Sweeping changes have taken place in Tibet since its peaceful liberation 50 years ago. After the third and fourth forums on the work in Tibet were held in 1994 and 2001, respectively, Tibet, with the help of other parts of China, witnessed leapfrog development, bridged the gap with other relatively developed provinces and cities and embarked on the road of prosperity.

Now, Chairman Mao's instructions on the work in Tibet, which embodied his deep insight and appropriate application, are still of great significance to the work in Tibet at present and even in the future.

On September 11, 1954, Chairman Mao Zedong met with the 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni.

Cautious and steadily-advancing principle

When the People's Liberation Army was sweeping across mainland China in 1949, Chairman Mao began to ponder the Tibetan Plateau under the feudal serfdom. On August 6, 1949, he sent a telegram to General Peng Dehuai, saying, "The Panchen Lama is currently in Lanzhou. When you begin to attack the city, please try to protect and respect him and the Tibetan people living in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, so as to lay a foundation for solving the Tibet issue."

This is Mao's first instruction known to the general public.

At that time, the Tibet local government was under the control of secessionists fostered by imperialist forces, who drove away the staff of the Nationalist Government's representative office in Tibet and actively plotted "Tibet independence".

Some foreign countries including Britain and the United States overtly supported the separatist attempt of the Tibet local government via mass media and by other means. The reactionary and arrogant Tibet local government took this opportunity to expand its Tibetan troops and deploy troops along the Jinsha River in eastern Tibet, in an attempt to resist national reunification by armed forces.

In the beginning, the Communist Party of China had no experience in conducting work in Tibet because it lacked revolution experiences in inland areas, people's support and materials, and the reactionary upper ruling class in Tibet was extremely obstinate. In the light of the characteristics of Tibet's politics, history and religious customs, Mao Zedong formulated a cautious and steadily-advancing principle on the work in Tibet.

Addressing the 3rd Plenary Session of the 7th Party Central Committee held on June 6, 1950, Mao said, "It is vital to unite ethnic minorities with a total population of 30 million. Carrying out social reforms in these areas is a matter of importance that should be handled with discretion. Under no circumstances should we act hastily. Reforms should not be carried out when conditions are not mature. Major reforms should not be carried out when all the conditions are not mature." When giving specific instructions on the work in Tibet, Mao said, "Politically, we must take an attitude with extreme caution and advance step by step."

In view of local conditions, a special policy was adopted different from that in other inland areas and areas inhabited by ethnic minorities other than Tibetans. The policy, not touching the feudal serfdom practiced in old Tibet or reforming the local power structure, focused in essence on driving out the imperialist forces and exercising China's sovereignty over Tibet.

Guided by the policy, efforts were made to unite the Tibetan ethnic group, religious people and patriotic upper-class personnel, strictly follow the PLA discipline, strive for people's support, improve the living standard of impoverished farmers and herders and try to eliminate the historical estrangement between the Tibetan people and Han people caused by the reactionary ruling class.

On April 21, 1961, the Central Government issued a directive concerning policies on work in Tibet.

By adhering to the policy on Tibet, the PLA soldiers and officials won popular support of the Tibetan people, especially the serfs, in a short period of time, thus laying a solid foundation for future work in Tibet.

On the third day after the signing of the 17-Article Agreement, Mao Zedong drafted an ordinance of the Central Military Commission on marching PLA troops into Tibet.

The 3rd article of the ordinance reads, "Marching our troops into Tibet is an act of the preparedness against war after the signing of the 17-Article Agreement. All units shall not relax their fighting will or preparations for fight just because the peace agreement has been signed. The agreement has been signed and yet has not been implemented to the letter. Meanwhile, imperialists will definitely resort to all kinds of conspiratorial means to sabotage our efforts to realize Tibet's peaceful liberation. Therefore, we have to heighten our vigilance and be fully prepared at all times for any unpredictable circumstances. In addition, it is imperative to step up disciplinary education to ensure the smooth fulfillment of the task to liberate Tibet and consolidate national defense."

Even today, stability is of paramount importance in Tibet. As long as the Dalai Clique exists overseas, it will never cease its secessionist activities. It will become the pawn of Western anti-China forces at any time, disturbing and sabotaging China's development.

In the past, the People's Liberation Army, against a complicated background, carried forward fine traditions of the Communist Party of China, served people of all ethnic groups in Tibet wholeheartedly, respected the customs and the freedom of religious belief of minority groups and maintained national solidarity. As a result, it won popular support, the victory in Tibet's peaceful liberation, the victory in crushing the reactionary rebellion staged in 1959 and the victory in carrying out the democratic reform.

Now, Tibet, in the course of China's reform and opening-up drive, has opened its door to the outside world, witnessed rapid economic development, and scored a great improvement of its people's living standard. However, the situation in the secession and anti-secession fight remains grave, and Mao Zedong's instructions still constitute a magic weapon on the current work in Tibet.