The Standing Committee of the Second National People's Congress held its tenth enlarged session on October 14. Panchen Erdeni, Acting Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region, made a report at the session. Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Chen Yi spoke on the Soviet Union's new proposal for general and complete disarmament. During the ensuing discussion, the speakers voiced unanimous support for the Soviet proposal and a resolution to this effect was adopted. We publish here the full text of Panchen Erdeni's report, and elsewhere in this issue the speech of Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Chen Yi and the resolution of the N.P.C. Standing Committee.-Ed.

IAM very glad to have attended the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the founding of our People's Republic in Peking. During the past ten years, our country has scored tremendous successes in consolidating the unification of the motherland and in strengthening the unity of all the nationalities and has won great victories in people's democratic revolution, socialist revolution and socialist construction. Our country's achievements in all spheres inspire us to continue to forge ahead with giant strides. Our great motherland is now in a period of unprecedented prosperity. It is my firm belief that under the leadership of the great Chinese Communist Party and Chairman Mao Tse-tung, and under the beacon light of the Party's general line of going all out, aiming high and achieving greater, faster, better and more economical results to build socialism, it is entirely possible for the people of all nationalities of our country to build China into a great socialist state with modern industry, modern agriculture and modern science and culture in fifteen to twenty years or a little longer.

This year is one of a continued leap forward in socialist construction throughout the country. The state of the country as a whole is very good, and a fundamental change has taken place in the situation in Tibet. Following the putting down of the armed rebellion launched on March 10 this year by the reactionary clique of the upper social strata in Tibet to undermine the unification of the motherland and national unity, the revolutionary enthusiasm of the masses of the Tibetan people, which had long been held back by the reactionaries, rose swiftly. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, the Tibetan people have entered a new stage, that of carrying out democratic reform vigorously. The one million serfs who were subjected to cruel oppression and exploitation generation after generation have stood up and with their own hands they want to abolish completely the cruel, backward, dark and reactionary feudal serfdom. Warm sunlight shines all over Tibet. Happiness and joy fill all hearts. Tibet will become a democratic and socialist new Tibet.

A Peaceful Revolution

As things now stand in China, democratic reform among the Tibetan people has the character of a peaceful revolution. Its main expression is the policy of redemption adopted towards those serf-owners and their agents who have not participated in the rebellion.

Democratic reform in the Tibet region is being carried out by stages and step by step, under leadership and in a planned way. There are in the whole region 900,000 people engaged in agriculture and 300,000 in livestock breeding. Democratic reform is being carried out mainly in the agricultural areas. In agricultural areas with a total population of 400,000, the first stage of democratic reform, namely, the carrying out of "three antis" (opposition to rebellion, unpaid ula-corvee-and chattel slavery) and "two reductions" (reduction of rent and interest),has been successfully completed or will soon be completed. In individual places, the second stage, that is, abolition of land ownership by feudal lords and introduction of land ownership by the peasants and distribution of land to the peasants, has been completed. In the remaining agricultural areas which have half a million population, preparations are being made for the campaign of "three antis" and "two reductions."

Why has it been possible for democratic reform to develop rapidly and smoothly in Tibet and to become a tremendous mass revolutionary movement in the short period of a few months?

It is because ruthless exploitation and oppression by the feudal serf-owners planted age-old hatred in the hearts of the working people and it has indeed long been their burning desire to destroy feudal serfdom completely. Given the opportunity to realize their wishes, the working people naturally rise with great determination and vigour to wage resolute struggle against feudal serfdom.

It should be mentioned in particular that the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman Mao Tse-tung and the Central People's Government have laid down correct principles and policies with regard to democratic reform in Tibet.

In April of this year, I came to Peking to attend the First Session of the Second National People's Congress, together with Vice-Chairman Ngapo, Deputy Jijigme and others. At that session the Tibet question was discussed in detail and a resolution on this question was adopted which　 gave great inspiration and support to our work and to the Tibetan people. While the Congress was in session, Chairman Mao Tse-tung and many other leading comrades of the central authorities gave us valuable instructions on the principles and policies of democratic reform in Tibet. The resolution of the National People's Congress and the instructions of the Party's Central Committee and Chairman Mao Tse-tung provide us with the correct orientation. We faithfully conveyed and resolutely carried out the instructions of the central authorities at the Second Plenary Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region. The meeting fully supported the resolution of the National People's Congress and the instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Chairman Mao Tse-tung and unanimously adopted a resolution to carry out democratic reform in Tibet. This resolution immediately won the wholehearted support of the masses of the people, both ecclesiastical and secular, and the positive approval of all patriotic and progressive people of the upper social strata and became a powerful weapon for mobilizing the people of the entire Tibet region to institute democratic reform.

Experience in the democratic reform movement, in the past months, has enabled me to realize profoundly that only by going among the people and standing together with them, as the Central Committee of the Party and Chairman Mao Tse-tung instructed us to do, is it possible to understand the suffering of the people, to comprehend fully that democratic reform is the vital demand of the people in Tibet and hence to give active support to the just struggle of the masses. Many representatives of the labouring people for the first time were invited to attend the Second Plenary Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region. They presented innumerable concrete facts in denouncing the crimes of the three groups of big manorial lords, proving that feudal serfdom is truly a vast mountain weighing down on the masses and that without removing this vast mountain, the people in Tibet would never be able to achieve emancipation, nor would the development and prosperity of Tibet be possible.

It was set forth by the Central Committee of the Party and Chairman Mao Tse-tung that in Tibet the two stages of democratic reform and socialist transformation should be separate and that democratic reform should be carried out in two steps. In recent months, as a result of implementing the instructions of the Central Committee of the Party and Chairman Mao Tse-tung in the democratic reform, the political consciousness and the organizational level of the masses have been greatly raised, social order has been unprecedentedly stable and agriculture, livestock breeding and also industry and trade in the cities have made steady advances. Facts have proved that the instructions of the Central Committee of the Party and Chairman Mao Tse-tung completely conform to the situation in Tibet and are correct.

Mobilizing the Masses

Democratic reform is an earth-shaking, revolutionary struggle. This struggle is being carried out by peaceful methods, but this does not mean that the masses are not to be mobilized. On the contrary, it would be utterly impossible to destroy feudal serfdom thoroughly and consolidate the results of the democratic reform by carrying out democratic reform in Tibet as if granting a favour without fully mobilizing the masses and without the masses rising to take part in the struggle on their own initiative. Full mobilization of the masses, therefore, is the key to the victorious completion of democratic reform in Tibet. A correct and firm class line of mobilizing the masses must be pursued during democratic reform in order to mobilize them fully and carry out democratic reform successfully. Since Tibet is characterized by feudal serfdom, the class line in the democratic reform is: to rely on the poor serfs and slaves, unite with the middle serfs (including the better-off serfs) and all other forces that can be united with, and deal blows to the rebellious and most reactionary serf-owners and their agents, so as to eradicate feudal serfdom thoroughly. In this way, we have organized an enormous anti-serfdom force in Tibet. This force, with the slaves accounting for 5 per cent of Tibet's population, poor serfs 70 per cent, and middle serfs (including the better-off serfs) 20 per cent, plus the large number of people of the middle and upper strata who are patriotic and anti-imperialist and stand for democratic reform, embraces more than 95 per cent of the total population in Tibet. The unity of the Tibetan people has entirely isolated the rebellious and most reactionary serf-owners and their agents. The flames of the democratic reform movement are spreading to every corner of Tibet's countryside. Let those Tibetan reactionaries who have fled abroad howl! The feudal serfdom which they uphold will very soon disappear in Tibet, never to return.

The adoption of the policy of redemption means that　during democratic reform, only the land, livestock, houses, farm tools and other means of production of the　rebellious serf-owners and their agents are confiscated　and distributed to the peasants, while those of the serf owners and their agents who did not join the rebellion　are to be paid for and distributed to the peasants. This distinction will enable more people of the upper social strata to　have still more trust in the Party's policy of long-term　co-operation, to have confidence that if they side with　the people and persist in a patriotic, progressive stand, give active support to the democratic reform movement　and join in the movement themselves, proper arrangements will be made regarding their political status and　livelihood, and they will have a bright future. We should, under the leadership of the Communist Party, continue　to strengthen the united front work in Tibet in every　respect, unite with and educate the bulk of the upper　strata people and work for the early completion of　democratic reform in Tibet and Tibet's transition to　socialism.