Chinese President Hu Jintao says the current good situation in Tibet was hard-earned and should be cherished.
Kesong village in the Shannan area of the Tibet Autonomous Region was the first village in Tibet to implement democratic reforms 50 years ago.
"I remembered that ... one People´s Liberation Army officer told us, ´You don´t have to be servants anymore. You´re free now.´ I knew what that meant."
"The 11th Panchen Lama´s wonderful English speech has joyfully shocked the Buddhist masters and cultural elites present at the forum," said Master Xue Cheng, vice president and secretary general of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC). "He has a good command of the Chinese, English and Tibetan languages."
"The forum is a vivid example that cross-Strait relations are moving toward the direction of peaceful development. It will be a landmark event in the history of exchanges between Buddhists on both sides," said Master Ming Sheng, vice president of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) at a press conference here.
About 20 Chinese cities joined a worldwide relay on Saturday night to switch off lights of major buildings for one hour to highlight concerns about climate change while calling for actions.
Some of the most famous landmarks in China will join "Earth Hour". The Bird´s Nest and the Water Cube in Beijing and the Oriental Pearl Broadcasting Tower in Shanghai will switch off their lights for one hour on Saturday evening.
"A large number of people would be trained in verbal in international cultural communication, which is going to help the city in the future," said Xu Weiguo, deputy Party chief of Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau.
Tickets are now available to the public in advance or at the door. The first phase of ticket sales starts today(Friday) and goes until June, targeting mainly group sales.
Singapore´s hall, which covers some 3-thousand square meters, will boast a huge roof-top garden.
Premier Wen also urged government agencies and educational institutions to get involved in the project. He said the project will help facilitate the exchange of personnel and promote understanding between China and Russia.
He believes the Russian Language Year will help deepen the friendship between the two peoples.
The "Years of Languages," an extension of the earlier national theme years, will encourage even more people to learn each other´s languages, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Liu Guchang said in a written interview with Xinhua, on the eve of the inauguration of the "Russian Language Year in China."
