State aid promotes Tibet's development
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-04-13 16:47
China's central government and various provincial authorities have provided
plentiful aid to Tibet, playing a key role in promoting the social and economic
development of Tibet.
Zhang Qingli, acting secretary of the Tibet
Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China, made the remark
at a work conference held recently in Lhasa, capital of Tibet.
"Without
support and aid from the State, Tibet would have no access to progress," Zhang
said.
Statistics showed that during the period of the country's 10th
Five-Year Plan (2001-2005), Tibet reported a fiscal revenue of 5.246 billion
yuan (US$655.75 million) and investment totaling 71.953 billion yuan (US$8.99
billion).
Nevertheless, Tibet's large deficit spending during the period
was balanced due to financial aid from the central government and various
provinces and municipalities.
Starting from 1994, the central government
carried out a 10-year program providing the ethnic region with financial aid
from a dozen of inland provinces across China.
Meanwhile, officials and
technologists from other parts of the nation flocked to work in Tibet, joining
in the local social and economic development.
The central government
poured huge amount of investment in a total of 117 infrastructure projects,
including the world-famous Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Hundreds of other projects
were funded by provinces and municipalities across the country.
About
1,900 officials and experts from some 17 provinces and municipalities and 59
ministries have exerted full support to help local ethnic people gain an access
to wealthy life.
From 2001 to 2005, the region experienced its fastest
development in economy. The production output during the period reached a
year-on-year growth rate of 12 percent or above.
According to Zhang, the
per capita net income of Tibetan farmers also kept a double-digit increasing
rate during the five years.
In the coming five years, Tibet will focus
on a series of development projects to further improve living conditions of
local residents and increase their incomes with more investment, technological
support and specialized personnel from inland areas, Zhang
added.
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