Tibetannet

May 23 marked the 64th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet. On May 23, 1951 the central government and the Tibetan local government signed the "Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet," abbreviated as the "17-Article Agreement." According to the provisions of the Seventh Article,"the policy of religious freedom designated by the joint program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and respect of the freedom of religious beliefs and customs of the Tibetan people must be implemented."

However, someone from overseas recently issued a statement saying that the agreement is “full of irony, as the Tibetan religious and cultural roots  are rapidly disintegrating.” So what are the facts? Let us recall several recent events concerning Tibetan religious belief:

Several days ago, right after the conclusion of the United Front Work Conference, President Xi Jinping emphasized that "the Party’s policy of religious freedom must be carried out in an all-round way."

The white paper “Tibet's path of development is driven by an irresistible historical tide” published on April 15 mentioned that "citizens are guaranteed the right to freedom of religious belief." According to its data, Tibet currently has 1,787 religious venues, 46,000 monks and nuns and 358 Rinpoches.

May 19th marks the first day of an important Tibetan religious festival –the Sagya Dawa Festival. On that day, many believers take ritual walks, chant scriptures, do prostrations, donate to charity and release captured animals as a custom. Every year there are many public celebrations, as well as private worship at home if they prefer. Statistics from 2014 report show that over 12 million people participated in worship during the festival.

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Meanwhile, the award ceremonies were held for the 11th advanced-level and the 7th intermediate-level candidates on the afternoon of May 20th at Beijing’s Xihuang Temple, or the High-level Tibetan Buddhism College of China.Altogether, 11 students and 28 students achieved the advanced "Tho Ram Pa" and intermediate "Nzhing Ram Ba" degrees respectively. In addition, 21 candidates earned the qualification of sutra teachers of Tibetan Buddhism classics.

All of these cases alone can prove the fact that China has adhered to the policy of religious belief and religious freedom in Tibet. However, is religious freedom to be taken as absolute "freedom"?

As Xi Jinping stressed at the United Front Work Conference,"It is necessary for religious affairs to be administered by the law," actively guiding religion to adapt to the socialist society, for we must adhered to the direction of China. In addition, we must  improve  our work of administrating religion work in accordance with law. Meawhile, religion should help promote economic development, social harmony, cultural prosperity, and national unification.

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the CPPCC, also pointed out the  importance of "governing Tibet based on the law", emphasizing both the use rule of law to  protect religious freedom and practice, and the crackdown of destructive actions on Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism.

Zhu Weiqun, director of the CCPPCC Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee, says that the religious circle should abide by laws and regulations in conducting religious activities, and they should also guide believers to increase the awareness of observing national laws and regulations as a citizen.When it comes to national unification, sovereignty, ethnic unity, as well as other major political issues, the religious circle should preserve unanimity with both the Party and the nation.