70 years of progress in Tibet hailed

The Tibet autonomous region and the lives of the people living there have experienced great changes over the past seven decades under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, a national political adviser said on Wednesday.

This year marks not only the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, but also the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet.

Seventy years ago, under the guidance of the CPC, Tibetan people started to enter a new era of progress, prosperity and openness, said Losang Samtan, deputy chairman of the Ali prefecture committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, while answering questions from the media via video link before the closing meeting of the 13th CPPCC.

"Over the past 70 years, Tibet has stepped out of the primitive society of agriculture and animal husbandry, and transformed into a society of industrialization and information," he said, adding that local people have benefited a lot during the process.

He said with the leadership of the CPC and the support of people all over the country, all the 628,000 registered poor Tibetan people were lifted out of poverty by last year, and their conditions in all aspects - whether it's living, education, drinking water or access to medical treatment - have improved greatly.

Losang Samtan said the gross production of Tibet was only 174 million yuan ($26.7 million) in 1959, and the average annual income of each Tibetan was just 142 yuan.

While in 2020, the gross production of the autonomous region exceeded 190.2 billion yuan and the per capita disposable income of rural residents in Tibet reached 14,598 yuan, he said.

Ali prefecture, for example, used to be an impoverished area, with a lack of electricity hindering economic development, he said.

During the annual two sessions in 2018, many National People's Congress deputies and CPPCC members, including Losang Samtan, expressed their hope of extending a main line of power grid to Ali.

The hope became a reality in December last year, making it possible for thousands of farmers and herdsmen in Ali to use electricity, Losang Samtan said.