UNITED WE STAND

<正>On the roof of the world reside Tibetans and people of 40 other ethnic groups.Together,they have promoted the social and economic development of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.At the Sixth Forum on Work of Tibet in Beijing on August 24-25,President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of strengthening the solidarity of people of all ethnic groups in Tibet and promoting understanding,help,appreciation and learning between them.     

Thoughts on Serfs Emancipation Day

Fifty years ago, on March 28, 1959, Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of the People＇s Repubfic of China, promulgated a decree of the State Council, declanng the Tibet local government controlled by Tibet＇s feudal aristocrats and upperstratum clergy dissolved on that day and resolving that the powers of the Tibet local government be exercised by the Preparatory Committee for the Founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region from that day on. This decision of great historic significance sounded the death knell of the feudal serf system in old Tibet, a theocratic system that was reactionary, corrupt and dark. The change of government cleared obstacles and created conditions for development and progress in Tibet. After that a broad democratic reform movement swept the plateau region. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the one million serfs in Tibet buried the feudal serf system and won their emancipation,     

The China Tibet Art Troupe Visits Australia and New Zealand

A46-member China Tibet Art Troupe orga-nized and sent by the CPAFFC and headedby Chonpel, vice chairman of the Tibet Au-tonomous Regional Government, with TsedenDolma, well-known singer and vice chairpersonof the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee ofthe Chinese People's Political Consultative Con-ference, as chief art supervisor, made a perfor-mance tour in Australia and New Zealand fromJune 11 to June 26, 1999. The Troupe gave fiveformal performances, one informal performance,eight small-scale performances at get-togethersattracting an audience of over 10,000 people in     

PEOPLE & POINTS

<正>NEW TIBET REGIONAL CHAIRMAN ELECTED Yan Jinhai, former acting chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Government, was appointed the region’s chairman at the Fifth Session of the region’s 11th people’s congress on January 7.     

President Xi Visits Tibet

正President Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of stability, development, ecological conservation and border security in Tibet Autonomous Region.Xi, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Tibet from July 21 to 23 for the 70th anniversary of its peaceful liberation. This is the first time for a top Chinese leader to take part in such a celebration in the history of the Party and the country. The following are edited excerpts of a Xinhua News Agency report on Xi’s visit:     

A Window on Tibet

正A Beijing museum attracts visitors with its unique exhibitions on Tibet Autonomous Region If you are a big fan of Tibet but worry about the altitude, the Beijing-based Tibet Culture Museum may be a good option for you to get a closer look at the plateau. A special exhibition featuring 61 artifacts and more than 350 old photographs is hosted in the museum, which aims to illustrate the region's development over the past seven decades, ever since it was peacefully liberated on May 23, 1951.     

Pumped With Investment

The Central Government has poured large amounts of money into Tibet to improve living standards, says local government chairman People of various ethnic groups living in Tibet have benefited from reform and development,Qiangba Puncog,Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region,said at a recent press conference in Beijing."They are the real beneficiaries,"he said,     

Society

White Paper on Tibet Issued
The Chinese government has issued a white paper on Tibet Autonomous Region, entitled ＂Development and Progress in Tibet.＂ In six chapters, it elaborates Tibet＇s development over the past six decades in such fields as economy, people＇s livelihoods, political systems, cultural preservation, religious freedom, and environmental protection, among others.     

Building a Harmonious and Prosperous Tibet- Interview with Yang Chuantang, Secretary of the CPC Tibet Autonomous Region Committee

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of Tibet Autonomous Region. China Today has closely followed Tibet's development, from peaceful liberation to its currently prospering economy, since 1952 when the magazine was established. Israel Epstein, late editor-in-chief emeritus of China Today, made four trips to Tibet and wrote his work Tibet Transformed - the first objec- tive account by a Western writer published in China of the dramatic changes that have taken place in Tibet …     

RETURNING TO A NEW TIBET

正Education builds foundation for sustainable development in 25 years When I drove with my wife and young sons some 40,000 km around China in 1994 to gauge the scope and pace of reforms in remote areas, the highlight was Tibet Autonomous Region in the southwest, which I'd dreamed of visiting since reading Lost Horizon, the 1933 novel by James Hilton, which created the concept of an ideal world among the high mountains of Tibet, as a child.     

Tourism Expands Tibet’s Economic Development

LAST April,I attended a lecture on Tibet’s tourism culture and economic development by Professor Thubten Kredrup at the University of Tibet.I recently met him again at the Scientific Research Office of the university.According to Thubten,the history of tourism in Tibet is one of the facets of China’s social and economic     

Tibet: 60 Years of Continuity Amid Change

SIXTY years ago,on May 23,1951,the peaceful liberation of Tibet was marked by the signing of the Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet between the Central People’s Government and the Local Government of Tibet.Over the six decades this autonomous region has made tremendous progress in all respects,and its development has shown more traction since 1994,when the third national conference on Tibet was held.This desolate plateau region had little in the way of transportation infrastructure,in the modern sense,before 1951.     

A PATHFINDER

正One village official in Tibet Autonomous Region looks for ways to fuel local development In Benak, a village in Dagze District of Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, 55-year-old Badro is deemed as a dedicated pathfinder by villagers. As a native of the village, he became a member of the village     

Tales from the Zhaxika Grassland

THE stretch of steppe on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau known as Zhaxika-Tibetan for "tribe at the headstream of Yalong River," straddles Sichuan and Qinghai provinces as well as Tibet Autonomous Region.     

SOCIETY

<正>In Good Feather Black-necked cranes frolic on a field in Lhunzhub County of Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, on January 8.The population of black-necked cranes is estimated to have reached nearly 10,000 in Tibet, according to the regional Department of Ecology and Environment.     

A HEAD FOR HEIGHTS

A team of surveyors returns to the advanced base camp of Mount Qomolangma,the highest peak in the world,in Tibet Autonomous Region,southwest China,on May 12,to dodge bad weather and the risk of snowslides.Chinese surveyors started remeasuring the height of the mountain on April 30 for an update as the mountain grows when snow accumulates on the summit and shrinks when it melts.     

Intensive Multi-Perspective Seminar on Nepal-China Relations:Past,Present and Future Held in Nepal

The Intensive Multi-Perspective Seminar on Nepal-China relations: Past, Present and Future, sponsored by Nepal World Culture Net, was held from August 1 to 3 in the capital Kathmandu, to mark the 56th anniversary of diplomatic ties. CPAFFC Vice President Jing Dunquan headed a delegation consisting of government officials, experts and scholars from the Tibet Autonomous Region, Sichuan Pro- vince, Xi’an City, Chengdu City and China Radio International. They had discussions with personages from Nepalese political, economic and cultural circles, expressed their views and offered suggestions on the present bilateral relations as well as development prospects.     

SOCIETY

正Harvest Dance Villagers dance to celebrate the New Year in Chusong Village in Xigaze,southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region,on January 17.In Xigaze and other farming regions in Tibet,people celebrate the New Year on the fi rst day of the 12th month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.According to local farming tradition,the spring ploughing season always begins on the New Year,thus celebrating one month earlier meets the needs of local agriculture.     

THIS WEEK

正A HEAD FOR HEIGHTS A team of surveyors returns to the advanced base camp of Mount Qomolangma, the highest peak in the world, in Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China, on May 12, to dodge bad weather and the risk of snowslides.Chinese surveyors started remeasuring the height of the mountain on April 30 for an update as the mountain grows when snow accumulates on the summit and shrinks when it melts.     

Dalai Lama Taken to Task

In an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine on March 26,2007, the 14th Dalai Lama explained his view on the Tibet issue,disguising himself as an exile persecuted by the Chinese Government and a monk with no political ambitions.His words,it seems,are designed to deceive those who know little about the history of Tibet.Zuo Feng,a Chinese expert on ethnic affairs and official with the Information Office of the State Council,China’s cabinet,writes to Beijing Review and expresses his views on the issues of “greater autonomy”in Tibet,the protection of Tibetan culture and the role of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Tibet’s development,all of which the Dalai Lama mentioned in his interview.