Tibet's development in new era is unstoppable: official

LHASA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday said Tibetan people are confident to live a happier life under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Qizhala, chairman of the regional government, made the remarks in a televised speech on the eve of Tibet's Serfs' Emancipation Day.

"No force could prevent Tibetan people from having a well-off life and realize their great dream, as long as we rally closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, and hold high the great banner of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, " Qizhala said.

"Any attempt to split the country, doomed to fail, will be condemned by the people and penalized by history," he said.

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.

"Those who had endured the darkness will particularly cherish the brightness," Qizhala said, referring to cruel abuse of serfs and extreme backwardness of Tibet under the feudal serf system.

Tibet reported 10-percent GDP growth last year, marking the 25th straight year of double-digit growth.

Tibet's GDP reached 131.06 billion yuan (around 20.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017. The per capita disposable income of its urban and rural residents increased by 10.3 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively.

Over the past five years, 530,000 people in Tibet have been lifted out of poverty. Tibet took the lead in the country to provide 15-year compulsory education, and free medical checks for its residents. Enditem