II. Sixty Years’ Development Since Peaceful Liberation
Peaceful liberation was an important turning point in the historical development of Tibet. Over the 60 years since then Tibet has gone through several phases of development, such as the Democratic Reform, establishment of the autonomous re-gion, building of socialism, and reform and opening up, scoring spectacular achievements.
1. Implementing the 17-Article Agreement, maintaining national unity and ethnic solidarity, and launching Tibet’s drive towards modernization
— Sending troops to Tibet and consolidating border defense. As stipulated in the 17-Article Agreement and its Ap-pendix I, the PLA troops with the 18th army as the major force marched into Tibet from September 1951 to June 1952, and were stationed in strongholds such as Gyamda, Gyangtse, Shi-gatse, Lhuntse Dzong, Dromo, Zayul and Gerze, bringing to an end the history of Tibet’s 4,000-km border being undefended.
— Handling Tibet’s foreign-related affairs on a centra-lized basis. On September 6, 1952 the foreign affairs office of the central government representative stationed in Tibet was set up, responsible for all the foreign-related affairs of Tibet under the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Central People’s Government. On April 29, 1954 the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of India signed in Beijing the Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet Region of China and India, abolishing the privileges India had inherited from the British invaders. In 1955 China established official diplomatic ties with Nepal, and signed the Agreement on Main-taining Friendly Relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Nepal and on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet Region of China and Nepal in 1956, which cancelled Nepal’s privileges in Tibet, advancing and consoli-dating the Sino-Nepalese relationship to a new level. To this day, all the foreign-related affairs of Tibet are dealt with by the Cen-tral People’s Government on a centralized basis.
— Attaining self-sufficiency and satisfying both military and civilian needs. The central government issued such instructions as “sending troops to Tibet but not depending on local people for grain supply” and “tightening the budget and attaining self-sufficiency,” and put forward a series of financial policies such as “guaranteeing food supplies for the army and taking into consideration civilian needs” and “unified procure-ment and economical practice.” Soon after the PLA entered Tibet, the central government earmarked 40 billion yuan (old currency) to purchase local wool at prices higher than that exported to India. This move foiled the scheme of illegal hoarding and profiteering plotted by reactionaries of the Tibetan upper class with an aim to sow discord between Tibetans and Han people, and the revenue from export of such wool was used to support the PLA and the local people. It also greatly benefited many of the upper class, enabling them to acknowledge the central government’s goal of safeguarding the interests of the Tibetan people. They thus gradually reduced their dependence on and connection with the imperialist forces and drew closer to the central government.
— Carrying out united front work, and promoting na-tional unity and progress. Encouraged by the central govern-ment, the 10th Panchen Lama and his entourage returned to Lhasa from Qinghai Province to have a friendly meeting with the 14th Dalai Lama in April 1952. The CPC Working Committee of Tibet then made great efforts to help settle both the current practical problems and those left over from history between the Dalai and Panchen lamas, who in 1953 were elected as honorary presidents of the Buddhist Association of China, with Living Buddha Kundeling as vice president. In September 1956 the Tibetan branch of the Buddhist Association of China was set up. In September 1954 the 14th Dalai and 10th Panchen lamas went together to Beijing to attend the First Session of the First National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, which demonstrated that the Tibetan people enjoyed equal rights with other ethnic groups in participating in the administration of China’s state affairs. Concurrently, a total of 1,000 people in 13 groups were organized from 1952 to 1957 to visit the hinterland, including upper-class monks and lay officials to lamas, and common people including women and youngsters, which strengthened connections between Tibet and the hinterland and promoted national unity.
— Actively undertaking the modernization program to promote Tibet’s economic, social and cultural development. After the peaceful liberation, the PLA and people from other parts of China working in Tibet persisted in carrying out the 17-Article Agreement and the policies of the Central Authorities, built the Xikang-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet highways, Damxung Airport, water conservancy projects, modern factories, banks, trading companies, post offices, farms and schools. They adopted a series of measures to help the farmers and herdsmen expand production, started social and disaster relief programs, and provided free medical service for the prevention and treatment of epidemic and other diseases. All this promoted the region’s economic, social and cultural development, created a new social atmosphere of modern civilization and progress, produced a far-reaching influence among people of all walks of life in Tibet, ended the long-term isolation and stagnation of Tibetan society, paved the way for Tibet’s march toward a modern society, opened up wide prospects for Tibet’s further development and provided necessary conditions for the common progress of Tibet and the nation as a whole.
2. Implementing the Democratic Reform, abolishing feudal serfdom, and emancipating millions of serfs and the social productive forces, achieving the most profound social reform in the history of Tibet
Prior to the Democratic Reform, Tibet practiced a system of feudal serfdom under theocracy, which was darker and more backward than in Europe in the Middle Ages. The three major estate-holders — officials, nobles and upper-ranking monks in monasteries — accounted for less than five percent of Tibet’s total population but owned all the farmland, pastures, forests, mountains and rivers, and the majority of the livestock. The serfs and slaves, accounting for more than 95 percent of the population, had no means of production or freedom of their own. They were not only subjected to the three-fold exploitation of corvee labor, taxes and high-interest loans, but also suffered cruel political oppression and punishment rarely seen in world history. Their lives were no more than struggles for existence. Thus, reforming the social system of Tibet was an inevitable requirement of social development and the fundamental aspira-tion of the Tibetan people. In consideration of the special conditions of Tibet, the 17-Article Agreement stipulated that “the central government will not alter the existing political system in Tibet”; “in matters related to various reforms in Tibet, there will be no compulsion on the part of the central government. The local government of Tibet shall carry out reforms of its own accord, and when the people raise demands for reform, they shall be settled by means of consultation with the leading personnel of Tibet.” After Tibet was liberated peacefully, the Central People’s Government adopted a very prudent and tolerant attitude toward the reform of its social system, hoping to persuade the people of the local ruling class of the need for reform and waiting patiently for them to take initiative to start the social reform. But the serf owners were totally opposed to any reform which would mean giving up their privileges, opposed the 17-Article Agreement and plotted a series of activities to split Tibet from China, which ended in a full-scale insurrection in 1959.
In order to safeguard the unity of the nation and the fundamental interests of the Tibetan people, the Central People’s Government, together with the Tibetan people, took decisive measures to suppress the rebellion, dissolved the local govern-ment and carried out the Democratic Reform in Tibet, which fundamentally uprooted the feudal serfdom. Through this reform, the theocratic system was annulled, religion was sepa-rated from government; the feudal serf owners’ right to own means of production was abolished and private ownership by farmers and herdsmen was established; the serfs’ and slaves’ personal bondage to the officials, nobles and upper-ranking monks was cancelled, and they won their freedom of the person. The Democratic Reform constituted an epoch-making change in the social progress of Tibet and its development of human rights. It emancipated a million of serfs and slaves politically, economically and in other aspects of social life, effectively promoted the development of social productive forces in Tibet and opened up the road towards modernization. The former serfs and slaves got over 186,000 hectares of land in the Democratic Reform and, in 1960, when the Democratic Reform was basically completed, the total grain yield of Tibet was 12.6 percent higher than in 1959 and 17.7 percent higher than in 1958. In addition, the total number of livestock was 9.9 percent higher than in 1959.
3. Implementing regional ethnic autonomy, making Ti-bet embark on the road of socialism
The Democratic Reform in Tibet coincided with its con-struction of democratic politics. After the rebellion broke out in March 1959 the State Council issued an order to dissolve the Kashag and decided to make the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region exercise the local government’s du-ties and power. Later, the Qamdo People’s Liberation Committee and the Panchen Kampus Assembly were abolished, and a centralized people’s democratic government was set up, thus ending the co-existence of several political powers of different nature. In 1961 a general election was held across Tibet. For the first time, the former serfs and slaves were able to enjoy demo-cratic rights as their own masters, as they elected power organs and governments at all levels. Many emancipated serfs and slaves took up leading posts at various levels in the region. In September 1965 the First Session of the First People’s Congress of Tibet was convened in Lhasa, at which the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Regional People’s Govern-ment were officially proclaimed. Then, through the socialist transformation of agriculture and animal husbandry, Tibet em-barked on the road of socialism. The founding of the Tibet Au-tonomous Region and adoption of the socialist system provided an institutional guarantee for the realization of ethnic equality, unity, mutual help and common prosperity. It also provided a guarantee for all ethnic groups in Tibet to enjoy equal rights to participate in the administration of state affairs and that of ethnic affairs. In this way, an institutional guarantee was put in place for Tibet to develop along with other parts of China, with special support and assistance by the state and according to its local conditions.
