capita housing of urban dwellers was less than three sq m, but the figure reached 34.72 at the end of 2010. Since 2006, with the construction of a new socialist countryside and comfortable housing project underway, 274,800 households, comprising 1.4021 million farmers and herdsmen, have moved into modern houses, and the per-capita housing space has increased to 24 sq m in rural areas. The aim of providing farmers and herdsmen living in poor conditions with comfortable houses has been realized. Tibet has also improved its facilities in the areas of water, electricity, highways, telecommunications, gas, radio and television, postal services and the environment in farming and pastoral areas, giving rise to historic changes in these areas. The coverage rate of postal services in townships, that of highways in townships, and that of highways in administrative villages have reached 85.7 percent, 99.7 percent and 81.2 percent, respec-tively. The region has provided safe drinking water for 1.532 million farmers and herdsmen, and iodized salt for 91.2 percent of the residents in farming and pastoral areas. In 2010 the per-capita net income of farmers and herdsmen was 4,138.7 yuan, registering a double-digit growth for eight consecutive years. The per-capita disposable income of urban dwellers stood at 14,980 yuan.

Meanwhile, the consumption pattern of Tibetan residents is becoming more diversified with improvement in their livelihood, and such consumer goods as refrigerators, color TVs, computers, washing machines, motorcycles and mobile phones have got access to ordinary homes. A survey shows that for every 100 rural households there are 73.45 color TVs, 52.64 mobile phones and 3.98 private cars, and for every 100 urban house-holds in Lhasa, there are 63 PCs, 182 mobile phones and 32 private cars. Radio, television, the Internet and other modern means of information keep growing with progress in other parts of China and the rest of the world. They have become an integral part of people’s daily life in Tibet as well.

3. Tibetan society has progressed in an all-round way, with all social undertakings flourishing.

In old Tibet there was not a single school in the modern sense. Education was monopolized by monasteries, and there were only a limited number of schools run by monks and officials. Almost all students in such schools were children of the nobility. The masses of serfs and slaves had been robbed off the right of receiving education. The enrollment rate for school-age children was less than 2 percent, while the illiteracy rate was as high as 95 percent among the young and the middle-aged, to say nothing of ignorance of modern science and technology. From 1951 to 2010 the central government invested 40.73 billion yuan to give a boost to Tibet’s education. Now, Tibet has basically established an educational system with special local flavor and minority ethnic characteristics, which includes pre-school, primary and middle schools, secondary vocational and technical schools, institutions of higher learning, and adult and special education institutions. In 2010 Tibet had six institutions of higher learning, 122 junior and senior high schools, and 872 primary schools. The total enrollment was over 500,000. More than 20,000 Tibetan students are studying in Tibetan classes in schools of the hinterland. In 12 hinterland provinces and municipalities of China, 42 secondary vocational schools have classes for Tibetan students. Now the enrollment rate for primary school-age children of the Tibetan ethnic group has reached 99.2 percent; that for junior high school, 98.2 percent; that for senior high school, 60.1 percent; and that for institutions of higher learning, 23.4 percent. The illiteracy rate among the young and the middle-aged has fallen to 1.2 percent. The average educational period of people above 15 years old in Tibet has reached 7.3 years. The children enjoy “three guarantees” for compulsory education, i.e., the state guarantees all tuition as well as food and lodging expenses for students from Tibet’s farming, pastoral or impoverished urban families from the pre-school period all the way to the senior high school period. Subsidies for each student in this regard have reached 2,000 yuan per year.

Science and technology in Tibet started from scratch and are growing rapidly. In 2010 Tibet had 34 independent scientific research institutes at various levels, nine private research centers, 140 organizations at various levels for popularizing science and technology in the fields of agriculture and animal husbandry, and 52,107 professional technical personnel who have com-pleted 3,253 key scientific and technological programs at the autonomous region and state levels. The scientific and technol-ogical content of economic development has increased mark-edly. The rate of contribution made by science and technology to overall economic growth has reached 33 percent, and that to the growth of agriculture and animal husbandry, 40 percent.

Tibet’s medical services are also constantly improving. Be-fore the peaceful liberation, there were only three small, shabby government-run institutions of Tibetan medicine and a small number of private clinics, with less than 100 medical workers altogether. By the end of 2010 there were 1,352 medical institutions of all types and at all levels in Tibet, with 8,838 hospital beds and 9,983 medical workers. A healthcare system in farming and pastoral areas has been established, with funds from the government comprising the major part, backed up by family accounts, and comprehensive arrangements for serious diseases and medical relief. A medical and healthcare network covering all counties and townships, with Lhasa as the center, has taken shape. Now, all townships in Tibet have health centers and all villages have clinics. Thanks to improvement in medical services, the Tibetan people’s health level has been raised. The death rate of women in childbirth has dropped from 5,000 per 100,000 to 174.78 per 100,000, and the infant mortality rate from 430 per thousand before the peaceful liberation to 20.69 per thousand. The average life expectancy has increased from 35.5 to 67 years. According to the sixth national census, the total population of Tibet increased from one million before the peaceful liberation to more than three million, of whom 2.7164 million or 90.48 percent were Tibetans.

Tibet has established a social security system mainly cover-ing basic pension insurance, basic medical insurance, unemployment insurance for urban workers, industrial accident insurance and maternity insurance, which cover all urban and rural residents. From November 2009, with the initiation of the New Rural Pension Social Insurance, to the end of 2010, 73 counties (cities and districts) were made pilot areas to try out the policy, granting accumulatively 76.3155 million yuan of basic pension insurance payments to residents over 60 years old in farming and pastoral areas. Pensions received by enterprise retirees reached 2,439 yuan per month per person, higher than the national average. The inpatient reimbursement rate for urban residents covered by the medical insurance policy reached 75.1 percent. The highest reimbursement of medical expenses in 2010 was 130,000 yuan, 8.7 times the per-capita disposable income of 14,980 yuan of urban dwellers in Tibet. The number of Tibetan people who have taken out social insurance stood at 1.6623 million, and 1.732 billion yuan of various social insur-ances have been collected. Meanwhile, there were 527,100 em-ployees in the urban areas, and the registered urban unemployment rate was 3.81 percent.

4. Ethnic culture in Tibet is enjoying unprecedented prosperity, and freedom of religious belief is respected and protected.
The central and regional governments always attach great importance to carrying on, protecting and developing the excel-lent traditional culture of the Tibetan ethnic group. The study, use and development of the Tibetan language are protected by law, and the Tibetan script has become the first ethnic-minority script in China that has international text coding standards for information exchange. The state has altogether apportioned 1.45 billion yuan to maintain and repair the Potala Palace, the Norbulingka and Sakya Monastery, and other cultural relics and historical sites. Tibet’s 76 distinctive cultural items such as folk handicrafts, folk art and Tibetan opera have been listed among items of state-level intangible cultural heritage, and 53 people have been recognized as representatives of the state-level in-tangible cultural heritage. The Potala Palace, Jokhang Monastery and Norbulingka have been listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. Tibetan opera and the famous Legend of King Gesar have been put upon the World Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Tibetan medicine, with unique local features, has entered the world market, and Tibetology research is flourishing as never before.

Tibet’s radio, TV, press and publications are also growing rapidly. In 2010 the region had four radio stations, five TV stations, 27 medium-wave transmitting and relay stations, 68 radio and TV transmitting and relay stations at the county level, and 9,371 radio and TV receiving and transmitting stations at the township level. Tibet has built China’s first eth-nic-minority-language radio and TV program dubbing center — Tibetan Radio and TV Program Dubbing Center. More than 380,000 households can receive 55 digital radio and TV pro-grams through the Direct Broadcasting Satellite. The radio and TV coverage rate has reached 90.28 percent and 91.4 percent, respectively. Tibet publishes 58 kinds of newspapers and pe-riodicals, and has accumulatively published 12,000 titles of books in Chinese and Tibetan, totaling 250 million printed cop-ies.

Tibet now has 10 professional art performing troupes, 500-odd amateur art performing and Tibetan opera teams, and 19 folk art performing groups at the county level. A large number of traditional festivals have been inherited and revived, such as the annual Shoton Festival in Lhasa, Qomolangma Cultural and Tourist Festival in Xigaze and Summer Horse Races in Nagqu. Tibet endeavors to extend radio and TV coverage to every village and household, share cultural information and resources and establish cultural centers at the county and township levels to enrich the cultural life of farmers and herdsmen. It also endeavors to realize the complete coverage of comprehensive cultural centers and county-level sharing of cultural information and resources. A number of literary and artistic works and programs have been created which have a strong local flavor and display the features of our times, and there have been great improvement in both quantity and quality.
Freedom of religious belief of all ethnic groups is respected and protected in Tibet. All religions, all religious sects are equal in Tibet. The Living Buddha reincarnation system, unique to Tibetan Buddhism, is fully respected. People are free to learn and debate Buddhist doctrines, get ordained as monks and practice Buddhist rites. Academic degrees in Buddhism are also promoted. The central government has listed some famous sites for religious activities as cultural relics units subject to state or autonomous regional protection, including the Potala Palace, Jokhang, Tashilhunpo, Drepung, Sera and Sakya monasteries. Tibet now has more than 1,700 venues for religious activities, and about 46,000 monks and nuns. Monks and laymen organize and take part in the Sakadawa Festival and other religious and traditional activities every year. More than one million worshi-pers make pilgrimage to Lhasa each year.

5. Ecological conservation has been progressing rapidly, and environmental protection is being strengthened in an all-round way.

Tibet serves as an important ecology safety barrier in China. In old Tibet macro-ecological conservation or comprehensive environmental protection was out of the question. But since the peaceful liberation, and especially since the adoption of the reform and opening-up policies, the central and regional gov-ernments have attached great importance to ecological conser-vation and environmental protection, and earmarked large amounts of funds, manpower and materials in these endeavors. In 2002 the central government decided to launch 160 key projects in this regard. During the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-2005), the state granted 3.243 billion yuan for ecological and environmental protection in Tibet, and during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) the figure tripled to 10.162 billion yuan. The People’s Congress and People’s Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region have published more than 30 local regulations, regulatory documents and administrative rules cov-ering ecological conservation and environmental protection. A relatively comprehensive system of environmental protection has taken shape. Meanwhile, Tibet actively carries out projects to protect its natural forests, and convert farmland into forest and pastures into grassland. It also makes efforts to control deser-tification and soil erosion, manage small watersheds and prevent geological disasters. Tibet led the whole country to initiate the ecological compensation mechanism for the protection of grassland. It has launched a project to replace firewood with clean energy, and 150,000 households have begun to use meth-ane gas. Tibet is home to 21 ecological function conservation areas, seven national forest parks, three geological parks, one state-class scenic area and 47 nature reserves at various levels, accounting for 34.5 percent of the total land area of the region, topping any other part in China. The forest coverage rate has risen from less than 1 percent before the peaceful liberation to 11.91 percent at present, and more than six million hectares of wetland have been protected. According to the latest report on the state of the environment of China, generally speaking, there is no pollution of the atmosphere or water in Tibet. The region has basically maintained its original natural state, being one of the areas with the best environmental quality in the world. Tibet has embarked on a path of sustainable development, with eco-nomic growth and ecological protection advancing side by side. On March 2, 2009 the central government approved the Plan for Ecology Safety Barrier Protection and Construction in Tibet (2008-2030), with the projected investment amounting to 15.5 billion yuan.

Concluding Remarks

Sixty years are just a fleeting moment in the history of mankind. However, within six decades Tibet has achieved development that would normally call for a millennium. Under the leadership of the CPC and the Chinese government, the people of Tibet have created a miracle.

The 60 years following Tibet’s peaceful liberation have proved that Tibet, as an inseparable part of China, shares its destiny with the motherland, and its development is impossible without that of China. In modern times, when China was re-duced to semi-colonial and semi-feudal society beset with po-verty and weakness under corrupt and incompetent regimes, Tibet was also invaded and bullied by Western powers. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Tibet was peacefully liberated. Under the leadership of and with special care from the Central People’s Government, and through democratic reform, the founding of the autonomous region, socialist construction and the reform and opening-up, Tibet has abolished serfdom and theocracy, become a modern, democratic socialist society, achieved rapid and comprehensive economic and social development, and embarked on the road to modernity. Tibet’s 60 years of development would have been impossible without the care of the Central Authorities and the support of the entire nation. Moreover, Tibet’s rebirth and development would have been impossible without national unification, independ-ence and prosperity. Only by adhering to the leadership of the CPC, the path of socialism, the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and the development mode with Chinese characteristics and Tibet’s regional features, can Tibet enjoy lasting prosperity and a bright future.

Today, China is in a historical period of building a mod-erately prosperous society in an all-round way, speeding up reform and opening up and realizing modernization. The Fifth Tibet Work Forum, held by the Central Authorities, formulated the strategic goal to realize leapfrog development on the basis of the rapid development achieved so far and achieve lasting stability on the basis of basic stability by proceeding from the reality of Tibet and the development of the country. Tibet is advancing smoothly in the course of reform and in all of its undertakings, and we have every reason to believe that the Tibet Autonomous Region will have a better future with the combined efforts of all ethnic groups in Tibet and the help of the entire nation.