On August 20, China's Tibetologist delegation continued their visit to South Africa. On that day, delegation members held talks with relevant personnel from South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), and another important party, the South African Communist Party (SACP), in Johannesburg and held a press conference for South Africa's media agencies.

Shes-rab-nyi-ma, head of the delegation and vice president of Minzu University of China, talked about the achievements made by Tibet in various development aspects since its peaceful liberation in 1951. He said, "The standard of living for Tibetans has substantially improved. Their average life expectancy in the past was 35.5 years and at present it stands at 67 years. In old Tibet, there were no modern primary schools and the enrollment ratio of school-age children was below two percent, most of whom studied in monasteries. At present, the ratio has risen to above 98 percent. Tibet now has six universities."

Today, nearly 60 years after Tibet's peaceful liberation, Tibetan people's lives have experienced significant changes in fields such as politics, medical care, education, economy and culture. Particularly in the political field, Tibetan people have not only realized ethnic autonomy in the Tibet Autonomous Region, but some outstanding Tibetans have also entered the central government to participate in the administration of the whole country. He added, "In Tibet, Tibetan people are their own masters, taking charge of the autonomous Region's affairs on their own, and participating in the administration of national affairs. Tibet's governmental documents and public signs such as store logos on the streets, all have their Tibetan editions. Tibetan is even one of the languages adopted on China's renminbi. Numerous Tibetan graduates work in the central government."

When talking about the Dalai Lama in exile overseas, Shes-rab-nyi-ma said the Dalai Lama is not actually Tibet's religious leader. He noted, "As for the Dalai Lama, many people mistake him for Tibet's religious leader. In fact, he is not because there are also the religions of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism in Tibet. He is not the highest leader of Tibetan Buddhism either, because there are different sects of Tibetan Buddhism, he is just one of the leaders of the Gelug sect. There are other Tulkus in the Gelug sect, such as the Panchen Lama."

By People's Daily Online