Promoting Tibet's Economic Development and Social Progress

Since the convocation of the Central Third Tibetan Working Forum, an upsurge has been set off in nationwide aid-Tibet work, which has vigorously promoted Tibet's all-round economic development and social progress.

At the meeting held in Lhasa on the afternoon of July 9 to see off the second batch and welcome in the third batch aid-Tibet cadres from the Party and State organizations, Radi, deputy secretary of the Standing Committee of the CPC committee, and chairman of the Standing Committee of the people's congress, of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said, "Practice proves that aiding Tibet is a wise policy decision made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, an effective strategy of administrating Tibet in the new historical period and an important factor for accelerating Tibet's development and maintaining its stability."

Since the Third Tibet Working Forum held in July 1994 by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, Tibet has experienced major changes in its economic and social face, its economic growth has begun to enter a new stage of sustained, rapid and sound development.

Statistics show that last year, the region's GDP reached 11.742 billion yuan, calculated on the basis of constant price, this represents a 96.3 percent increase over 1994, with the average annual growth being 11.9 percent; the region's total grain output reached 962,200 tons, the amount of livestock on hand hit 22.66 million head, achieving the historic turn of basic self-sufficiency in grain, edible oil and meat; per-capita net income for peasants and herdsmen reached 1,331 yuan, the disposable income of urban residents reached 6,448 yuan per person, respective increases of 62.9 percent and 93.6 percent over 1994.

In line with the new aid-Tibet method, known as "undertaking responsibility for different areas, extending counterpart assistance, and taking turns according to fixed schedule", set down by the Central Third Tibet Working Forum, relevant departments of the CPC Central Committee and related ministries and commissions of the State Council and various provinces and cities extending aid to Tibet pay close attention to it, conscientiously implement it, and conduct diversified and fruitful aid-Tibet actions.

Relevant departments of the CPC Central Committee and ministries and commissions of the State Council have included the aid-Tibet work into their own department's working plan. Many provinces and cities extending counterpart-aid to Tibet regard their counterpart-aid region as a special area of their own province and city and incorporate it into their own plan for overall arrangements, constantly intensifying their aid-Tibet efforts in the aspects of funds, project, personnel and materials.

Under the circumstance in which their own financial resources are not so ample, 15 counterpart aid-Tibet provinces and cities still set aside funds to help Tibet build 576 construction projects gratis, with investment reaching 2.24 billion yuan; Party and State departments concerned have helped construct140 projects, with investment hitting 920 million yuan. With regard to the 62

"Daqing projects", to be built with direct State investments and with mobilized nationwide assistance as decided by the Central Third Tibet Working Forum, actual investment in place has exceeded 4.8 billion yuan, more than double the originally fixed investment, now these projects have all been completed and put into use, which have notably enhanced the Tibetan economy's own blood-forming functions and its ability for sustainable development, bringing tremendous economic benefits to the 2.6 million people of various ethnic groups on the snow-covered plateau.

These major aid-Tibet projects involve such fields as agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, water, energy, communications, posts and telecommunications, civil aviation, culture, education, public health, radio and municipal works, covering almost all counties (cities) in Tibet.

Over the past seven years, 15 counterpart-aid-Tibet provinces and cities and more than 40 ministries and commissions of the central government, following the principle of "selecting the best and the strong", had, in 1995 and 1998, successively sent two groups of 1,268 cadres to go to work in Tibet, thus greatly strengthening Tibet's cadre ranks and improved their culture and age structure.

The broad masses of the aid-Tibet cadres, working in unity and cooperating with Tibet's local cadres, have organically combined the interior successful experiences in reform and opening up with the actual conditions of the recipient counties and cities and departments, look forward to future development, put forward realistic development ideas, thus making outstanding contribution to the acceleration of Tibet's economic development, maintenance of social stability and expansion of its opening to the outside world.






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