历史的跨越 恢宏的篇章—— 看西藏和平解放60年的发展进步

■ 吴楚

历史的跨越 恢宏的篇章
—— 看西藏和平解放60年的发展进步

■ 吴楚

今年是西藏和平解放60周年。60年前的5月23日，中央人民政府与原西藏地方政府在北京签订了《关于和平解放西藏办法的协议》(简称《十七条协议》)，宣告西藏实现和平解放。西藏的和平解放，彻底打破了近代以来帝国主义势力觊觎西藏、分裂中国的图谋，实现了祖国大陆的完全解放和统一；极大地鼓舞了西藏内部的爱国进步力量，为改变旧西藏政教合一的封建农奴制度创造了条件；密切了西藏与内地的联系，极大地促进了西藏各项事业的发展，开启了西藏繁荣进步的光明前程。

60年弹指一挥间，西藏这颗祖国西南边陲的高原明珠发生了翻天覆地的历史性巨变，在祖国大家庭里，西藏各族人民与全国人民一道，艰苦奋斗、锐意进取，团结协作，取得了实实在在的发展进步。

(一)社会制度实现历史跨越

和平解放以前的旧西藏，长期以来实行政教合一的封建农奴制度。在这一制度下，占总人口不足5%的农奴主占有西藏全部生

产资料和文化教育资源，而占人口95%以上的农奴和奴隶没有任何生产资料和人身自由，更谈不上享有政治权利，只是“会说话的工具”。旧西藏颁布的《法典》明确规定，人分为三等九级，并规定死亡有命价，大贵族、上层僧侣的命价相当于与身体等重的黄金，而奴隶、屠夫等最低等级的命价只有一根草绳。在西藏和平解放的过程中，中央政府全面分析了国内外形势和西藏当时的社会状况，提出了“解放西藏宜早不宜迟”和“和平解放西藏”的方针。经过中央政府的反复争取和以十世班禅额尔德尼、阿沛·阿旺晋美、帕巴拉·格列朗杰等为代表的西藏爱国进步力量的共同努力，西藏地方政府派出和谈代表，与中央政府签订了《十七条协议》。在《十七条协议》中，一方面规定人民解放军进入西藏，保卫边疆，驱逐帝国主义势力，另一方面规定对西藏现行的社会制度和达赖喇嘛的职权不予变更，原西藏地方政府官员照常供职；同时也规定，西藏人民有改革现行制度的愿望时，西藏地方政府应在协商基础上自动进行改革。然而，西藏封建农奴主上层中的顽固势力并不真心拥护和实行《十七条协议》，企图维护封建农奴制度“永远不变”，并且在西藏和平解放后的8年时间里不断制造破坏协议的各类事件，并于1959年3月10日发动了全面武装叛乱。在这种情况下，中央政府果断做出平息叛乱的决定，3月28日国务院发布命令解散西藏地方政府，由西藏自治区筹备委员会行使西藏地方政府职权，这是西藏民主建政道路中具有决定意义的一步。同时，中央政府采取“边平叛、边改革”的方针，在平息叛乱的同时，发动群众进行民主改革，彻底废除了实行千年的封建农奴制度，建立起各级人民民主政权，百万农奴翻身成为国家和社会的主人。又经过几年的准备，1965年9月西藏自治区正式成立，西藏人民通过行使自己的民主权利，选举出西藏自治区各级自治机关人民代表大会和人民政府，自主地行使宪法和法律赋予的权力，管理西藏自治区内的各项事务。

改革开放以后，西藏的民主政治建设不断推进。人民代表大会制度、中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度、民族区域自治制度、基层群众自治制度在西藏全面建立并不断完善。截至目前，西藏自治区人大及其常委会共制定了250余部地方性法规和单行条例，内容涉及政治、经济、文化、教育等各个方面。西藏各级人大代表中，藏族和其他少数民族占94.4%；全国人大代表中，西藏有12名藏族代表和1名门巴族、1名珞巴族代表；自治区现职省级领导干部中，藏族和其他少数民族干部占70.42%；在全区74个县(市、区)以及682个乡镇中的主要领导干部中，藏族和其他少数民族占86%以上。社会制度的伟大变革使古老的西藏高原焕发出勃勃生机，极大地促进了生产力的发展，推动西藏经济快速增长，社会全面进步，各族人民的生活水平不断提高。

(二)经济建设成就辉煌

1951年西藏和平解放时总人口114万，生产力水平极其落后，产业结构基本以农牧业为主，只有少量商业和手工业，全区生产总值1.29亿元，人均113元。针对当时西藏一穷二白、民生凋敝的状况，中央政府把帮助西藏发展经济、改善人民生活摆在首位，对西藏地方经济社会发展给予大量帮助。上世纪五十年代，当时的进藏人民解放军遵照中央政府的指示，在各地举办学校、医院、发放农具、无息贷款，派医疗队、兽防医疗人员深入农牧区，免费为群众看病治病，为牲畜防治疫病。这一切增进了人民群众对解放军、共产党的了解，增强了汉藏民族的团结。根据毛泽东主席“为了帮助兄弟民族，不怕困难，努力筑路”的指示，从1951年至1954年短短的三年时间里，以解放军为主的10余万藏汉军民跨过无数高山、深谷，筑成了全长3000多公里、平均海拔4000米的川藏公路和青藏公路，由于高寒缺氧、施工条件艰苦，3000多名烈士长眠在修路工地上，平均每一公里至少有一名官兵牺牲。然而青藏高原自此有了“幸福路”、“连心路”，大批物资、人员源源不断地来到西藏，密切了西藏与祖国内地的联系，拉开了西藏现代化建设的序幕。

改革开放以后，中央政府先后召开五次西藏工作座谈会，制定了扶持西藏经济社会发展的一系列特殊政策和优惠措施，举全国之力支援西藏建设。据统计，仅2001年至2010年，国家为西藏提供财政补贴和固定资产投资累计达3100多亿元。此外，中央政府还动员全国其他相对发达的省份和国有重要骨干企业对口支援西藏，选派一批又一批的援藏干部到西藏帮助工作，同时选派西藏的干部到内地进行培训和锻炼。目前，国家直接投资西藏建设项目、中央政府实行财政补贴、全国进行对口支援的全方位支持西藏现代化建设的格局已经形成。

经济总量跃上新台阶。目前西藏已经连续18年实现了两位数的经济增长速度，2010年全区生产总值达到507.46亿元，按可比价格计算，是1951年的393倍，是1959年西藏民主改革前的83倍；人均国内生产总值超过1.7万元，是1951年的150倍，1959年的34倍；地方财政一般预算收入达到36.1亿元，连续8年保持20%以上的增长。特别是在过去的五年里(“十一五”时期)，全区生产总值先后突破300亿元、400亿元、500亿元，年均增长12.4%，保持了跨越式发展的良好势头；全社会固定资产投资累计达到1656亿元，是“十五”时期的2.4倍；社会消费品零售总额累计实现670亿元，比“十五”时期增长1.3倍；地方财政一般预算收入累计达到126.3亿元，是“十五”时期的近3倍。

基础设施有了极大改善。综合交通运输网初步形成，全区74个县中54个县通油路、6个县油路在建，所有乡镇和80%以上的行政村通公路，通车里程达到5.8万公里，比1959年增加5.07万公里；青藏铁路2006年建成通车，结束了西藏不通铁路的历史，拉萨——日喀则铁路纳入国家“十二五”规划并已开工建设；已建成拉萨贡嘎机场、昌都邦达机场、林芝米林机场、日喀则和平机场、阿里昆莎机场等5大民用机场、开通21条国际国内航线。以水电为主的综合能源体系加快建立，狮泉河、直孔、巴河雪卡等电站竣工投产，全区电力装机总容量达到97.4万千瓦，在建规模95.6万千瓦，用电人口覆盖率82%。现代化通讯网络覆盖全区，3G网络实现县县覆盖，互联网用户超过115万户,基本实现了乡乡通宽带、村村通电话。

产业建设迈出新步伐。西藏提出，要大力发展优势矿产业、藏药业、民族手工业、特色旅游业、特色农牧业和绿色食(饮)品业等六个特色产业，着力打造一批具有较高知名度的高原特色品牌。目前西藏特色优势产业快速发展，农牧业综合生产能力进一步提高，矿产勘查工作取得重大进展。特别是立足高原独特的自然条件和丰富的人文环境，旅游业得到了长足的发展。近年来，西藏狠抓宣传促销和优化服务，突出冬季旅游和农村旅游，2010年全区接待游客685.1万人次，旅游总收入达71.4亿元，分别较2005年增长2.8倍和2.7倍。

人民生活水平极大提高。农牧民人均纯收入连续8年保持两位数增长，2010年达到4138.7元，比2005年增长99.2%，比1959年的35元增长了118倍；城镇居民人均可支配收入达到14980元，比2005年增长78.1%。特别是从2006年以来实施的以安居乐业为突破口的社会主义新农村建设取得重大进展，累计投入资金170亿元，全区住房条件比较差的27.5万户、143万农牧民住上了安全适用的房屋，同时解决了153万人的安全饮水问题，159个乡镇和1659个行政村通了公路，新增74万农牧民用上了电。

(三)社会事业全面进步

西藏和平解放以前，没有一所现代意义上的学校和医院，有限的教育和为数不多的传统藏医藏药医疗机构被封建农奴主贵族和寺院所垄断，青壮年文盲率高达95%，人均寿命35岁。民族要发展，教育是基础。从1950年至2010年，国家累计投入教育经费407.3亿元，形成了涵盖学前教育、义务教育、中等教育、高等教育、职业教育、特殊教育的现代教育体系。西藏早在上世纪80年代就实行全区义务教育阶段农牧民子女的学生全部免除学杂费和书本费，并对寄宿制学生实行包吃、包住、包学习费用的“三包”政策，2009年西藏第八次提高“三包”经费补助标准，小学生1750元，中学生1850元，惠及中小学生27万人。截至2010年，西藏全面完成“普九”，适龄儿童入学率、初中入学率、高中入学率和高等教育毛入学率分别达到99.2%、98.2%、60.1%和23.4%，青壮年文盲率下降到1.2%，人均受教育年限达到7.3年。

西藏的医疗卫生事业取得了长足发展。西藏在全国率先实现了城镇居民医疗保险全覆盖，建立了以免费医疗为基础的农牧区医疗制度。目前全区有各类卫生医疗机构1500多家，实现了乡乡有卫生院，村村有卫生室，病床8000多张，每千人拥有的病床和卫生技术人员数分别达到2.6张和3.2人，高于全国平均水平。婴儿死亡率由50年代的43%下降到3.1%，人均预期寿命增加到67岁，目前西藏是全国百岁老人最多和比例最高的省区之一。

社会保障体系逐步完善。城镇登记失业率连续多年控制在4.3%以内，仅2009年就安排培训资金5000万元，培训农牧民28万人。在中央政府的大力支持下，西藏在全国率先实现了新型农村社会养老保险和城乡最低生活保障等制度的全覆盖，城乡居民最低生活保障标准分别提高到月人均330元和年人均1300元。

(四)文化生活丰富繁荣

藏族的优秀传统文化，是中华民族传统文化的重要组成部分。中央政府和西藏地方各级政府十分重视保护和发展西藏的优秀传统文化，一贯实行尊重、继承和发展少数民族传统文化的政策。在西藏成立了专门的民族文化遗产抢救、整理和研究机构，对全区民间文化艺术遗产进行全面普查，将流传于民间的戏剧、舞蹈、音乐、曲艺、民歌、谚语、故事等加以搜集、整理，采录藏汉文资料3000多万字，发表有关西藏传统文化的学术论文1000多篇，专著30多部。《格萨尔王传》等进入非物质文化遗产保护名录，得到及时抢救和保护。重视藏语文的学习、使用和发展，藏文编码国际标准成为我国少数民族文字中第一个具有国际标准的文字。

旧西藏没有报刊、杂志、电影、电视，现在西藏共有出版发行单位86家，每年出版图书百余种、杂志34种，其中藏文14种，报纸23种，其中藏文10种；广播电台1座，广播电视台3座，电视台5座，卫星接收站12976座，广播电视人口综合覆盖率分别达到90.3%、91.4%。近年来大力推进文化体制改革，一大批具有浓郁地方特色、体现时代精神的文化精品不断推出。每年藏历新年，西藏电视台都要制作播出藏语的新年联欢晚会，不仅深受西藏各地人民群众的喜爱，而且据境外藏胞反映，在印度、尼泊尔的藏人聚居区也可以看到西藏电视台的节目，特别是每逢藏语新年联欢晚会播出时，一些藏人聚居区万人空巷，与境内的藏族群众共同享受这场文化大餐。近年来，西藏自治区还派出文艺团组在春节、藏历新年期间，到尼泊尔、瑞士、澳大利亚等国的境外藏胞聚居区进行演出和联欢，每年都有近万人次参加，深受境外藏胞欢迎。

(五)宗教信仰自由得到充分保障

藏族群众普遍信仰藏传佛教，藏传佛教在西藏有着悠久的历史，对人们物质生产和精神生活有着广泛而深刻的影响。目前西藏共有寺庙1700多所，僧尼4万多人。除藏传佛教外，还有一部分群众信仰伊斯兰教、天主教。在旧西藏政教合一的封建农奴制度中，贵族、政府官员和寺庙上层僧侣是三大封建领主，其中寺庙占有的土地和农奴最多。1951年西藏110多万人口中，寺庙僧尼有20万，大量青壮年集中在寺庙，不从事生产劳动，成为严重制约西藏经济社会发展的一个重要因素。在寺庙内部等级森严，下层僧侣地位十分低下，主要从事各种杂役，没有接受文化甚至宗教教育的机会。同时，藏传佛教各个教派之间历史上矛盾冲突不断，各教派在不同时期依靠不同的政治势力，往往在掌权后对其他教派进行打压。在同一教派中也有矛盾，民国时同属藏传佛教格鲁派的九世班禅与十三世达赖失和，九世班禅被迫来到内地，最后在内地圆寂。

西藏和平解放后，在中央政府的努力下，实现宗教信仰自由政策，各教派一律平等，同时在中央政府的努力下，十世班禅回到西藏，西藏地方政府承认班禅的固有地位，历史宿怨得以化解，西藏内部增进了团结。中国宪法规定，宗教信仰自由是公民的一项基本权利，西藏信教群众在国家宪法和法律的保护下，享有开展正常宗教活动的充分自由。“萨嘎达瓦节”等40余种传统宗教节日受到国家法律保护，每年到拉萨朝佛敬香的信教群众达百万人次。藏文《中华大藏经》等一大批藏传佛教典籍的整理、出版，满足了僧尼和信教群众的学修需求。上世纪八十年代以来，国家每年都拨出专项资金，对包括寺庙在内的重要文物单位进行维修和保护。“十五”期间(2001-2005)，国家投资3.3亿元对布达拉宫、罗布林卡、萨迦寺进行包括古建筑维修、周围环境整治、安装消防设施等内容的保护工程，“十一五”期间(2006-2010)，国家投资近6亿元，在西藏实施22处文物维修工程，其中重点文物保护单位和重要寺庙15处。与此同时，加强宗教法律法规建设和政府对宗教事务的管理，在宗教活动场所内部实现民主管理，开展法制宣传教育，提高宗教活动场所的社会化管理和自我管理水平，增强僧尼的国家意识、法律意识、公民意识。

(六)生态环境得到有效保护

西藏地处青藏高原核心地带，是世界山地冰川最发育的地区，是长江、黄河、澜沧江等主要河流和亚洲重要江河源区，是维系我国和东亚气候系统稳定的重要屏障。西藏复杂的地形和多样的气候也使西藏成为一个生物资源非常丰富的地区，是生物多样性的重要基因库。据勘察，目前西藏有野生植物9600多种，被列入国家重点保护的珍稀植物有40多种，西藏特有的野生动物达196种，被列为国家和西藏自治区重点保护的野生动物125种。西藏现有森林1400多万公顷，森林蓄积量20多亿立方米，名列全国第一位；现有天然草地8207万公顷，约占全国天然草地面积的21%，西藏土地面积的68%。

西藏的生态环境特殊而丰富，但同时也比较脆弱，一旦遭到破坏，影响极大且很难得到恢复。合理开发和利用自然资源、保护生态环境是中国的一项基本国策。中央第五次西藏工作座谈会明确提出，要把西藏的生态环境建设作为造福千秋万代的战略工程，促进生态保护与经济建设协调发展、环境优化和民生改善同步提升，实现生态系统良性循环。近年来，西藏实行生态环境与经济社会同步规划，全面实施《土地管理法》、《水法》、《草原法》等法律法规和《西藏生态安全屏障保护与建设规划》，推进天然林保护、退耕还林、退牧还草等工程，开展防沙治沙、水土流失、小流域综合治理及地质灾害防治工作。目前，已建立21个生态功能保护区、7个国家森林公园、3个地质公园、1个国家级风景名胜区以及47个各级各类自然保护区，保护区面积占西藏国土面积的34.5%，森林覆盖率由不足上世纪50年代的1%上升到11.91%。根据国家的要求，在西藏的经济项目建设中，实行最严格的环境评价机制，坚决防止由于资源开发、各类项目建设对西藏生态环境造成重大影响。在建设青藏铁路的过程中，为保护沿线的生态环境，采取了大量高科技手段和工程措施，仅用于环保的投资就达14亿元，创下中国铁路建设之最。

60年来，中央政府始终高度重视西藏工作，关心西藏各族人民，采取符合西藏现实的政策措施，西藏经历了从黑暗走向光明，从专制走向民主，从落后走向进步，从贫穷走向富裕，从封闭走向开放的历史跨越，实现了短短几十年跨越上千年的发展奇迹。2010年召开的中央第五次西藏工作座谈会，明确提出到2020年西藏与全国一道实现全面建设小康社会的宏伟目标。我们有理由相信，在中央的关心和全国人民的无私支援下，通过西藏各族人民的团结奋斗，通过西藏与内地交往、交流、交融的不断深化，西藏一定会有更加美好的发展前景。

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet. Sixty years ago on May 23, the Central People’s Government and the former Tibet local government signed the Agreement on the Procedures for Peacefully Liberating Tibet(the Seventeen Articles), which declared that Tibet was achieving peaceful liberation. The peaceful liberation of Tibet completely wrecked the avaricious schemes that foreign imperialist forces had carried out throughout the modern period to split Tibet off from China, and achieved the complete liberation and unification of the Chinese mainland. This greatly encouraged patriotic advanced forces in Tibet and created the conditions for changing Tibet’s feudal serf system rooted on the twin pillars of politics and religion. It also created intimate links between Tibet and the interior of China, greatly stimulated the development of all undertakings in Tibet, and opened a promising path for Tibet to flourish and progress.

Sixty years have passed in the twinkling of an eye, and in that time the marvelous Tibetan plateau in China’s southwest has undergone tremendous changes,and the Tibetan people of all ethnic groups have united with people throughout the country in the great family of the motherland, struggled resolutely together to progress, and worked arm in arm to achieve real development and progress.

1. Historic changes in the social system

Before its peaceful liberation, Tibet was for a long time under a feudal serf system rooted on the twin pillars of politics and religion. Under this system, serf owners, who comprised less than 5% of the population, controlled all the production, cultural and education resources; whereas the other 95% of the population were serfs or slaves who possessed no production resources and had no personal freedom, let alone any political rights, and they were nothing more than tools with the ability to speak. The legal code of old Tibet clearly stipulated that people are divided into three levels and nine sublevels and it sets a price on the value of a person’s life based on his or her status. Nobles and high-level religious figures were worth their weight in gold, but the lowest-level serfs were worth only a length of rope. In the course of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the central government carried out a thorough analysis of the domestic and international situations and the social situation in Tibet at the time, and set forth the policy of liberating Tibet sooner rather than later and liberating it peacefully. As the result of repeated efforts of the central government to work together with patriotic progressive forces in Tibet represented by the Tenth Panchen Erdeni,Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme and Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai among others, the Tibet local government dispatched a peace negotiator to Beijing who signed the Seventeen Articles with the central government. The Seventeen Articles stipulated on the one hand that the PLA would enter Tibet and protect its borders and oust imperialist forces there, and on the other hand that the prevailing social system and the powers of the Dalai Lama would not be changed and that officials of the Tibet local government would remain in office. It also stipulated that when the Tibetan people expressed the desire to change the prevailing social system, the Tibet local government should take the initiative to carry out reform on the basis of consultations. Subsequently,the hardline forces within Tibetan feudal serf-owing upper class did not sincerely uphold and implement the Seventeen Articles, tried to maintain the feudal serf system forever without any changes and hoped that reforms would never be adopted. In the eighth year after the peaceful liberation of Tibet, they constantly fomented incidents to break the accord, and launched an all-out armed rebellion on March 3, 1959. In this situation, the central government resolutely decided to quell the rebellion. On March 28, the State Council issued an order to dissolve the Tibet local government and have the Party committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Region carry out the functions of the local government. This step was of decisive significance on the path of building democracy in Tibet. At the same time, the central government adopted the policy of carrying out reform while quelling rebellion. While quelling the rebellion, it mobilized the masses to carry out democratic reform and to thoroughly abolish the feudal serf system that had been practiced for a thousand years and create a democratic government of people of all classes. As a result millions of serfs stood up and became masters of their country and society. In addition, after several years of preparation, the Tibetan Autonomous Region was formally established, and the Tibetan people exercised their democratic rights to elect people’s congresses and people’s governments at every administrative level in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, independently exercise the rights given to them by the Constitution and laws, and manage all the internal affairs of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Since the beginning of reform and opening up,constant progress has been made in developing democracy in Tibet. The system of people’s congresses, the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the system of ethnic autonomous regions, and the system of primary-level self-governance have all been fully established in Tibet and are being constantly improved. Up till the present,the Tibetan Autonomous Region People’s Congress and its standing committee have enacted more than 250 local laws and regulations, whose content ranges over a wide area including political affairs,the economy, culture and education. Members of the Tibetan ethnic group and other minorities constitute 94.4% of the membership of people’s congresses at all levels in Tibet. The Tibetan delegation to the National People’s Congress includes twelve members of the Tibetan ethnic group, one member of the Monpa ethnic group and one member of the Lhoba ethnic group. Members of the Tibetan ethnic group and other ethnic groups constitute 70.42% of provinciallevel leading cadres in Tibet, and they comprise more than 86% of leading cadres in Tibet’s counties (cities,municipal districts) and its 682 towns and townships.The great changes that have occurred in Tibet’s social system have infused vigor and vitality into the ancient Tibetan plateau, greatly stimulated the development of productive forces, given impetus to rapid economic development and comprehensive social progress in Tibet, and constantly raised the living standards of the members of all ethnic groups in Tibet.

2. Glorious achievements in economic development

At the time of the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, Tibet had a population of 1.14 million; the level of productive forces was extremely backward;farming and herding was the primary industry; only a small number of people were engaged in commerce and handicraft industries; the gross regional product(GRP) was only 129 million yuan, and per capita income was only 113 yuan. Because Tibet was mired in poverty and ignorance and the people were destitute, the central government gave top priority to helping Tibet develop its economy and improve the people’s lives, and gave a large amount of aid to assist the economic and social development of Tibet. When the PLA entered Tibet in the 1950s, it abided by the directives of the central government and everywhere it went it set up schools and hospitals, passed out farm tools, and issued no-interest loans. The central government sent medical teams and veterinarians and doctors that went deep into the hinterlands where they treated the sick and prevented and controlled animal epidemics. All this increased people’s understanding of the PLA and the Communist Party and increased the solidarity between the peoples of the Han and Tibetan ethnic groups. In accordance with Comrade Mao Zedong’s directive to brave all hardships in an all-out drive to build roads to help our fellow ethnic groups, more than 100,000 Tibetans and Han Chinese,soldiers and civilians, with the PLA in the lead,built the Sichuan-Tibet Highway and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, which together extended more than 3,000 km. over countless mountains and valleys at an average elevation of 4,000 m. Due of the elevation,cold, lack of oxygen and difficult working conditions,more than 3,000 construction workers sacrificed their lives working on the project, an average of about one per kilometer. As a result, from then on, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau had a “happiness road” and a “heart link road” along which a constant stream of supplies and personnel entered Tibet, closely connecting Tibet with the rest of the motherland and lifting the curtain on the modernization and development of Tibet.

Since the beginning of reform and opening up, the central government has held five working meetings on Tibet, where it a series of special policies and preferential measures were adopted to support Tibet’s economic and social development and forces throughout the country were marshaled to support Tibet’s development. According to statistics, the state provided Tibet fiscal subsidies and fixed investment totaling 310 billion yuan just in the period from 2001 to 2010. In addition, the central government mobilized relatively developed provinces and major core SOEs to provide direct assistance to sister organizations in Tibet, and to send one group after another of cadres there to do assistance work while at the same time bringing Tibetan cadres to the interior for training. At present, a comprehensive setup for supporting Tibet’s modernization involving a combination of state direct investment in Tibet construction projects, central government fiscal subsidies and support by sister organizations throughout the country has already been set up.

Total economic output jumped to a new height.Tibet has registered double-digit growth for 18 consecutive years. In 2010, Tibet’s GRP was 50.746 billion yuan, 393 times that of 1951 calculated in comparable terms and 83 times that of 1959 when democratic reforms were adopted in Tibet. The per capita GDP was 17,000 yuan, 150 times that of 1951 and 34 times that of 1959. Local general budgetary revenue was 3.61 billion yuan, and it increased at least 20% for eight consecutive years. In particular,in the last five years (the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period) GRP growth maintained a sensational pace and the GRP passed the 30 billion, 40 billion and 50 billion marks and increased at an average annual rate of 12.4%. Total fixed investment in the region for the five years was 165.6 billion yuan, 2.4 times that of the Tenth Five-Year Plan period. Total consumer sales over the five years totaled 67 billion yuan, 1.3 times that of the Tenth Five-Year Plan period. Local general budgetary revenue for the five years was 12.63 billion yuan, three times that of the Tenth Five-Year Plan period.

Infrastructure has been greatly improved. The rudiments of a comprehensive transport network are now in place. Asphalt roads connect 54 of Tibet’s 74 counties and six more are under construction. All of the region’s towns and villages and 80% of the administrative villages are linked by roads, and there are 58,000 km. of roads open to vehicular traffic, an increase of 50,700 km. over 1959. The Qinghai-Tibet railroad was opened to traffic in 2006, connecting Tibet to the rest of China by rail for the first time. The Lhasa-Shigatse Railroad is included in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan and construction of it has already begun. Construction has been completed on five large civilian airports: the Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Qamdo Bangda Airport, Nyingchi Mainling Airport, Shigatse Peace Airport and Ngari Gunsa Airport which are serviced by 21 domestic and international airline routes. Development of a comprehensive energy system based mainly on hydropower was accelerated.Hydropower stations were built and put into operation at Shiquan River, Zhikong and Bahexueka, and the total electric power capacity of Tibet has reached 974,000 kW., with another 956,000 kW. under construction, and 82% of the population has access to electricity. The modern information network covers the whole region, and the 3G network extends to all counties. There are more than 1.15 million Internet users, and all townships have broadband Internet service and all villages have telephone service.

Further progress has been made in developing industry. Tibet has indicated that it needs to energetically develop six industries for which it has favorable conditions: mining, Tibetan medicine, ethnic handicrafts, tourism, local agricultural products, and organic foods and beverages, and create a number of name brands that reflect the characteristics of the region. At present, industries that produce unique products for which Tibet has favorable conditions are developing quickly; the overall productive forces of the farming and herding industries have increased further, and great progress has been made in mineral exploration. The tourism industry in particular has grown by leaps and bounds due to the unique natural conditions of the plateau and Tibet’s rich cultural environment. In recent years, Tibet has thrown itself wholeheartedly into publicity, sales promotion and outstanding service, and made breakthroughs in winter tourism and rural tourism. In 2010, a total of 6.851 million tourists visited Tibet and tourism income was 7.14 billion yuan, 2.8 and 2.7 times more than in 2005 respectively.

People’s standard of living has increased greatly.The per capita net income of farmers and herders has undergone double-digit growth for eight consecutive years, and reached 4,138.7 yuan in 2010, a 99.2%increase over 2005, and 118 times the figure of 35 yuan in 1959. The per capital disposable income of urban residents was 14,980 yuan, a 78.1% increase over 2005. Particularly since 2006, great progress has been made in building a new socialist countryside with the focus on enabling the people to live peaceful lives and have satisfying jobs, and a total of 17 billion yuan has been invested in this undertaking. In all of Tibet, 275,000 people live in substandard conditions,and 1.44 million farmers and herders live in safe and satisfactory housing. A total of 1.53 million people have been provided with a steady source of safe drinking water; roads have been built to 159 towns and townships and 1,659 administrative villages, and electric power has been provided to an additional 740,000 farmers and herders.

3. Comprehensive progress in social undertakings

Before its peaceful liberation, Tibet did not have a single modern school or hospital. The limited number of schools and traditional Tibetan medicine facilities were monopolized by the feudal nobility and the monasteries. Life expectancy was 35 years, and 95%of young and middle-aged people were illiterate. For the Tibetan ethnic group to progress, education had to be made the foundation. From 1950 to 2010, the state spent a total of 40.73 billion yuan to cover the costs of education, and created an education system encompassing pre-school education, compulsory education, secondary education, higher education,vocational education and special education. In the 1980s, the state eliminated miscellaneous expenses and provided free books to the children of all farmers and herders throughout Tibet who were enrolled in compulsory education, and boarding students were provided free housing and meals and exempted them from school fees. In 2009, Tibet raised the level of subsidies for this program for the third time, and now elementary students receive 1,750 yuan and secondary school students receive 1,850, and 270,000 students benefit from this program. As of 2010, Tibet has made nine-year compulsory education virtually universal,and 99.2% of elementary-school aged children attend school; and the percentages for lower secondary school, upper secondary school and university are 98.2%, 60.1% and 23.4% respectively. The illiteracy rate for young and middle-aged people has dropped to 1.2%, and the average education of Tibetans is 7.3 years.

Great progress has been made in the medical and health fields in Tibet. Tibet was the first province in the country to provide universal medical insurance coverage to urban residents, and has set up a rural medical system with free treatment as its foundation.At present there are more than 1,500 health and medical facilities of all kinds in Tibet, and every township has a hospital and every village has a clinic.There are more than 8,000 hospital beds in these facilities, and there are 2.6 hospital beds and 3.2 health professionals for every 1,000 people. Both of these figures are higher than the national average. The infant mortality rate has dropped from 43% in the 1950s to 3.1% today, and life expectancy has reached 67 years. Tibet is one of the provinces with the largest number and highest percentage of centenarians in the population.

The social security system is gradually approaching completion. For many years the registered urban unemployment rate has been held at or below 4.3%, and in 2009 alone 50 million yuan spent was on job training for 280,000 farmers and herdsmen. With the energetic support of the central government, Tibet was the first province in the country to achieve full coverage of the new kind of rural old-age insurance and urban subsistence allowances. The urban subsistence allowance was raised to 300 yuan per month, and the rural subsistence allowance was raised to 1,300 yuan per year.

4. Rich and flourishing cultural life

Tibet’s outstanding traditional culture is an important part of the Chinese nation’s traditional culture. The central government and local governments at all levels in Tibet place strong emphasis on preserving and developing Tibet’s outstanding traditional culture, and always carry out a policy of respecting, carrying forward and developing the traditional culture of ethnic minorities. Institutions have been established in Tibet for the salvaging,sorting and study of artifacts of ethnic culture. They carried out a comprehensive survey throughout Tibet of artifacts and culture and arts; formulated plans to collect and organize plays, dances, music, folk art, folk songs, proverbs and stories that circulate among the people; collected materials in the Tibetan and Chinese languages totaling more than 30 million words; and published more than 1,000 academic papers and more than 30 monographs on traditional Tibetan culture.The Biography of King Gesar and other works have been placed on the list of protected intangible cultural artifacts, and were salvaged and preserved in a timely manner. The central government pays great attention to the study, use and development of the Tibetan language. International standard script coding has been developed for the Tibetan language, and it is the first Chinese ethnic minority language to be so coded.

In old Tibet, there were no newspapers,magazines, films or television; but now there are 86 publishing houses in Tibet, and every year they publish more than a hundred books; 4 magazines,14 of which are in Tibetan; and 23 newspapers, 10 of which are in Tibetan. There is one radio station,three radio and television stations, five television stations, and 12,976 satellite receiving stations; 90.3%of the population has radio reception and 91.4% has television reception. In recent years, great progress has been made in reforming the culture system, and a large number of cultural products that have rich local flavor and embody the spirit of the times have appeared in a constant stream. Every year at Tibetan New Year, all the Tibetan television stations present variety shows celebrating the holiday, and these programs are not only well loved by the people throughout Tibet, but are also avidly watched by Tibetans living outside the region. Television stations in areas of India and Nepal where Tibetans are concentrated also broadcast Tibetan programs. New Year’s variety programs are especially popular, and Tibetans there gather with family and friends to enjoy this cultural feast just like their compatriots in Tibet. In recent years at Tibetan New Year and Spring Festival, the Tibetan Autonomous Region has sent performing arts troupes to places in Nepal, Switzerland, Australia and other countries where Tibetans are concentrated to perform and celebrate the holidays with local Tibetans. Every year, nearly 10,000 Tibetan artists participate in these programs and are enthusiastically welcomed by their compatriots living abroad.

5. Fully protecting freedom of religious belief

Most Tibetans believe in Tibetan Buddhism.Tibetan Buddhism has a long history in Tibet, and it has a pervasive influence on people’s material and spiritual lives. At present, there are more than 1,700 Buddhist temples and monasteries and more than 40,000 Buddhist monks in Tibet. Small minorities of Tibetans also believe in Islam or Catholicism. Under the feudal serf system rooted on the twin pillars of politics and religion of old Tibet, there were three kinds of feudal lords: nobles, government officials and monastery abbots. Monasteries possessed the most land and serfs. In 1951, there were 200,000 monks and nuns out of a population of 1.1 million. Most young and middle-aged people congregated in monasteries and did not want to engage in productive work. This was a major factor constraining Tibet’s economic and social development. There was a strict caste system within monasteries, and the status of the lowest-level monks was very low. They were unskilled laborers and had no opportunity to receive cultural or even religious education. In addition, throughout history conflicts constantly broke out between different sects of Tibetan Buddhism, and whenever one sect achieved dominance through its political connections,it suppressed the other sects. There were also conflicts within sects. In the first half of the 20th century, the Ninth Panchen Lama and Thirteenth Dalai Lama, both of whom belonged to the Gulug sect, had a falling out,and the Panchen Lama was forced into exile in the interior, where he died.

After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the policy of freedom of religious belief was adopted through the efforts of the central government. All religious sects are now equal, and the Tenth Panchen Lama was able to return to Tibet through the efforts of the central government. The local Tibetan government recognized the legitimacy of the Panchen Lama,with the result that a long-standing conflict was resolved and Tibet became more united. The Chinese Constitution stipulates that freedom of religious belief is a basic right of citizens. Under the protection of the Constitution and laws, Tibetan religious believers enjoy full freedom to participate openly in normal religious activities. Forty traditional religious festivals such as the Saga Dawa Festival are protected by state law, and every year nearly a million pilgrims go to Lhasa to light incense and pray to the Buddha.A large number of traditional Buddhist sutras such as the Zhonghua Dazangjing have been edited and published in Tibetan to satisfy the demand of monks,nuns and laymen. Every year since the 1980s, the state has designated special funds for maintaining and preserving important cultural institutions, including temples and monasteries. During the Tenth Five-Year Plan period (2000-2005), the state spent 330 million yuan on preservation projects such as building maintenance, cleaning up the environs around temples and installing fire extinguishing equipment. During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, the state spent nearly 600 million yuan to carry out 22 cultural restoration projects in Tibet at 15 key cultural preservation agencies and important temples and monasteries. At the same time, religious laws and regulations and government management of religious affairs was also strengthened; democratic management of venues where religious activities are held was instituted;publicity and education in the law was carried out; the level of non-governmental- and self-management of venues where religious activities are held was raised;and the understanding of monks and nuns concerning the country and its laws and citizens was raised.

6. Effectively protecting the ecosystem

Most of Tibet is covered by the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and it is the region of the world with the most glaciers; the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Mekong Rivers; and an important protective screen maintaining the stability of the Chinese and East Asian weather system. Its complex topography and variable weather make Tibet a region extremely rich in biological resources and an important gene bank for biological diversity. On the basis of surveys, we know that Tibet now possesses more than 9,600 species of wild plants, 40 of which are on the national list of endangered wild plants. There are 196 species of wild animals unique to Tibet, 125 of which are national and Tibetan lists of endangered wild animals. Tibet presently possesses more than 14 million hectares of virgin forest containing more than two billion cubic meters of timber, and Tibet ranks first among China’s provinces in both categories. It also possesses 82.07 million hectares of virgin prairie, accounting for 21%of China’s virgin prairie, and 68% of Tibet’s land.

Tibet has a unique and rich ecosystem, but it is also fragile. Once it is damaged, the effects are enormous and very difficult to reverse. Carrying out development rationally, using resources wisely,and protecting the ecosystem is one of the country’s basic state policies. The Central Committee’s Fifth Working Meeting on Tibet, held in 2010, clearly stated that improving Tibet’s ecosystem is a strategic project for bringing benefits to Tibet long into the future, promoting coordination between ecological protection and economic development and coordinated improvements in the ecosystem and people’s living conditions, and achieving a virtuous cycle in the ecosystem. In recent years, Tibet has carried out planning for the ecosystem in conjunction with economic and social planning; fully implemented such laws and regulations as the Land Administration Law, Water Law and Prairie Law, as well as the Tibet Ecological Security Barrier Protection and Development Plan; carried out projects to protect natural forests and return cultivated land to forests and grazing land to pastures; and carried out projects to prevent and control desertification, prevent soil erosion, comprehensively improve small watersheds,and prevent and control geological disasters. At present, Tibet has already established 21 ecological functional protection areas, seven national forests,three geological parks, one national-level scenic area, and 47 nature protection areas of various kinds at various levels. Protected areas occupy 34.5% of Tibet’s land, and forest coverage has been increased from less that 1% in the 1950s to 11.91% today. In accordance with state requirements, construction of economic projects in Tibet is subject to the strictest environmental evaluation to effectively prevent a severe negative impact on Tibet’s ecosystem from resource exploitation and all kinds of development projects. In the course of building the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad, a large number of high-tech methods and engineering measures were adopted to protect the ecosystem alongside the railroad line, and 1.4 billion yuan were spent on environmental protection, making this the most expensive item of the project.

For the last 60 years, the central government has always placed great emphasis on its Tibet work, shown concern for the Tibetan people, and adopted policies and measures suitable to realities in Tibet. Tibet has made an historic transition from darkness to light,from despotism to democracy, from backwardness to progress, from destitution to abundance, and from being closed to being open, and has achieved the miracle of compressing a thousand years of development into a few short decades. The Central Committee’s Fifth Working Meeting on Tibet clearly set forth the great target of completely becoming a moderately prosperous society in all respects, which is also a major target for the country as a whole. We have reason to believe that with the solicitude of the Central Committee and the selfless support of the people of the whole country, and through the hard work of the people of all ethnic groups living in Tibet and the constant deepening of contacts, interaction and mingling between Tibet and the interior, Tibet’s development prospects will be even brighter in the future.

The Sixtieth Anniversary of the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet A Historic Advance and a Great Achievement: Development and Progress in Tibet during the 60 Years since Its Peaceful Liberation

■ WuChu