Serf anniversary sought

Source: Xinhua  |   2009-1-16  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A LEADING Tibetan legislator said yesterday that setting a date to commemorate the emancipation of millions of serfs 50 years ago would help all the nation, including the Tibetan people, remember history.

Legqog, director of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress, told reporters that the date, if endorsed at the end of the second annual session of the regional legislature, would have "far-reaching practical and historical meaning."

Serfs and slaves were freed 50 years ago after the central government foiled an armed rebellion staged by the Dalai Lama and his supporters with assistance from Western powers.

The People's Liberation Army quelled the rebellion, and later a democratic reform was introduced to end feudal serfdom and abolish the hierarchic social system characterized by theocracy.

Legqog said "A Serfs' Emancipation Day" would strengthen Tibetans' patriotism and expose the Dalai clique.

"Over the past five decades, Tibet's political, economic and cultural sectors have witnessed great changes."