To recognize the 50th anniversary of the PRC’s rule of Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s exile, China has declared March 28th to be a holiday that marks Tibetan emancipation. From Jason Subler of Reuters:
China marked its inaugural Serfs’ Emancipation Day on Saturday with testimonials by Tibetans on the merits of Communist rule, denunciations of the Dalai Lama and vows to crush any attempts at independence.
[…]China declared March 28 as an annual holiday in Tibet earlier this year, marking the date in 1959 when Chinese troops took direct control of the government in Lhasa after being brought in to quell an uprising.
In a carefully choreographed ceremony held on a sprawling public square beneath Lhasa’s Potala Palace, the government projected its message that its rule brought an end to a cruel feudal system and has improved Tibetans’ lives ever since.
Xinhua reports on the gala event to celebrate the first Serfs’ Emancipation Day:
A gala was held Saturday in Beijing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the emancipation of Tibetan serfs. Top political advisor Jia Qinglin and other senior officials watched the performances.
The gala, held in the studio hall of the official CCTV, are mainly songs and dances performed by Tibetan artists expressing their joys and gratitude over the liberation of Tibetan serfs in 1959.
Saturday also marks the first Serfs Emancipation Day, which was endorsed by Tibetan legislators in January this year to commemorate the historic changes that took place in Tibet 50 years ago.
Also on Xinhua, “On Serfs Emancipation Day, celebration, recollection, and wishes from across China.”
