Tibet Celebrates New Year with Tea Party

A tea party was held Lhasa Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the approaching Tibetan New Year, which falls February 24.

Deputies from the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the regional government and the army stationed in Tibet attended the party.

Legqog, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region People's Government, said in his congratulatory speech that the past year was an important one in the region's history, with the achievement of the goal of the ninth five-year development plan.

The chairman pointed out that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) played an indispensable part in this achievement, through their efforts to maintain frontier defense and social stability, and to alleviate natural disasters.

Legqog noted that the year 2001 is the first year of the region 's tenth five-year plan. He said that he hoped that the region would seize the oppotunity of western China development advocated by the central government and the current stable situation in Tibet to achieve a rapid economic growth.






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