Tibetans celebrate half-a-century of democratic reforms

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Source: CCTV.com | 03-08-2009 16:11

It's an occasion worth celebrating. Former serfs joined the next generation of Tibetans to commemorate 50 years of democratic reforms.

These are respected senior citizens at the Drapchi Community on the outskirts of Lhasa. But half a century ago, they were called serfs, the Tibetan terms for slaves.

70-year-old Luosang became a serf at the age of 6. His duties then were to raise pigs and cattle for his master. But his masters never gave him enough food. Change came in March of the year Luosang turned 20, when the central government decided to carry out democratic reform in Tibet. PLA soldiers gave Luosang two pancakes, and he was selected chief of his community of 13 households.

Dehai was born about the 1959 serf emancipation. She received a college education and is now serving in the community.

She said: "I didn't experience the dark days of the old Tibet. But the stories of the older generations have made a deep impression on me. They have had to struggle hard to get what they have today."

The Regional People's Congress has designated March 28th as the serf emancipation day.

Zhang Qingli, CPC Secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region, said: "Only the bad guys want chaos. It's a disaster for the people. All ethnic groups in Tibet are thankful and happy about the economic growth and the improvement of people's livelihood. Should there be any instability, the people would be the only losers. No one wants that."

With 50 years of development, Drapchi has developed from a piece of farmland to a large community that includes a bilingual kindergarten and exercise facilities. Their grand children play with modern toys such as the Teletubbies, but the former serfs also want them to know about the past.

Editor:Shi Taoyang