III. Tremendous Historic Changes over the Past Half-century
Over the past five decades since the democratic reform, and with the care of the Central People's Government and the support of the people of the entire country, the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet, as masters of their own destiny, have displayed great enthusiasm in building a new happy life, promoting development of local economy and society in a frog-leaping manner and scoring historic achievements in various undertakings, which captured world attention.
-- Tibet has experienced historic changes in its social system, which provides an institutional guarantee of the people's right to be master of their own.
In 1965, the Tibet Autonomous Region was founded, marking the establishment of the regional autonomy system for ethnic minorities in Tibet and a historic leap from feudal serfdom under theocracy to socialism featured with people's democracy. From then on, Tibet entered a new era, with the people becoming master of their own destiny. The former serfs and slaves have since enjoyed political right to equally participate in the administration of state affairs and to deal with local and ethnic affairs on their own. The people of Tibet, as other ethnic groups in China, enjoy all rights guaranteed by the Chinese Constitution and other laws. They can directly elect, in accordance with the law, deputies to the people's congresses at county, district, township and town levels, who in turn elect deputies to the people's congresses at the national, autonomous regional and municipal levels. Through the people's congresses at various levels, the people of Tibet exercise their rights, in accordance with the law, to participate in the administration of state and local affairs.
In the elections for the people's congresses at the autonomous regional, prefectural (municipal), county and township (town) levels in 2007, 96.4 percent of residents with voting right participated in the electoral process. In some places the voting rate was 100 percent. Of more than 34,000 deputies, directly or indirectly elected, to the people's congresses at the aforementioned four levels, more than 94 percent were members of the Tibetans or other ethnic minorities. Of the deputies to the current National People's Congress, 20 are from Tibet, including 12 Tibetans, one Monba and one Lhoba.
Tibetans' right to independently administrate local and ethnic affairs is guaranteed. Since 1965, the posts of chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress and chairman of the People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region have all been held by Tibetans, and the chief leaders of the standing committees of people's congresses and the people's governments at various levels in the autonomous region are also Tibetans. So are the chief heads of local courts and procuratorates at all levels. Tibetans and other ethnic-minority people compose 77.97 percent of the staff of current state organs at the autonomous regional, prefectural (municipal) and county levels.
The Tibet Autonomous Region not only has the right to formulate local regulations as a provincial-level state organ, it can also decide on local affairs, and formulate autonomy statutes and separate regulations in line with local political, economic and cultural conditions. When resolutions, decisions, orders and instructions made by higher-level state organs do not suit to situations in Tibet, the autonomous organs can request adjustment or suspension of the relevant documents.
Statistics show that since 1965 the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region has enacted 250 local regulations, resolutions and decisions with regulatory nature, which cover political power buildup, economic development, culture and education, spoken and written languages, justice, relics protection, protection of wild animals and plants, and protection of natural resources. They protect the special rights and interests of the Tibetan people in the areas of politics, economy and social life, and promote the development of various local undertakings.