"I can proudly say that Tibet is full of vigor like never before. A hundred flowers are in bloom," said Qizhala, chairman of region government, using a Chinese expression to describe a liberal and prosperous time.

 

In a televised speech on the eve of Tibet's Serfs' Emancipation Day, Qizhala said the people of Tibet are commemorating this day to tell the dark history of the old Tibet and show the fundamental changes that have taken place in the socialist new Tibet.

 

Serfs' Emancipation Day was formally established on March 28 by the regional legislature in 2009 to mark the start of Tibetan democracy, which ended the feudal serf system in 1959, freeing 1 million serfs, or 90 percent of the region's population at that time.

 

Qizhala said Tibet has achieved new progress since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012. The economy has been growing rapidly with solidarity among ethnic groups, a well-protected environment, improved livelihoods, and society in peace and harmony, he said.

 

He said Tibet has redoubled efforts to enhance ethnic solidarity, maintain peace and harmony in Buddhist monasteries and during religious rituals, and help more than 130,000 cast off poverty, 77,000 of whom were relocated from inhospitable areas.

 

Statistics show Tibet's economy grew by more than 10 percent and fixed assets investment shot up about 20 percent in 2016, taking a leading place among provincial-level regions nationwide. Tibet also topped the list of average disposable income growth for urban and rural residents.

 

Qizhala urged all people in Tibet to work even harder to march toward Tibet's lasting peace and security and long-term development.