BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The following facts and figures were singled out from the government white paper "Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet," issued by the Information Office of China's State Council:

    5% vs. 95% -- Before the first half of the 20th century, Tibet remained a society of feudal serfdom under theocracy. The ecclesiastical and secular serf owners, though accounting for lessthan 5 percent of the population of Tibet, controlled the personalfreedom of the serfs and slaves who made up more than 95 percent of the population of Tibet, as well as the overwhelming majority of the means of production. The right to subsistence of the broad masses of serfs and slaves was not protected, let alone political rights.

    93.09% to 100% -- In 2002, when re-election at the regional, prefectural (city), county and township (town) levels took place in Tibet, 93.09 percent of electors in the autonomous region turned out to directly take part in the election at the county level. In certain places, the participation rate of local electorsreached 100 percent. Among the elected people's deputies, the proportion of deputies of the Tibetan and other minority ethnic groups was more than 80 percent at both regional and city (prefectural) levels, and more than 90 percent at both county and township (town) levels.

    5 vice-chairmen of the NPC Standing Committee -- In the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of all previous terms, Tibetans including the 14th Dalai Lama, the 10th Panchen Lama, Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai, and Raidi once served, or are serving, as vice-chairmen. At present, 29 Tibetans and persons of other ethnic-minority groups from Tibetserve as members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee or members of its Standing Committee.Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme and Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai serve as vice-chairmen of the CPPCC National Committee.

    220 local laws -- Since 1965, the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region and its Standing Committee have enacted 220 local or separate regulations, covering political, economic, cultural, educational and other aspects, which have provided an important legal safeguard for protecting the special rights and interests of the Tibetan people and promoting the development of various undertakings in Tibet.

    5 hours less -- Out of consideration for the special natural and geographical factors of Tibet, the Tibet Autonomous Region hasfixed the work week at 35 hours, five hours fewer than the national statutory work week. Besides, subject to authorization, the legislative body of the Tibet Autonomous Region may also enactand implement flexible regulations and supplementary provisions with regard to relevant state laws based on the actual local situations.

    3 percentage points lower -- Tibet is the only place in China to enjoy a preferential taxation policy at a rate three percentagepoints lower than in any other part of China, and where farmers and herdsmen are exempt from taxes and administrative charges. In banking, Tibet has all along enjoyed a preferential interest rate on loans two percentage points lower than in any other place in China, as well as a low rate on insurance premiums.

    94.9 percent -- In close to 40 years since the Tibet AutonomousRegion was founded, of Tibet's 87.586 billion yuan of financial expenditure, 94.9 percent came from Central Government subsidies.

    22% -- By the end of 2003, there were 22 telephones for every 100 people in Tibet, with the total number of fixed and mobile phone users reaching 601,700.

    2% to 91.8% -- The old Tibet had no school of the modern type, and the attendance rate of school-age children was less than two percent, with 95 percent of young and middle-aged people being illiterate. By the end of 2003, Tibet had 1,011 schools of varioustypes and levels and 2,020 teaching centers, with a total of 453,400 students, the enrollment proportion of primary schools rising to 91.8 percent and the illiteracy rate dropping to less than 30 percent.

    35.5 to 67 -- Infant mortality rate in Tibet has dropped from 43 percent before 1959 to 3.1 percent, and the average life span of the Tibetan people has increased from 35.5 years to the present67 years.

    100 titles of books -- In recent years, more than 100 titles ofbooks have been published in Tibetan every year, with a circulation of several hundred thousand. The encoded Tibetan language has reached the state as well as international standard, making Tibetan the first ethnic-minority language in China to haveattained international standardization.

    More than 20 years -- Life of King Gesar has been called the "king of world epics," as it is the longest of its kind in the world and has been transmitted orally for centuries. A special institution was founded in 1979 by the regional government to carry out all-round salvaging and editing of Life of King Gesar. The state has put it on the list of major scientific research projects, and organized the relevant research and publication work.After more than 20 years of effort, more than 3,000 audio tapes have been recorded, almost 300 hand-copied and block-printed editions of the epic have been collected, and 62 volumes of the epic in Tibetan have been edited and published, with a distribution in excess of three million copies. Meanwhile, over 20volumes of its Chinese edition have been published so far, and some of them have been translated into and published in English, Japanese and French.

    46,000 monks and nuns -- At present, there are over 1,700 venues for Tibetan Buddhist activities, with some 46,000 resident monks and nuns.

    30 Living Buddhas -- The transmission lineage system of reincarnation of a great lama after his death is unique to TibetanBuddhism, and this has been respected by the state and governmentsat all levels in Tibet. In 1995, according to religious rituals and historical conventions, the Tibet Autonomous Region completed the whole process of the search for and confirmation of the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama through drawing lots from agold urn and the honoring and enthronement of the 11th Panchen Lama, and reported it to the State Council for approval. Since Tibet's Democratic Reform, altogether 30 Living Buddhas have been approved by the state and the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Enditem