Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Tibetan Ethnic Group

After the peaceful liberation, the economic construction of Tibet has made great progress, and people’s living standard has been improved remarkably. Especially after the democratic reform, the social productive forces of Tibet have got liberated and developed unprecedentedly. The total output value of the whole Region in 2000 was 50 times as much as that in 1959 at the beginning of the democratic reform. Basic facilities have grown out of nothing, and developed and expanded continuously. Agricultural producing has become mechanized. Incomes of residents in urban and rural areas have increased sustainedly, most of the people break away from poverty and some of them live a relatively comfortable life. In 2000, the number of per capita color TV and self-phone of Lhasa occupied the first place all over the Country, and the per capita area of housing also is the highest. Nowadays, Tibet has several hundred modern industrial enterprises including electric power, mining, cement, tanning, machine fixing, wool spinning, food, building materials, printing, etc, and the modernized industry with Tibetan characters has formed preliminarily. A road net with Lhasa as the center and the Qinghai-Xizang highway, the Sichuan-Xizang highway, the Xinjiang-Xizang highway, the Yunnan-Xizang highway and the China-Nepal highway as the framework has come into being. Among them, there are 15 main highways, and 315 feeder highways. The highways extending in all directions connect all the counties and 77% of the townships of Tibet. Air transportation develops very fast, and construction of the Qinghai-Xizang railway has started. Increasingly convenient communications and transportation have promoted effectively the construction of modernization. Such causes as education, science and technology, culture and health develop vigorously, and the quality of ideology and morality and scientific and cultural quality of different nationalities in Tibet has generally improved. The right of believing in religion freely for the vast people who are religious has been practically protected and respected.

What should be especially pointed out is: during the 50 years since the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the government of China has given energetic support and special consideration on aspects of labor power, material resources, financial resources, technology and policies. Especially since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the Central Committee has convened four forums about work in Tibet, and strengthens the energy for supporting Tibet. At the first meeting in 1980, the Central Committee defined the mission and aim of carrying out special policies in Tibet, and letting peasants and herdsmen recuperate and multiply, develop production, and become rich as quickly as possible. At the second meeting in 1984, they emphatically studied the problems in economic construction of Tibet, and relaxed policies furtherly. They also decided that the 43 project items in Tibet that were urgently needed to be constructed would be helped by nine provinces and cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Jiangsu, etc. At the third meeting in 1994, they put forward the policies and measures of speeding up the development of Tibet and defending the social stability. They also defined the task and aim for the development of Tibet, an decided the strategic decision that the whole Country assist Tibet, and relevant ministries and commissions of the Central Committee and 15 provinces and cities assist Tibet according to the needs of it. They decided to help constructing 62 key projects. The forth meeting was held in June.2001, and it was decided that the realm for carrying out preferential policies would be wider, and the strength of support would be enhanced. The number of supporting units assisted constructing projects and money thrown in the construction was unprecedented. During the last 50 years, all kinds of investment and financial allowances given to Tibet by the Central Government have amounted to more than 500 hundred million yuans. Since the third forum about work in Tibet in 1994, in addition to investment by the Central Government, fraternal provinces and cities have invested 22.4 hundred million yuans, and helped 576 construction projects. Relevant ministries and commissions of the Central Committee have invested 9.2 hundred million yuans, and helped construction of 140 projects. These also became important driving forces for the development of Tibetan economy and society.

During the tenth “Five-Year Plan”, the Country is going to invest directly 312 hundred million yuans, construct 117 key projects for Tibet, give 379 hundred million financial allowances to Tibet, and different provinces and cities assist 10.62 hundred million yuans. The total money amounts to over 700 hundred million yuans, which could ensure keeping faster developing speed of all economic and social causes of Tibet. 

The future of Tibet will be more glorious, and life of different nationalities, especially the Zangs in Tibet will be more auspicious and happier.