Leading newspaper praises Tibet's development, slashing Dalai Lama

Special Report: Focus on Tibet

BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Chinese media) -- A leading Chinese

newspaper said Tibet is economically prosperous today and the Dalai Lama and his

supporters had tried to spoil the good situation.

Guangming Daily published over the weekend another

piece of the serial on setting of the March 28 the Serfs Emancipation Day,

saying that in the past decades, Tibet has witnessed the deepest social changes

and the fastest social progress.

The newspaper recalled a series of policies and

measures adopted by the Chinese central government to boost economic and social

development in Tibet.

For example, in 1994, the central government decided

to speed up economic development in Tibet with a package stimulus plan on 62

infrastructure projects. Another 117 such big projects were planned in 2001 and

180 in 2006.

The efforts have paid off. In 2008, gross domestic

product in Tibet reached 39.2 billion yuan (5.7 billion U.S. dollars), a 10.1

percent increase year on year, with an average per-capita income of 3,170 yuan

for Tibetan farmers and herdsmen, all of which were unbelievable in the past

when Tibetan people were under strict religious reign and cruel serfdom

inflicted by a minority of the noble class.

However, the Dalai Lama and his supporters had

instigated riots in Tibet in the 1980s and 2008, the article said.

Therefore, we must continue the fight against the

Dalai Clique and never stop the anti-splittism struggle, so to make a safe

Tibet, according to the newspaper.