The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa Thursday celebrated the great achievements made in Tibet since its peaceful liberation 50 years ago.

    After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the central government signed a milestone agreement with the local administration of Tibet in 1951 not only to proclaim its peaceful liberation but also put an end to the feudal serf system, said Chinese Ambassador Mei Ping at a reception attended by 300 people.

    Since the signing of the 17-Article Agreement, Tibet has developed into a land of prosperity, with its annual economic growth rate reaching as high as 11.9 percent in the past seven years.

    In the year 2000, Tibet's GDP (gross domestic product) hit 11.7 billion RMB yuan (about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars), said Mei.

    Great changes are also seen in terms of education, which used to be the exclusive right of the nobles. Now, 80 percent of school- aged children have attended schools, the Chinese ambassador told the gathering.

    The rapidly improving medical services have dramatically increased the average life expectancy of Tibetans from 36 years in the mid-1950 to 67 years now.

    Development and modernization drive has coexisted harmoniously with the peculiar cultural characteristics of the autonomous region, said the ambassador.

    Today, Tibetan minority accounts for about 92.2 percent of the local population. The Tibetan language has been designated as the official language.

    Since the 1980s, China's central government has spent more than 300 million yuan (about 36.6 million U.S. dollars) in renovating monasteries and temples in the largely lamaist region, where freedom of religious belief and religious activities are protected by law.

    Before abolition of the serf system, 95 percent of Tibetans were slaves, deprived of freedom and other basic human rights. With the end of the slave system, ethnic autonomy has been established in the region to fully protect the fundamental rights of local residents, said the ambassador.

    In the new century, Tibet is expected to achieve even faster progress with its annual GDP growth projected at 12 percent during China's 10th five-year plan, which begins this year, he said.

    Tibet has been under Chinese sovereignty since the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century.