Source: China Daily

04-23-2008 17:00

BEIJING, April 14 -- The Lhasa riots on March 14 have stirred strong indignation among all ethnic groups living in Tibet. Facts and figures speak louder and show how much Tibet has transformed since its liberation.

No roads to accommodate vehicles; no modern industry to make even a match; not a penny of local fiscal income; no vote from the common people... This is what Tibet was like before its liberation in 1951.

However, since the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region in September 1959, Tibet has witnessed significant progress in economic, political and cultural development, thanks to the policy of regional ethnic autonomy and the great support from the central government and people all over the country.

Figures released by the statistic bureau of the region show the central government subsidized Tibet with 95 billion yuan ($13 billion) in the past five years.

Tibet has registered an annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of over 12 percent for seven consecutive years. In 2007, the region’s GDP reached 34.2 billion yuan ($4.88 billion), and its per capita GDP was 12,000 yuan ($1,714).

The economy of Tibet has been growing rapidly especially after the reform and opening up in the late 1970s. In 1992 the fiscal income of the region reached 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) for the first time after the breaking up of a “zero” record in 1988. The number doubled in the year that followed.

In 2007, the local fiscal income reached 2.314 billion yuan ($330 million), an increase of 34 percent year on year. The local fiscal expenditure amounted to 27.9 billion yuan ($4 billion), a year-on-year increase of 38 percent.

Before the 1950s Tibet had no industry except for a small armaments factory and a small mint set up by the 13th Dalai Lama. But in 1959 when the region was peacefully liberated, the gross output value of industry in Tibet leaped to 43.44 million yuan ($6.2 million).

In 2007 Tibet witnessed a year-on-year increase of 18 percent on the gross output value of industry to reach 4.7 billion yuan ($670 million), according to statistics from the Reform and Development and Reform Commission of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Today Tibet boasts dozens of industries with local characteristics, including mining, green food and beverage, Tibetan medicine and handicrafts.

There were more than 300 modern industrial enterprises in the region by the end of 2007, including two domestically renowned brand names, 12 local brand names and 23 enterprises as well as seven products exempt from export inspection due to their high quality.

Apart from achievements in economy, Tibet has made great progress in the infrastructure construction, highlighted by the completion of the Qinghai-Tibet railway and several highways.

The 1,956-kilometer Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which began operation in July 2006, is the world’s highest and longest plateau railway. It has profound impact on Tibet’s development since it ended the history of the landlocked region without railway.