The first session of the First People's Congress of Tibet successfully ended with the formal establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region on September 9. For the Tibetan people and China's other nationalities, the setting up of this new autonomous region is of historical significance.

Meeting during the first nine days of September, the session heard reports by Chang Kuo-hua, First Secretary of the Tibet Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and Ngapo Ngawang-Jigme, Acting Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region. It discussed and decided on the future tasks in Tibet's revolution and construction, and elected Ngapo Ngawang-Jigme chairman of the autonomous region, and Chou Jenshan, Pebala Gelieh-Namje and five others as vice-chairmen. Thirty-seven deputies to the congress were elected members of the region's people's council.

Before the session closed, it adopted amidst thunderous applause a message to Chairman Mao Tse-tung, conveying the respects and esteem of the people in Tibet.

News of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region spread quickly across the length and breadth of the region. There was great rejoicing as the people in Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse and other places gathered in mass rallies to celebrate the occasion.

On the afternoon of September 9,more than 30,000 people from all walks of life in Lhasa flocked to the city's stadium to attend a celebration rally. Stormy applause greeted Vice-Premier Hsieh Fu-chih, leader of the delegation sent by the Central Committee of the C.P.C. and the State Council, when he addressed the gathering. He said that the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region was a great victory for the Tibetan people, the Party's national policy and Chairman Mao Tse-tung's thinking. He described the tremendous changes he had witnessed when he visited the villages, factories and schools in the region. However, he added, the U.S. imperialists and the Indian reactionaries were not reconciled to the emancipation of the million Tibetan serfs and slaves, the political, economic and cultural development and the consolidation of the people's democratic dictatorship in Tibet. He strongly condemned the Indian reactionaries for their intrusions into China's border areas and naked aggression against Pakistan. He called on the people in Tibet and the People's Liberation Army to keep a close watch, maintain high vigilance, further strengthen the nation's defence and safeguard the frontiers of the motherland.

Referring to those who had fled abroad during the reactionary armed rebellion in 1959, Vice-Premier Hsieh Fu-chih said that only a handful were willing lackeys of the imperialists and the Indian reactionaries, while the majority had been fooled and deceived. He explained the Government's policy towards those wishing to return to the motherland and said that if they admitted their crimes and repented, there would be no punishment for past crimes, big or small. In conclusion, the Vice-Premier wished the Tibetan people still greater victories in the socialist revolution and socialist construction.

Both Chang Kuo-hua and Ngapo Ngawang-Jigme also spoke at the rally. They called for still closer unity in strengthening the people's democratic dictatorship and building a new socialist Tibet.

C.P.P.C.C. Session Ends. The first session of the Second Tibet Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference closed on September 11 after an eight-day meeting. Chang Kuo-hua was elected chairman of the committee. A resolution was adopted calling on the people of all nationalities and all trades and professions in Tibet to hold high the red banner of Mao Tse-tung's thinking and contribute to Tibet's socialist revolution and socialist construction.

(This article appears on page 3, No. 38, 1965)