Full text: Democratic Reform in Tibet -- Sixty Years On

By:Xinhua
update:March 28,2019

V. Liberating and Developing the Productive Forces

Democratic reform in Tibet abolished the feudal bondage of individual serfs to serf owners, and enabled the people to be masters of their own affairs. It replaced serf owners’ land ownership with peasants’ land ownership, which allowed serfs to own means of production and significantly liberated and developed productive forces. Since China adopted reform and opening up in 1978, the productive forces in Tibet have developed rapidly and have now caught up with the national level; the people in Tibet are sharing more and more achievements of modern civilization.

– Improving productive forces
Democratic reform in Tibet enabled the former serfs to own their own land, farm tools, cattle and other means of production. They showed ever growing passion for working hard to create wealth. Agriculture and animal husbandry progressed significantly.

From 1959 to 1960, calculated at comparable prices, Tibet’s GDP grew by 45.8 percent and its per capita GDP rose by 42.9 percent, both of which represented a historical high. From the winter of 1959 to the spring of 1960, 1,500 km of new water channels were built and 300 reservoirs were repaired in the agricultural areas, adding more than 24,666 ha of irrigated land. In 1960 as a whole, 5,000 km of new water channels were built along with 1,500 new reservoirs and ponds, which further expanded the area of irrigated land. From the winter of 1959 to the first half of 1960, Tibet collected 1.1 million tons of fertilizer. By the spring of 1960, arable land had expanded to an area of 182,000 ha, an increase of 20,000 ha over 1959.

Agricultural development led to significant improvements in the lives of peasants and herdsmen. Take the example of Khesum Township of Nedong County (present-day Nedong District). In the early days of democratic reform, 90 of its total of 119 rural households suffered food shortages; by 1964, all of its rural households had sufficient grain, seed stock, and fodder, and 95 percent of them had surplus grain. By the end of 1961, Tibet’s total livestock inventory reached 12.06 million heads, surpassing the highest recorded figure before the 1959 rebellion.

The central government provided farm tools to peasants in Tibet who had acquired land. For example, some 367,000 metal farm tools were given free to the peasants and herdsmen. In the following years, the central government distributed several hundred thousand farm tools, and built small farm tool manufacturing factories in Lhasa, Qamdo, Shigatse, Gyantse, Tsethang, Nyingchi and other cities.

After democratic reform, the central government adopted a policy of steady development based on the real conditions in Tibet. In 1961, the CPC Tibet Working Committee issued Specific Policies Towards the Rural Areas and Regulations on the Current Policies Towards the Pastoral Areas, which received heartfelt support from officials and the public. By 1965, Tibet’s total grain yield had reached 290,000 tons, up by 66.1 percent over 1958; its total livestock inventory was more than 17.01 million head, up by 54.1 percent over 1958.
From 1958 to 1965, Tibet made major progress in transport, education, culture, healthcare and other social undertakings. By 1965:

• Tibet had a total of 14,721 km of highway, up by a factor of 2.6 compared with 1958, connecting 90 percent of all its counties;

• There were eight new asphalt roads in downtown Lhasa;

• More than 95 percent of Lhasa residents had access to electric lighting;

• There were:
• 1,822 primary schools with 66,781 students,
• four middle schools with 1,359 students,
• one secondary vocational school, and
• one institution of higher learning.

• Tibet had 133 professional art troupes and cinemas;

• The number of medical institutions had increased to 193, more than three times the number in 1958;

• The number of hospital beds had risen to 1,631, 3.4 times the number in 1958;

• There were 2,947 healthcare workers, 3.7 times the number in 1958.

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