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Tibet follows sound development path: white paper

Xinhua, April 15, 2015 Adjust font size:

Through more than 60 years of development, Tibet has followed a sound path of development, according to a white paper issued on Wednesday.

The path of development is both characteristically Chinese and suited to the actual prevailing conditions in Tibet, says the white paper, titled "Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide," issued by the Information Office of the State Council.

For the past six decades and more, the financial department of the central government has steadily increased transfer payments for Tibet, it says.

In the period from 1952 to 2013, the central government provided 544.6 billion yuan (88.69 billion U.S. dollars) to Tibet in financial subsidies, accounting for 95 percent of Tibet's total public financial expenditure, it says.

The development path of new Tibet ensures the people are masters of their own fate. Within the framework of socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics, Tibet has embarked on a road of modern democracy, and all political rights of the people are fully respected and protected, it says.

In 2013, the Gross Regional Product (GRP) of Tibet reached 80.767 billion yuan, the per-capita net income of farmers and herdsmen was 6,578 yuan and the per-capita disposable income of urban dwellers was 20,023 yuan, according to the white paper.

In 2013, the population of Tibet rose to 3.1204 million, with an average life expectancy of 68.2 years, representing a tripling and a doubling of the respective figures from the early 1950s.

The drive for modernization continues and Tibet is becoming increasingly open to the outside world, according to the white paper.

In 2013, the total value of Tibet's foreign trade reached 3.319 billion U.S. dollars, and the region hosted 12.91 million tourists, including 220,000 from overseas.

Tibet has succeeded in preserving the spoken and written Tibetan language, and the outstanding traditional Tibetan culture has been preserved and handed down, says the white paper, adding that citizens enjoy full freedom of religious belief.

Tibet also develops in a sustainable way, with both the central and regional governments adopting quite a number of strict measures for environmental protection.

As of present, its nature reserves amount to 413,700 square km, 33.9 percent of the total land area of the region, leading the whole country. Its forest coverage rate reaches as high as 11.91 percent, topping the whole country in total growing wood stock.

All the region's 125 species of wild animals and 39 wild plants under state protection are well cared for in the established nature reserves, says the white paper. Endi