Tibet's path to democracy

On Aug 25, 1964, the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, approved the State Council's proposal of setting up the Tibet autonomous region. In September the same year, the first session of the Tibetan people's congress was held in Lhasa, symbolizing the formal establishment of the autonomous region.

Since then, Tibetan's democratic politics have made remarkable headway and the country's adoption of reform and opening-up in 1978, in particular, brought Tibet's socialist democratic political construction onto an institutionalized, standardized and procedural track. And aside from the country's continuous steps to improve Tibet's self-autonomous system from the constitutional level, the government of the autonomous region has also promulgated a series of regulations and administrative rules toward this purpose.

Tibet has enabled self-autonomy and grassroots people's self-governance and established a people's congress and a people's political consultative conference, which have effectively guaranteed human rights in the region and promoted its economic and social development.

Tibetan people effectively exercise their right of administering State and regional affairs via the NPC and local people's congress. In fact, the central government's decision to set up an self-autonomous system in Tibet shows it respects Tibetan people's desire to manage their own affairs and its full support for the development of the local economy and society.

From 1980 to 2010, the central government convened five meetings to draw up guideline policies and measures for the Tibet autonomous region. A series of special and preferential measures were adopted during this period to facilitate Tibet's development. With the aid of central finance and the help of the rest of the country, Tibetan people have achieved remarkable progress toward building a prosperous Tibet with distinctive characteristics in its development path.

History proves that the past 60 years have been a period in which Tibet has built and pushed forward its democratic politics. Today, Tibetan people are their own master. They are also entitled to participate in State affairs and manage local affairs.

China's ever-maturing socialist democratic politics are a guarantee of the fundamental interests of all people in Tibet and will help promote its all-round, coordinated and sustainable economic and social development.

The author is a researcher with the China Tibetology Research Center.

(China Daily 05/26/2011 page8)