70 years of the peaceful liberation of Tibet: Then and Now

Before the liberation of Tibet, it was a dark, backward feudal serf society with the unity of government and religion. Millions of serfs struggled in extreme poverty. Since the peaceful liberation, our party --- Chinese Communist Party (CPC) has united and led millions of turned serfs to carry out democratic reform, establish a socialist system, implement a system of regional ethnic autonomy, and promote reform and opening up. After the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Central Committee of the Party, with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, identified Tibet as the only province-level concentrated contiguous area of special hardship in the “three districts and three states”.

Tibet has been given priority care and special inclination in terms of policies, funds and projects. It has led the Tibetan people to win the battle against poverty, build a well-off society in an all-round way, completely get rid of the absolute poverty problem that has been bound for thousands of years, and together with the people of the whole country, ushered in a great leap from standing up, getting rich to being strong. All ethnic groups said from the heart, “Chairman Mao led millions of serfs to turn over and be liberated, and President Xi led the Tibetan people to get out of poverty and run for the well-off.”

The overall situation of society is harmonious and stable. Since the peaceful liberation, under the leadership of the Party, the vast majority of Tibet's military and people have persistently fought against secession, effectively thwarting a series of secession and sabotage activities by the 14th Dalai Lama Group.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, we have firmly established the overall concept of national security, adhered to the“two unwavering”, tightly focused on the focus and focus of maintaining the unity of the Motherland and strengthening national unity, firmly mastered the initiative in the anti-separatist struggle, sought long-term strategies and solidified actions. Social governance has changed from“I want stability” to “We want stability”, and the satisfaction of the public's sense of security has been continuously maintained at more than 99%.

Unswervingly follow the correct path to solve ethnic problems with Chinese characteristics,adhere to casting the sense of Chinese ethnic community as a strategic task, introduce the regulations on the creation of model areas for ethnic unity and progress in the autonomous region, carry out in-depth research on the history of the Chinese ethnic community, expand and deepen publicity, education and creation activities for ethnic unity and progress, increase the popularization and popularization of the national common language, actively build an embedded community environment, promote exchanges and exchanges among all ethnic groups, unity, friendship and joy among all ethnic groups, and the“five identities”continue to strengthen. Adhere to the direction of sinicization of religion in China, comprehensively implement the party's basic principles of religious work, strengthen the management of religious affairs according to law, guarantee the freedom of religious belief of the masses, eliminate the negative effects of the use of religion by the 14th Dalai Lama, guide the religious masses to treat religion rationally, reduce religious consumption, and live a happy life in this life. Tibetan Buddhism and socialist society are becoming more and more adapted.

Brilliant achievements in economic development

There was no modern industry and commerce in old Tibet, agricultural production was in a primitive farming state for a long time,animal husbandry was basically a natural nomadic way,agriculture and animal husbandry were degraded and the products were single,the level of productivity and social development as a whole were very low, and the gross regional product of the region was only 129 million yuan. 

After the peaceful liberation, our party is based on the special realities and major contradictions of Tibet, focuses on liberation and development of productive forces, gives full play to the advantages of the socialist system, and helps Tibet's economic and social development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the Central committee of the Party has led the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet to adhere to the general tone of seeking progress in stability, vigorously protect and improve people's livelihood, deepen supply-side structural reforms, and promote the transformation of economic development from high-speed to high-quality. In 2020,the total economic volume of the region exceeded 190 billion yuan,which is 321.5 times that of 1951 at comparable prices.The Qinghai-Tibet Railway was completed and put into operation, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway started construction across the board, and the Fuxing opened into the snowy plateau, with a railway operating mileage of nearly 1,400 kilometers.All the counties and villages pass through the highway,with an opening mileage of 118,800 kilometers,and the opening mileage of the highway reaches 1,105 kilometers. Five civil airports have been built,and more than 140 international and domestic routes have been opened. Four power“sky roads”such as the Qinghai-Tibet Power Network have been built. The main power grid covers all counties and towns, with a power generation capacity of 9 billion kilowatt-hours, and the built-up village pass fiber optic rate and 4G signal coverage rate have reached 99%. All border well-off villages have been built,characteristic industries have developed and grown, and the total grain production has been stable at more than 1 million tons for six consecutive years. Livestock has changed from“one season out of the bar”to“four seasons out of the bar”, promoting food to become products and products to commodities. Barley, yak, etc. have become veritable“treasures of the plateau”. The tourism industry is developing rapidly,receiving more than 35 million tourists in 2020. 

People's lives are booming

In old Tibet, serfs, who accounted for more than 95% of the population, had no means of production, suffered cruel economic exploitation, and lived a miserable life.The enrolment rate of school-age children was less than 2%, the illiteracy rate was as high as 95%, and the life expectancy per capita was only 35.5 years old. After the peaceful liberation, our party has always wholeheartedly done good things and practical things for all ethnic groups. 

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, we have always adhered to the people-centered idea of development, taken improving people's livelihood and rallying people's hearts as the starting point and foothold for our work, and constantly made new progress in education for young children, learning and teaching, labor and gain, illness and medical treatment, the elderly and the elderly, living and living, and the weak and the weak. In 2020, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in the region was 14,598 yuan, an increase of 416 times over that of 1959. There was a fundamental change in the thoughts and attitudes of farmers and herdsmen, as well as the way of life of production. 

The cause of education has developed in an all-round way, 15 years of free education has been implemented in depth, and the consolidation rate of compulsory education has reached 95.03%, and the per capita length of education for the new labor force has increased to 13.1 years.The social security system covering urban and rural residents has been basically established,the level of people's health and medical care has been greatly improved, and the life expectancy per capita has increased to 71.1 years. The level of public culture has been constantly improving. There are theatrical performance teams in villages, comprehensive cultural stations in towns and villages, cultural mobile vehicles in counties and districts, and the comprehensive population coverage rate of radio and television has exceeded 99%. On June 25, 2021, the“Fuxing”, which made its debut in Tibet, set off from Lhasa to Nyingchi, marking the completion and opening of Tibet's first electrified railway, the Larin Railway, ending the history of non-electrified railways in southeast Tibet.

The ecological environment continues to be good

The forest areas of Old Tibet are basically in a state of self-sufficiency. The vast agricultural areas of the Brahmaputra River, Nianchu River and Lhasa River basins are sparsely populated with trees, and the forest coverage rate is less than 1%. After the peaceful liberation,our party deeply implemented the policy and sustainable development strategy of “simultaneous planning, simultaneous implementation and simultaneous development of economic construction, urban and rural construction and environmental construction", and the quality of Tibet's ecological environment remained good. Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, we have accelerated the implementation of the planning for the protection and construction of the ecological safety barrier in Tibet, promulgated the Regulations on the Construction of the National Ecological Civilization Highlands in the Tibet Autonomous Region, actively protected and made a difference, and focused on building the national ecological civilization highlands, so as to promote the transformation of ecological construction from focusing on protection to taking the initiative. 

Lintian Lake grass and ice system,zero approval,zero introduction of high pollution, high energy consumption and high water consumption enterprises and projects, and stop approving prospecting and mining rights. 47 nature reserves of various types at all levels have been established,and 22 ecological functional protected areas have been built.Natural protected areas account for 38.75% of the total land area in the region, and the area of ecological protected areas has reached 608,000 square kilometers.Vigorously carry out land greening actions,the conditional 1,079 “tree-free villages”and 105,000“tree-free households”in the whole region have been eliminated, the forest coverage rate has reached 12.31%, and the comprehensive vegetation coverage rate of natural grasslands has increased to 47%. The water quality compliance rate of centralized drinking water sources at the prefecture level and above is 100%, and the number of days of excellent air quality in prefecture-level cities has reached 99.4%. Tibet is still one of the best ecological areas in the world.

Democratic politics are fully guaranteed

In old Tibet, serfs had no personal freedom, much less democratic rights,and all basic human rights were not guaranteed.Even if they married, they had to obtain the consent of the lord, which was called a“talking tool”. Our party leads millions of serfs in Tibet to abolish the feudal serf system,continuously improve and implement the system of the People's Congress, the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China, the system of regional ethnic autonomy and the system of mass autonomy at the grassroots level, fully guarantee the rights and freedoms of all ethnic groups, and millions of serfs will be liberated to become masters in managing local social affairs in Tibet, dominating their own destiny, and becoming creators and enjoyers of material and spiritual wealth in Tibetan society. 

Since the establishment of the autonomous region, 152 local laws and regulations and normative documents have been issued successively, providing important legal protection for the protection of the rights and interests of the people of all ethnic groups. Since 1979, the participation rate of voters in general elections at the four levels of districts, cities (cities), counties and townships (towns) has been more than 90%, and in some places the participation rate has reached 100%. Among the 439 delegates to the 11th People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region announced on January 18, 2018, there were 289 representatives of Tibetans and other ethnic minorities, accounting for 65.83%. The vast majority of the previous CPPCC members in the autonomous region are Tibetans and other ethnic minorities. 

The construction of the party has been strengthened in an all-round way

After peaceful liberation, especially after democratic reform,our party has made strengthening the grass-roots foundation the focus of its work. It has actively carried out democratic political construction, strengthened grass-roots organizations and grass-roots regime construction, and provided a strong guarantee for the implementation of the party's routes, guidelines, policies and national laws and regulations, safeguarding the unity of the Motherland, enhancing national unity, stabilizing the social situation and promoting social development. 

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, we have conscientiously implemented the overall and organizational line of party construction in the new era, adhered to the“three firmly established”, put the political construction of the party in the first place, insisted on ideological party building and institutional party governance in the same direction, the party's creativity, cohesion and combat effectiveness have been continuously enhanced, and the party's governing foundation in Tibet has been continuously consolidated. Strictly implement the standards for good cadres in the new period and the“three special”requirements for cadres in ethnic areas, and constantly strengthen the construction of the leadership team and cadre team.

The cadre team grew from 1,791 people in the 1950s to 204,700 people. The party's grass-roots organizations have been continuously improved,and the number of grass-roots party organizations has increased from 57 to 22,000, so that 100% of the members of the“two committees”team in the village and residence are party members.The majority of grass-roots party organizations listen to the party and follow the party, develop the good unity association, get rich and ensure stability, and play a role at critical moments when things happen. The role of the bridgehead in the anti-secession struggle, the national unity task force, and the leader of the masses to get rich has been effectively played. The team of party members has been growing and the structure has been optimized, and the number of party members has grown from 877 in the 1950s to more than 426,000. Carry out a series of learning and education, special education and practical activities in depth, guide party members and cadres to vigorously carry forward the“old Tibetan spirit”, the“two-way”spirit and the spirit of Kong Fansen, and temper the political character of loyalty and responsibility.Adhere to the party's management of the party, strictly govern the party,conscientiously implement the spirit of the eight provisions of the central government and its implementation rules,vigorously rectify the“four winds", and promote the party's political style and cadres ' style to continue to improve, and create an all-round political ecology with a clear and positive atmosphere. Over the past 70 years, our party unity has led the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet to create historical achievements that have passed through thousands of years, Lize all generations, and have never existed before. In just 70 years, spanning thousands of years, Tibet has gone from darkness to light, from backwardness to progress, from poverty to prosperity, from dictatorship to democracy, from closure to openness.

The social system has achieved a historic leap, the economy and society have achieved all-round development, and the people's lives have greatly improved. The urban and rural landscape is different from the past. The achievement of these brilliant achievements is the result of the strong leadership and cordial care of the Central Committee of the party in previous years. It is the result of the far-sighted and wise decision-making of the Central Committee of the Party, with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core since the 18th National Congress of the Party. It is the result of the strong support and selfless assistance of the people throughout the country, especially the central government and state ministries, counterparts, provinces and cities, and central enterprises. It is the result of the unity and hard work of the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet. Practice has proved that without the Communist Party of China, there will be no new China,and there will be no new Tibet.The guidelines and policies of the Central Committee of the Party on the work in Tibet are completely correct. 

Eight years ago, Zhang Chunhuan, a young man from Shanxi, came to Motuo County, Tibet,and started a family here. He married his Mensa wife, Tashi Yuzhen,and the daughter of the two was four years old. Like them, there are more than 560 families composed of different ethnic groups in Motuo County alone. People of different ethnic groups help each other in agricultural and animal husbandry production, and children of different ethnic groups study in the same classroom. People celebrate New Year's Day,the Lunar New Year, the Tibetan New Year, the“Da Qiang”folk culture Festival of the Mamba people and other minority festivals. The picture shows that on New Year's Eve 2021, Zhang Chunhuan's family of three posted couplets in front of his house. Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fei/Photo We deeply realize that the party's strategy for governing Tibet is in the same vein.The party's strategy for governing Tibet in the new era is the outline and soul of Tibet's work. As long as you learn well, understand well, and adhere well, there will be direction to do a good job in Tibet, there will be ways to solve complex problems, and there will be confidence to solve complex problems. In the new era, work in Tibet is facing multiple risks and challenges, as well as rare opportunities. With the strong leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Party Central Committee, the strong support of the people throughout the country, and the solid foundation laid by hard work, as long as the effective measures formed in long-term work practice continue to push forward, do it in practice and do it in depth, you can take a new road to catch up with the exam. The work in Tibet has a strong particularity.It must not be rushed or slow.It must be politically understood and grasped, planned and promoted from the overall situation, worked hard for a long time, and done more work to lay the foundation and benefit in the long-term.

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