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Tibet's path to democracy
Updated: 2011-05-26 07:59
By Lian Xiangmin (China Daily)
Freedom from feudal autocracy means everyone in the region enjoys equal rights and shares self-governance
The peaceful liberation of Tibet 60 years ago marked a historic turning point as it ended the millenniums-long feudal autocracy and opened the door to a new epoch for the region.
Until its peaceful emancipation in 1951, Tibet was a typical feudal hierarchical society in which people were divided by its 13-Article and 16-Article codes into three classes and nine ranks. The two statutes stipulated that different people enjoyed a different status.
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On May 23, 1951, the Chinese central government signed an accord with Tibet's local government on the latter's peaceful liberation, explicitly stipulating and guaranteeing Tibetan people's right to self-autonomy under the leadership of the central government.
However, a fierce confrontation erupted between Tibet's upper-class serf owners and the Tibetan people over whether the region should reform its politico-religious feudal serfdom after 1956. To maintain the old system intact, some serf owners plotted an all-out armed revolt in March 1959. After the failed rebellion, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India and established a so-called government in exile with the promulgation of a pseudo constitution.
Tibetan people after 1959 carried out a series of sweeping democratic reforms aimed at smashing the past autocratic regime, separating religion from politics and extricating all serfs from dependence on serf owners.
The formation of an all-inclusive electorate political system at various levels of local government symbolized the birth of democratic politics in the region. By 1961 a total of 283 district-level and 1,009 township-level local governments had been set up via people's elections.
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