Yu Zhengsheng and Tibet

: Top political adviser Yu Zhengsheng stressed Tibet unity with the rest of China in his address to thousands gathered in front of the stunning Potala Palace in the regional capital of Lhasa, once home to the Dalai Lama and now a museum. "During the past 50 years the Chinese Communist Party and the Tibetan people have led the transformation from a backward old Tibet to a vibrant socialist new Tibet," Yu told the audience of schoolchildren, soldiers, armed police and party officials applauding and waving flags, according to Asahi Shimbun. People living standards have improved, infrastructure has been built across Tibet and its gross domestic product had grown 68 times, Yu said at the ceremony broadcast live on state television. The event lauded Tibet economic successes under Communist Party rule, even as activists criticized its record on human rights. Yu speech was followed by a parade of goose-stepping marchers carrying the national emblem of China, along with portraits of past and present leaders, including President Xi Jinping. Beijing sent troops to occupy the Himalayan region following the 1949 communist revolution. Dancers and musicians in traditional Tibetan dress also performed, although there was no visible participation by representatives of the Buddhist clergy that forms the backbone of the Himalayan region traditional culture. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.