Tibet sets "Serfs Emancipation Day"

DAY TO REMEMBER

The reform didn't mean the abolition of the traditional religion in the Himalayan region. After 50 years have passed, there are 1,700 monasteries open in Tibet, which draw tens of thousands of pilgrims every year. Strolling in the streets of Lhasa, tourists can easily find crowds of lamas and believers chanting Buddhist mantras and praying at monasteries and Buddhist statues.

March 28, 1959 was a big day to Gaisang, when the central government announced that it was dismissing the Gaxag government (the former Tibetan local government).

"Nobody who experienced those dark days would want to go back," he said.

"However, that part of history is largely unknown to young people," he added, noting that among participants in the March 14 riot last year, many were young.

"Had they known the bitterness of the old days, they would cherish their current lives more," he added. "That's why we need to commemorate Serfs' Emancipation Day."

Xinza said: "China's battle against separatists reached its climax in 2008. It is necessary to establish the day so as to have our descendants remember it forever."