Regional Autonomy in Minority Areas
2004-03-01 18:01
The Founding of the Tibet Autonomotts
Region According to the Chinese Constitution, Tibet operates
under the ethnic minorities regional autonomy system
Regional autonomy for minority people is a defined concept.
In areas where people of a certain ethnic group live in
compact communities relevant organs of self-government are
established and the local people enjoy the right of
self-government in running their own local affairs under the
unified leadership of the state An autonomous region such as
Tibet exercises selfgovernment through a people's coungress
and a peo ple's government.
Major leadership
posts in these two provincial-level organs should he
occupied by ethnic Tibetans. In March 1955 the central
government decided m set up the Preparatory Committee for
the Tibet A utonomous Region. In September 1965 the first
session of the autonomous region's First People's Congress
was held in Lhasa The founding of the Tibet Autonomous
Region was formally declared.
With the
exception of some upper strata patriots and religious
figures, the overwhelming majority of the delegates to the
congress were former serfs or slaves. When the 1993
elections for Tibetan people's congresses at various levels
were conducted, there were 1311 million electors in Tibet,
or 986 percent of citizens aged 18 or over: 1 201 million
voted (by secret ballot), 91.6 percent of the total
electors.
Currently, ethnic Tibetans account
for 99.92 percent of the township level deputies, 92.6
percent of the countylevel deputies and 82 44 percent of the
Sixth People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Extensive Self-government Rights According o the
Constitution and the National Regional Autonomy Law, the
Tibet Autonomous Region enjoys regional autonomy on a broad
scale.
These rights are in five major fields:
the right to draft se f-government ordinances and ordinances
specific to the region in accord ance with the local
people's particular political, economic and cultural
conditions, the right to independently plan and administer
Iocal economic undertakings and exploit and develop local
natural resources: the right to independently manage and
make use of locally generated financial revenue and central
government allocated fiscal subsidies; the right to
independently develop minority education and various
cultural media, including literature, arts, journalism,
publishing, radio, film and television, that in form or
particular quality are characteristic of the ethnic group
Since 1965 the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous
Region and its standing committee have drafted more than 150
local regulations, ordinances and resolutions regarding
political, economic, cultural and educational questions
These were formulated in accordance with Tibet's actual
situation so as to protect the Tibetan people's interests.
Examples include the Rules of Procedure for
the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region,
Procedures for Drafting Regional Laws and Regulations for
the Tibet Autonomous Region, Regulations on the Protection
and Administration of Cultural Relics in the Tibet
Autonomous Region, Regulations on Forest Protection in the
Tibet Autonomous Region, Measures for the Administration of
Collective Mines and Private Mining Operations in the Tibet
Autonomous Region and Modified Regulations in the
Implementation of the "Marriage Law of the People's
Republic of China" The drafting and implementation of
these laws and regulations have provided important legal
guarantees for the realization of various democratic rights
in Tibet and for local social, economic and cultural
development.
Major Efforts Towards Training
Minority Cadres Governments at all levels stress the
training of ethnic minority cadres so as to enable the
Tibetan people to better exercise their rights in national
and local affairs At present, ethnic Tibetans and other
minorities account for 70 3 percent of all cadres regionwide
and 67.2 percent of eadres in leadership positions at the
regional level, 65.3 percent at the municipal /prefectural
level and 60.9 percent at the county level Attention is also
given to the study and use of the Tibetan language.
In 1987 the Fifth Session of the Fourth
People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region promulgated
Some Provisions on the Study, Use and Development of Tibetan
as a Spoken and Written Language The People's Government of
the Tibet Autonomous Region drafted the corresponding rules
for their implementation.
Tibetan and Chinese
languages are to be used for important conferences and
documents issued by the various organs throughout the
region. Tibetan parties to court proceedings can use Tibetan
during the investigation and hearing of the case, and legal
documents are also written in Tibetan. Currently, Tibetans
hold key posts in procuratorates and law courts at all
levels.