A Chinese non-governmental association has resolutely opposed the distortion and smearing of the human rights situation in Tibet Autonomous Region in a U.S. funding bill for fiscal year 2021 that has been signed into law.
The bill contained groundless accusations of the human rights situation in Tibet, said the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture in a statement Wednesday.
The association "will never accept and strongly opposes the U.S. practice," the statement said.
This year marks the 69th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet. The autonomous region has made great progress in its human rights cause over the past 69 years, the statement said.
After achieving the peaceful liberation, Tibet introduced a democratic reform which enabled one million serfs to enjoy human rights and established the system of regional ethnic autonomy, the statement said.
The region has achieved rapid economic and social development, sustaining a double-digit GDP growth for more than 20 consecutive years. The average life expectancy of people in Tibet has risen to 70.6 today from 35.5 in 1951.
Over the years, Tibet's culture has also witnessed huge development and prosperity, the association said.
The protection and use of the Tibetan language has been guaranteed in the form of state laws. The central government has funded renovation and preservation of Tibet's cultural relics and historical sites, with nearly 700 million yuan (107 million U.S. dollars) invested in the maintenance of the Potala Palace, Norbu Lingka, Jokhang Temple, Sagya Monastery and other key sites, it added.
Tibet now has dozens of national intangible cultural heritage items, including the Tibetan astronomy calendar, the statement said.
These facts speak for themselves. "The acts of some U.S. politicians are extremely clumsy and their plots to contain China under the excuse of some topics are doomed to fail," the statement added.
