Tibet came under the rule of the Yuan dynasty of China in the 13th century. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the central government implemented a policy of multiple enfeoffment over it. And by the time of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the central government had exercised sound governance over Tibet until the dynasty was overthrown in 1911.
The succeeding Republic of China claimed inheritance of all territories held by the Yuan dynasty, including Tibet, but internal strife prevented the central government from imposing its will, so the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) became a de facto autonomous region.
It was only after the ending of the Chinese Civil War in October 1949 that the central government was able to re-assert its historic control. This was then formalised in the Seventeen Point Agreement of May 23, 1951, which brought about the “peaceful liberation of Tibet”.
Under the agreement, the central government promised to uphold the existing political, religious, and socio-economic systems, but Tibet was to gain from access to central government resources much in the way that poorer European Union (EU) countries/regions receive transfers from richer EU countries. The Tibetan plateau is spread across 2.5 million square kilometres – or more than double South Africa’s land area of 1.2 million square kilometres. It is rich in natural resources and borders several other nations, which is why it has been fought over for centuries, as it is the source of many of the world’s major rivers.
The freshwater run-off, which comes from melting glaciers and mountain springs, flows down through the Himalayan watershed and provides drinking water to an estimated 1.8 billion people in countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Pakistan and Vietnam. This is a larger population than the African continent.
Now, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, the central government has redoubled its efforts on its hydro-power projects in Tibet, and in November 2020 unveiled plans to build the world’s largest dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo, called the Brahmaputra in India.
This dam would be able to generate some 60 gigawatts (GW) or double Eskom’s current available capacity of 33 GW. It would also be some three times larger than the Three Gorges Dam, which is currently the world’s largest hydroelectric dam.
The 70th anniversary of Tibet’s peaceful liberation coincides with the first year of the 14th Five-year Plan period. The central government is committed to ensuring that the four main tasks embodied in the guidelines for governing Tibet, namely ensuring stability, facilitating development, protecting the environment and strengthening the frontiers, will be implemented.
This Five-year Plan will in turn be succeeded by others, so by 2035, new factories, a digital economy, electrification, urbanisation, and agricultural modernisation will have been realised in Tibet.
This progress will make sure that all people will enjoy equal access to basic public services, and substantial progress will have been made in seeking common prosperity for all ethnic groups.
In 1951, Tibet’s regional GDP was approximately 129 million yuan and since then it has grown by more than 147 000% to more than 190 billion yuan. Transfers from the central government meant that it was able to build a comprehensive transport network of highways, railways, air routes and pipelines with highways totalling almost 120 000 kilometres having been built.
Prior to 1951, no dams had been built in Tibet as the local government lacked the resources, but by 2020, clean energy contributed 89.1% of the installed power-generating capacity in Tibet. From 2015 to the end of 2020, 6.5 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy-generated electricity was transmitted, which greatly reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
Tibet has 11 national nature reserves, four national scenic spots, three national geological parks, nine national forest parks and 22 national wetland parks. Protected natural areas make up almost 40% of the region’s land area.
Wild animals and their habitats are better protected. The population of black-necked cranes has increased from no more than 3 000 in the 1990s to more than 8 000, and the population of Tibetan antelopes is around 300 000.
The central government makes a point of preserving the Tibetan culture. To this end, it established the University of Tibetan Medicine, which has trained more than 7 000 professionals. It has also standardised the diagnosis and treatment of Tibetan medicine.
There are 44 public Tibetan medical institutions in Tibet, and about 94% of township health centres and 42% of village health clinics provide Tibetan medicine services.
* Preuss is an economist at Forecaster Ecosa.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL.