Experts: Human rights in Tibet make great progress

The Tibet autonomous region has made all-around progress and remarkable achievements in the human rights cause over the past 70 years, experts said on Friday during an online meeting.

The meeting, organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Research Center for Human Rights at Northwest University of Political Science and Law, focused on the development of human rights in Tibet since its peaceful liberation 70 years ago.

Kalsang Drolma, a researcher at the China Tibetology Research Center, said policies adopted by the central government for Tibet have always been people-centered and aimed at helping to eliminate poverty, eventually lifting Tibet out of absolute poverty by the end of 2019.

The social and economic progress further advanced the social security system, creating a fair and just environment for human rights development and protecting the Tibetan people’s rights to subsistence and development, Kalsang Drolma said.

Fang Sumei, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that over the past 70 years, Tibet has made remarkable achievements in healthcare, effectively guaranteeing the healthcare rights and interests of the Tibetan people.

By the end of 2020, the autonomous region had 1,642 medical and health institutions, about 17,000 beds and over 26,000 medical personnel, Fang said.

“Since the 1980s, the public health system at the grassroots level in Tibet has been further developed, and healthcare service networks have been established at the county, township and village levels. Also, mechanisms including disease control, health supervision and relief for infectious diseases have been constantly improved,” Fang said.

The overall living standards of the population have also greatly improved, with the average length of education of the newly added labor force increased to 13.1 years, said Phanba Lhamu, a researcher at the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences.

“The right to education of people of all ethnic groups in Tibet has been effectively guaranteed. As an important part of Chinese culture, traditional Tibetan culture is highly valued and protected by the government. Tibetology research is undertaken in more than 50 institutions in China,” Phanba Lhamu said.

Xiao Wu, a researcher at the Human Rights Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said the development and progress of human rights in Tibet is due to a series of practices conducted by the Communist Party of China and the central government in respecting and protecting human rights.

Through an assistance system for Tibet, abundant resources have been allocated around the country to support development in the region, thus helping it make historic progress in human rights, which also fully demonstrates the advantages of China’s means in human rights protection, Xiao said.