CRI听力:Regional Ethnic Autonomy Suits Tibet, China: White Paper

The latest white paper on Tibet's development has been released ahead of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Tibet Autonomous Region.

The paper details the steps taken in the Region's economic and social development since regional ethnic autonomy was codified 5-decades ago.

Doje Cezhug, vice chair of the Tibet Autonomous Region, says Tibet has been allowed to modernize.

"A comprehensive transportation system including roads, railways and aviation has been built. An extensive energy system has now been formed with hydropower as the mainstay, but backed by geothermal, wind, and solar energy sources. Tibet has now entered the information age, having established a modern telecommunications network with optical cable satellites and the Internet as the backbone."

Data included in the white paper shows Tibet's GDP has soared from 327 million yuan in 1965 to some 92 billion yuan last year, an over 280-fold increase.

The analysis also notes urban and rural areas in are seeing a rapid increase in incomes.

Last year, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in Tibet reached some 22-thousand yuan, a 38-fold increase compared with the average of 565 yuan in 1978.

The per capita disposable income of farmers and herdsmen last year was about 73-hundred yuan, representing an average annual increase of nearly 11-percent.

Ma Jinglin, vice director of Tibet's development and reform commission, says policy support will continue to flow from Beijing to continue helping local farmers and herdsmen.

"Farmers and herdsmen in Tibet enjoy free health care. Under the local educational program, their children's living expenses and tuition from pre-school to senior high school are all covered."

Norbu Dondup from the CPC United Front Work Department in Tibet says the freedom to practice religion in the region is also a fundamental right.

"Currently, there are 17-hundred-87 sites for different religious activities in Tibet, and more than 46-thousand resident monks and nuns. These can easily accomodate local religious believers' needs. In Tibet, almost all religious believers have scripture halls or shrines at their homes. And prayer flags and mani stones are seen everywhere. People in Tibet support the Communist Party of China's religious policy and are very satisfied with it."

The white paper also says the ** Lama's separatist activities violate the Constitution of China.

It also says the Tibetan people are managers of their local social affairs and masters of their own destiny, creating and sharing the material and spiritual wealth of Tibet.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.