Gaesang Zhuoma, a village head, said that the development of township businesses had helped lift the per-capita income to 3,786 yuan (US$485) in her village, allowing most villagers to live a better-off life.

As regard to the political, economic and social development of Tibet 40 years after it was turned into an autonomous region, Wangqen, former president of Tibet University, said a retrospective look at Tibet gave him heartfelt gratitude to the Communist Party of China and the government.

The retired man said that under the leadership of the Party and government, the people in Tibet have achieved notable social and economic advancement, and there have been fundamental changes in people's lives over the past 40 years.

Legqog, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress, said that the past 40 years have witnessed the fastest social development in Tibet's history.

The per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) of Tibet reached 7,779 yuan (US$997) in 2004, which was 33 times the amount in 1965.

Tibet has sustained a GDP growth rate of 12.7 percent for four years in a row, with the total GDP value amounting to 20 billion yuan (US$247 million) in 2004. Most Tibetans now live a life with enough food and clothing, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2005)