西藏民主改革是西藏人民的愿望，但何时改革须根据西藏实际。1956年，中央人民政府作出“六年不改”的决定。然而，西藏上层统治集团的一些人企图永远保留封建农奴制，并在1959年3月发动全面武装叛乱。中央人民政府在平息叛乱的同时，在西藏开展了彻底废除封建农奴制的民主改革运动，从根本上改变了西藏旧的社会制度，并为西藏自治区的成立奠定了坚实的基础。

　　——封建农奴制黑暗落后，必然退出历史舞台

　　旧西藏处于政教合一的封建农奴制统治之下，这种制度粗暴践踏人类尊严，严重侵犯基本人权，根本阻碍西藏社会发展，完全背离中国和世界进步潮流。

　　政教合一，神权至上。政权庇护神权，神权控制政权，神权与政权融为一体，共同维护官家、贵族和寺院上层僧侣三大封建领主的统治。在神权政治下，寺庙成为集开展宗教活动、控制一方政权、实施经济剥削、囤积武装力量、进行司法审判等功能为一体的统治堡垒。有的寺庙内部设立公堂，不仅有手铐、脚镣、棍棒，还有用来剜目、抽筋的残酷刑具，惩罚农奴手段极其残忍。

　　等级森严，践踏人权。三大领主以野蛮、残酷的刑法维护封建农奴制度。在旧西藏通行数百年的《十三法典》和《十六法典》，明确将人分成三等九级，规定：“人分上中下三等，每一等人又分上中下三级。此上中下三等，系就其血统贵贱职位高低而定”“人有等级之分，因此命价也有高低”“上等上级人命价为与尸体等重的黄金”“下等下级人命价为一根草绳”。

　　贫富悬殊，阻碍发展。占人口不足5%的三大领主及其代理人几乎占有西藏全部耕地、牧场、森林、山川、河流、河滩以及大部分牲畜。民主改革前，西藏有世袭贵族197家，其中居前的几家大贵族，每家占有几十个庄园，几万克土地（15克相当于1公顷）。十四世达赖家族占有27座庄园、30个牧场，拥有农牧奴6000多人。十四世达赖本人就拥有黄金16万两，白银9500万两，珍宝玉器2万多件，有各种绸缎、珍贵裘皮衣服1万多件。占人口95%的农奴和奴隶没有生产资料和人身自由，遭受着沉重的赋税、乌拉差役和高利贷盘剥，挣扎在死亡线上。

　　——维护《十七条协议》，决定“六年不改”

　　《十七条协议》明确：“有关西藏的各项改革事宜，中央不加强迫。西藏地方政府应自动进行改革，人民提出改革要求时，得采取与西藏领导人员协商的方法解决之。”和平解放后，西藏广大人民要求改革的呼声日益高涨，许多上中层的开明人士也认识到，如不改革旧制度，西藏民族断无繁荣昌盛可能。

　　考虑到西藏历史和现实的特殊情况，中央人民政府采取十分慎重态度，耐心劝说和等待西藏地方上层统治集团主动进行改革，并给他们以充分的时间。1956年，中央人民政府作出“六年不改”决定，等待西藏上层的觉悟。1957年1月，国务院总理周恩来访问印度期间向十四世达赖、十世班禅及随行的西藏地方政府主要官员转交了毛泽东主席的信，传达了中央的决定，强调六年不改，六年之后是否改革，仍然由西藏根据情况和条件决定。中央人民政府对西藏上层统治集团作出了最大让步，可谓仁至义尽。

　　——平息武装叛乱，进行民主改革

　　改革西藏社会制度是西藏社会发展的必然要求和西藏人民的根本愿望。西藏反动上层企图永远保持封建农奴制，蓄意破坏《十七条协议》，策划一系列分裂祖国的活动，最终于1959年3月10日发动全面武装叛乱。中央政府采取果断措施，与西藏人民一道坚决平息了叛乱，并决定在西藏进行一场彻底废除封建农奴制度的民主改革运动。

　　民主改革废除了政教合一的封建农奴制，实现政教分离；废除生产资料封建领主所有制，确立农牧民个体所有制；废除对“三大领主”的人身依附，使农奴和奴隶获得人身自由。在民主改革中，农奴和奴隶共分得土地约280多万克（约18.67万公顷）。建立起第一个供销社、第一个农村信用社、第一所民办小学、第一所夜校、第一个识字班、第一个电影放映队、第一个医疗卫生机构。纳金水电站建成发电，拉萨普通市民首次用上电灯。民主改革是西藏社会进步和人权发展史上划时代的重大变革，使西藏百万农奴和奴隶在政治、经济和社会生活多方面实现了翻身解放，有效促进了西藏社会生产力的发展，为西藏的现代化建设开辟了道路。

　　——成立西藏自治区，逐步走上社会主义发展道路

　　西藏民主改革过程同时也是民主建政过程。1959年3月叛乱发生后，国务院发布命令，解散西藏地方政府，决定由西藏自治区筹备委员会行使西藏地方政府职权。随后相继撤销了昌都地区人民解放委员会和班禅堪布会议厅，建立了统一的人民民主政权。1961年，西藏各地开始实行普选，昔日的农奴和奴隶第一次获得了当家作主的民主权利，选举产生西藏各级人民政权，一大批翻身农奴和奴隶担任各级领导职务。1965年8月，西藏县乡选举工作完成。9月，西藏第一届人民代表大会第一次会议在拉萨开幕，西藏自治区及其人民政府宣告成立，西藏开始实行民族区域自治制度，通过农牧业社会主义改造，走上社会主义发展道路。

　　西藏自治区的成立和社会主义制度的实行，保障了各民族平等、团结、互助和共同繁荣发展政策在西藏的实现，保障了西藏各族人民平等参与管理国家事务和自主管理本地区事务的权利，为西藏实现与全国共同发展进步提供了制度保证。

【参考译文】
 

The Tibetan people yearned for democratic reform, but the timing had to be determined by the situation. In 1956, the Central People's Government made a decision that no reform need be carried out in Tibet for the next six years. However, some members of the Tibetan ruling class wanted to preserve serfdom forever, and staged a full-scale armed rebellion in March 1959. The Central People's Government quelled the rebellion, and carried out democratic reform to abolish feudal serfdom, putting an end to the old system and laying a solid foundation for forming the Tibet Autonomous Region.

– Wretched and backward feudal serfdom was doomed to die out.

Old Tibet was ruled by a theocratic feudal serfdom. This system crushed human dignity, ignored human rights, and impeded development in Tibet, all of which flouted the progressive trend in China and elsewhere in the world.

In old Tibet, there was no separation of religious and political power, and the former enjoyed absolute supremacy. Religious power prevailed over political power, while political power protected religious privileges. The two combined to defend the interests of the three major stakeholders: officials, aristocrats and higher-ranking lamas in the monasteries. Under theocracy, monasteries became fortresses from which the local rulers organized religious activities, exercised administration, exploited the serfs, built up armed forces, and passed legal judgement. Some monasteries even had private dungeons, with instruments of torture used for eye gouging and hamstringing, in addition to handcuffs, chains and clubs.

In old Tibet, there was a rigid hierarchy and the higher ranks of society gave no thought to human rights. The three major stakeholders applied every means to maintain feudal serfdom. The 13-Article Code and 16-Article Code, which had been enforced for several hundred years in old Tibet, stipulated that people were divided into three classes by blood and position, and that each class was further divided into three ranks. The value of a life corresponded to the difference in class and rank. The bodies of people of the highest rank of the upper class were “worth their weight in gold”, while the lives of people of the lowest rank of the lower class were “worth a straw rope”.

In old Tibet, polarization of the rich and the poor hindered development. The three major stakeholders and their agents, who made up less than five percent of the population, owned almost all of the land, pastures, forests, mountains, rivers and flood plains, and most of the livestock. Before the democratic reform in 1959, there were 197 hereditary aristocratic families, and the few top families each possessed dozens of manors and thousands of hectares of land. The family of the 14th Dalai Lama owned 27 manors, 30 pastures, and over 6,000 serfs. The Dalai Lama alone owned 160,000 taels (one tael = 30 grams) of gold, 95 million taels of silver, over 20,000 pieces of jewelry and jade ware, and more than 10,000 pieces of silk clothing and rare furs.

Meanwhile the serfs and slaves, who accounted for 95 percent of the population, had no means of production or freedom of their own. They were subjected to the three-fold exploitation of corvée labor, taxes, and high-interest loans, and struggled for mere existence.

– The central government upheld the 17-Article Agreement and honored its promise not to carry out reform for six years.

The 17-Article Agreement stipulated, “In matters related to reform in Tibet, there will be no compulsion on the part of the central government. The local government of Tibet shall take initiative to carry out reform, and when the people raise demands for reform, the central government shall consult with the leading personnel in Tibet to settle the issue.” Following liberation, amidst the growing demand of the Tibetan people for democratic reform, many enlightened people of the upper and middle classes also realized that, if the old system were not reformed, the Tibetan people would never attain prosperity.

In consideration of Tibetan history and the region's special situation, the Central People's Government adopted a circumspect attitude of patient persuasion, waiting for the ruling elite to carry out reform, and giving them adequate time to do so. In 1956, still awaiting a change in the attitude of the ruling upper class, the Central People's Government made a decision that no reform should be carried out in Tibet for six years. During his visit to India in January 1957, Premier of the State Council Zhou Enlai handed a letter from Chairman Mao Zedong to the 14th Dalai Lama and 10th Panchen Lama, and the accompanying senior local Tibetan government officials. The letter informed them of the central government's decision that reform would be deferred for six years; whether reform should be carried out after six years would still be decided by Tibet in accordance with its own situation and the prevailing conditions. The Central People's Government showed the utmost patience and made every concession.

– The armed rebellion was quelled and democratic reform was implemented.

Reforming the social system was an essential requirement of social development and the fundamental aspiration of the Tibetan people. To preserve serfdom, the reactionaries from Tibet's upper class planned a series of activities to split Tibet from China, in blatant violation of the 17-Article Agreement. These led to a full-scale insurrection on March 10, 1959. The Central People's Government, together with the Tibetan people, took decisive measures to suppress the rebellion, and subsequently implemented a democratic reform in Tibet that brought feudal serfdom to an end.

Through this reform, the theocratic system was annulled and religion was separated from government. The feudal serf owners' right to own the means of production was abolished and private ownership by farmers and herdsmen was established. The personal bondage of serfs and slaves to the officials, nobles and upper-ranking monks was annulled, and they won their freedom as individuals. Former serfs and slaves were granted around 186,700 hectares of land in the democratic reform.

During this period Tibet's first supply and marketing cooperative, first rural credit cooperative, first community primary school, first night school, first literacy class, first film projection team, and first medical institution were established. The Ngachen Hydroelectric Station was completed and entered service, bringing electric lighting for the first time to the citizens of Lhasa.

Democratic reform represented an epoch-making change in Tibetan society and in the human rights of its people. It granted political, economic and social emancipation to a million serfs and slaves, effectively promoted the development of social productive forces in Tibet, and opened up the road toward modernization.

– The Tibet Autonomous Region was established to launch Tibet on the path to socialism.

The democratic reform in Tibet coincided with the introduction of democratic politics. After the rebellion broke out in March 1959, the State Council issued an order to dissolve the Tibetan local government and decided to have the Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region exercise the duties and power of local government. Later, the Qamdo People's Liberation Committee and the Panchen Kampus Assembly were abolished, and a centralized people's democratic government was set up. In 1961, a general election was held across Tibet. For the first time, the former serfs and slaves were able to enjoy democratic rights as their own masters, as they elected people's governments at all levels. Many emancipated serfs and slaves took up posts of leadership at various levels in the region. In August 1965, elections were completed in townships and counties across Tibet. In September, the First Session of the First People's Congress of Tibet was convened in Lhasa, at which the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Regional People's Government were officially proclaimed. With regional ethnic autonomy established and through the socialist transformation of agriculture and animal husbandry, Tibet embarked on the road of socialism.

The founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region and adoption of the socialist system provided a guarantee for the realization of ethnic equality, solidarity, mutual help, and common development and prosperity in the region. It also created the conditions for all ethnic groups in Tibet to enjoy equal rights to participate in the administration of regional and state affairs. In this way, an institutional structure was put in place that would allow Tibet to develop along with other parts of China.