News

Du Qiwen's speech at Tibet Development Forum

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-11-16 16:28

Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Third Forum on the Development of China's Tibet

Du Qiwen

Chinese Ambassador to Greece

Good morning! Welcome to the Third Forum on the Development of China's Tibet. This forum is co-hosted by the State Council Information Office of china, the Hellenic-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Embassy of People's Republic of China in the Hellenic Republic. Mr. Yannidis, President of the Chamber, as well as his colleagues have contributed a lot to the opening of this forum. Here, on behalf of the embassy, I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks.

I'm honored by the presence of Mr. Konstantinos Vrettos, Chairman of the Greek Parliament Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, distinguished delegates from the Hellenic Parliament and all other representatives from Greece, the Chinese delegation led by Wang Chen, Minister of China's State Council Information Office and Nyima Tsering, Vice Chairman of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Tibetan officials, citizens, and people from all over the world who had visited, researched and understood Tibet will show us from different prospectives a colorful and promising Tibet. We will together discuss the opportunities for Tibet to form international partnerships. I believe that with our joint efforts, our meetings in the next two days will be successful and productive.

The understanding of Tibet helps the understanding of China, because Tibet's development is an epitome of China's modernization. China is a big family with 56 ethnicities and Tibet has been one of China's sovereign regions since the 13th century. Now, Tibet is one of the five provincial ethnic autonomous regions in China. Since the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, Tibet has experienced enormous political, economic and social changes. Tibet abolished the feudal serfdom of theocracy and established a modern democratic socialist society supported by law.

Millions of Tibetan serfs who had no rights or freedom were liberated, and they took control of their own destiny. With enormous investments and financial support from the central government, Tibet's regional GDP has jumped more than 110 folds and the population of Tibet has increased from one million to three million. Also, the average life expectancy of Tibetans has grown from 35.5 years to 67 years while the illiteracy rate dropped from 95 percent to 1.2 percent.

During the 30 plus years of China's reform and opening up, Tibet has increased its contacts with the outside world and is steadily becoming a world-class tourist destination as well as an important trade route linking China and its neighboring countries in South Asia. This magical land radiates beauty and charm. The number of visits of tourists coming to Tibet last year reached 6.85 million. So we welcome more friends from Greece to visit Tibet to enjoy Tibet's wonderful natural and cultural landscapes, experience its religious and social life, and feel the enthusiasm of its people.

That the Third Forum on the Development of China's Tibet is held in Athens not only reflects a deepening China-Greece exchange and cooperation in various fields and closer friendly exchanges at the local level in recent years, it also answers the wishes of people in China and Greece to learn more about each other. The European society holds keen interests in Tibet. Many Greek statemen, experts, scholars, reporters and ordinary tourists have visited Tibet and contributed to helping people in Greece know more about the land. I really want to thank those friends for their efforts and I also want to extend my appreciation towards the Greek government for consistently respecting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. China and Greece, both civilizations with ancient histories, are friends who have long admired one another. In recent years, the two countries have deepened their mutual trust and friendship as well as expanded mutually beneficial partnerships in various fields. Next year will be the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Greece, and we will hold a series of celebratory activities together. We can capitalize on this opportunity to look back at the course of the development of our bilateral relations and bring our comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level. In this regard, this Forum on the Development of China's Tibet can also become a warm-up and the prelude to next year's celebrations.

I wish the Third Forum on the Development of China's Tibet a great success.