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Records on Tibet's Economic and Social Development and Human Rights ProgressThis report, entitled "A Century Epic on the Snow-clad Plateau", is written by Our Staff Reporters Wang Jianxin and Yue Furong. Following are the main point of this report:During the Spring Festival, as these reporters stepped onto this stretch of ancient yet young land of Tibet, they saw the scene of unity, happiness and prosperity prevail everywhere in the snow-clothed plateau. The great practice of Tibet in the past half-century shows: The Communist Party of China has found a path leading to equality, unity and common prosperity among various ethnic groups. With the Feudal Serf System Being Buried, a Historic Turn Has Taken Place in Tibet's Human Rights-Genuine Political Equality Among Various Ethnic Groups Has Been Realized, Tibetan People Have Really Grasped Their Own Destiny and Are Fully Exercising Their Rights As Masters of Their Own Affairs Cering Lhamo, 75, an old woman who once served as vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region, is now spending her remaining years happily with her children and grandchildren.Cering Lhamo was born into a longstanding serf family in Lhunze County, she began to act as a slave at the age of six for a feudal lord. When she was 12 years old, she was dragged by the brutal feudal lord away from her birthplace to a township in Nedong County, thus leaving her parents forever. During the Democratic Reform, Cering Lhamo, together with the masses of serfs, waged a resolute struggle against rebellion, corvee and personal slavery, and for rent and interest reduction. She said, "In the dark, old Tibet, the million serfs had no human rights to speak of. It was only after the Democratic Reform that the Tibetan people genuinely exercised the right to be masters of their own destiny." Today, like the people of various fraternal ethnic groups of the country, the Tibetan people have acquired unprecedented political rights, furthermore, everybody can choose, as they wish, their own social part to play, the Tibetan people have their own scientists, writers, artists, generals, lawyers and managers, hundreds of thousands of Tibetan cadres at various levels are active in towns and country of the plateau and are leading the masses in their advance toward a relatively comfortable life. When the reporters were covering news in a town of Nedong County, an election of new officials into the town people's congress and the town government was under way. Amidst the beautiful sound of Tibetan music, people's deputies were voting for leading members they trust to the town government and people's congress. When interviewed by these reporters, Basang Norbu, director of the Legal Committee of the Autonomous Regional People's Congress, said that in the election of new leaders into county and township governments and people's congress of Tibet, the rate of voters participating in the election basically stood at above 90 percent; among the regional people's deputies, the proportion of deputies from Tibetan and other ethnic minorities exceeded 80 percent; the posts of chairman of the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Region People's Congess, chairman of the Autonomous Region and magistrates of various counties were all filled by citizens of Tibetan and other ethnic minorities. He said, "This fully reflects the fact that the Tibetan people fully enjoy freedom and the right in the political, economic, educational and cultural aspects." At the same time, the religious belief freedom rights of the Tibetan people are earnestly respected and protected according to law. To meet the needs of the believers for religious activities, the State has, since the 1980s, allocated special funds of well over 300 million yuan to maintain, repair and protect 18 temples and monasteries including the Zuglakang, Bras-spungs, Sera, Ganden, Bkra-sis lhum-po and Bsam-yas monasteries, and later put in 55 million yuan to repair the world-famous Potala Palace which is now fresh with dazzling brightness. The Rights to Subsistence and Development Are the Greatest Human Rights, the Foundation and Prerequisite of Human Rights-In Less Than a Half Century, Tibet's Economy and Society Have Experienced Historic Change and Leap, the Tibetan People's Material and Cultural Living Standards Have Undergone Historic Improvement In the past, Lhasa, centered on the Zuglakang Monastery and extending along Parkor Street, was a very small place, the famous Potala Palace was located outside the "city". Before the Democratic Reform, the scope of Lhasa's city district was still less than three square km. But the latest materials show that the urban district of Lhasa has expanded to 51 square km. The change of Lhasa is only an epitome of the rapid development of plateau economic construction. In the past half century, especially since the initiation of the reform and opening up program, Tibet's economic and social development has achieved an historic leap. With the old relationship of production having been smashed to pieces, the productive forces have been enormously liberated and Tibet's economy experienced an historic leap within a short period of time. At present, the plateau has gradually bid farewell to the state of natural agriculture and animal husband that had continued for well over 1,000 years, in 1999, the region's grain output reached 917,000 tons, basically achieving self-sufficiency in grain, edible oils and meat. Before peaceful liberation, Tibet could not produce even an iron nail and its industrial production was practically equal to zero. At present, Tibet has initially built up its modern industries encompassing over 10 sectors such as electric power, mining, building materials, pharmaceutical, tanning, machine repair, woolen textile and food-processing industries. In 1999, Tibet's GDP topped 10 billion yuan for the first time, reaching nearly 10.34 billion yuan, with the annual growth rate being higher than the national average for six straight years. Today, the telephones of all counties of Tibet's seven prefectures and cities have entered into the nation's automatic switching network. Zeng Zhongyi, director of the autonomous region's post and telecommunication bureau, told these reporters, "At present, Internet, E-mail, conference television, information service, multi-media business inquiries and other new telecom businesses have started one after another in the plateau." Tibet has initially set up a road communication network accessible from all directions, the total road mileage of the region has topped 20,000 km. Lhasa has opened air routes leading straight to Chengdu, Kathmandu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Beijing, Xining, Guangzhou and Qamdo Bangda. Peasants and herdsmen in old Tibet did not have any means of production. Today, the tremendous change in people's livelihood has astonished those who are familiar with old and new Tibet. In 1999, Tibet's per-capita net income reached 1,250 yuan, the disposable income of an urban household reached 5,907 yuan, television sets, radio recorders and walking tractors have entered ordinary urban and rural households in large quantities, last year, the attendance rate of school-age children reached 83.4 percent; Tibet's life expectancy has increased from 35.5 years in the 1950s to 67 years. Strengthening National Unity, Achieving Common Prosperity-With the Loving Care of the Party Central Committee and the Disinterested Support From Various Fraternal Nationalities of the Country, the Various Ethnic Groups of Tibet, "Sharing a Common Fate, and With Heart Linked to Heart" Are Marching With Great Strides Toward the New Century Dagdain, a 68-year-old man of Lhoba nationality led the reporters to visit his home, a new house built at a cost of over 120,000 yuan. He told them that after the Democratic Reform, the Lhoba people had gradually moved out of the mountain and settled down on the plain, the State has built highways, power stations, reclaimed wasteland for them and allocated funds three times to build neat and clean, and spacious and bright new houses for them, thus bringing about tremendous changes to the production and living styles of Lhoba people. Tibet is a region inhabited by the Tibetan nationality in compact community, with the Tibetans accounting for 95 percent of the region's total population, the remaining 5 percent being Han, Hui, Lhoba, Monba and other ethnic groups. After Tibet's peaceful liberation, especially after the Democratic Reform, the various ethnic groups living on the snow-clad plateau are getting along well with one another, they are in the same boat helping each other, gradually forming a socialist national relationship featuring equality, unity and mutual-aid. Since the introduction of reform and opening-up policy, economic and technological exchanges between Tibetans and various other fraternal ethnic groups have become increasingly frequent, and have further enhanced the cohesive force among various nationalities. Particularly since the Third Tibetan Working Forum held by the Party Central Committee and the State Council in 1994, the various ministries and commissions under the central government and various localities nationwide have intensified their efforts in aiding Tibet. Since 1995, 15 provinces and cities have sent out more than 1,200 outstanding young and middle-aged cadres to work in seven prefectures and cities of Tibet, and have put in huge amounts of funds, implemented a large batch of projects and carried out multi-form and multi-level association and cooperation, and aided Tibet's economic development, so that the Tibetan people fully enjoy the warmth of the big family of the motherland. The Party Central Committee has shown great concern for Tibet's construction and development, various localities across the country have given Tibet many disinterested support. Since the 1950s, the financial subsidies granted and various kinds of investment made by the central authorities have totaled more than 40 billion yuan. The 62 projects built for celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region involved an actual investment of 4.8 billion yuan of which 4.484 billion yuan came from various ministries and commissions under the central authorities and from various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities throughout the country. The snow-covered plateau opening to the outside world is full of vitality and vigor; a united, well-off, and culturally advanced socialist new Tibet is advancing with great strides toward the new century..
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