Flag-raising ceremony at Potala palace square marks 18th serfs emancipation day In Xizang

LHASA: People from all walks of life attended a flag-raising ceremony at the Potala Palace Square in Lhasa, the capital of the Xizang autonomous region, on Saturday morning.

The ceremony marked the region’s 18th Serfs Emancipation Day.

Since 2009, March 28 has been celebrated in the region as Serfs’ Emancipation Day.

The annual commemoration recalls the democratic reforms of 1959 in the region that ended feudal serfdom.

Recently, various activities have been held across the region to mark the event.

“The democratic reform completely ended theocratic feudal serfdom,” Karma Tsetan says

Karma Tsetan, chairman of the regional government, delivered a televised speech on Friday night to mark the 67th anniversary of the emancipation of a million serfs in Xizang.

He noted in the speech that 67 years ago, a great democratic reform swept across Xizang with irresistible momentum.

The reform completely put an end to the dark, cruel, barbaric, and backward theocratic feudal serfdom.

“Today, people in Xizang enjoy all human rights in a full, effective, and genuine way,” Karma Tsetan said.

This stands in stark contrast to the miserable situation of serfs in the old days, who lived in constant fear and had no dignity at all,” he added.

“Average life expectancy in Xizang has risen to 72.5 years,” chairman reports

According to Karma Tsetan, the average life expectancy before 1959 was only 35.5 years.

Four out of every 10 serf children did not survive childhood, he said.

At present, the average life expectancy in Xizang has risen to 72.5 years, he said.

Since the democratic reform, people have lived a dignified, decent and happy new life, Karma Tsetan said

Children now enjoy schooling and grow up healthy, he explained.

Young people devote themselves to building their hometown and pursuing their dreams.

The elderly spend their years in peace and comfort, the chairman added.

“The happy life today is hard-won,” 71-year-old Lhasa resident says

Tsewang, a 71-year-old man from Lhasa, said that although he did not experience the sufferings of old Xizang, he learned from the elders about the tragic plight of ordinary people in the past.

“People’s living standards in Xizang have been continuously improved since the democratic reform,” Tsewang said. “The happy life today is hard-won,” he added. Monitoring Desk