BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhuanet) -- China's central authorities sent Thursday a message of congratulation to the local authorities of Tibet Autonomous Region, marking the 50th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet.

The message was read at a grand ceremony held in Lhasa, capital city of the autonomous region.The message was jointly signed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and the Central Military Commission (CMC).

The message first extends warm congratulations and cordial greetings to local workers, farmers, herdsmen, intellectuals and officials of all ethnic groups and patriotic personages from all walks of life in Tibet as well as officers and soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Chinese People's Armed Police Force (PAPF), the public security officers in Tibet, and all comrades who have participated in, cared for and assisted Tibet's development.

"Tibet is an inalienable part of our great motherland," says the message, "closely united with all other ethnic groups in the country, our ethnic Tibetan compatriots, who are industrious, talented and courageous, have made indelible contributions to the historical process of creating the unified multi-ethnic state of ours."

On May 23, 1951, the plenipotentiary representative of the then Tibetan local government signed in Beijing an Agreement on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, declaring Tibet's peaceful liberation, the message recalls.

Over the past 50 years, the three generations of the central collective leadership with Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin at the core respectively have always shown great care for Tibet and devoted much attention and painstaking efforts to the building up of Tibet, and its reform and development, and to the liberation and well-being of people from all ethnic groups in Tibet, the message says.

The message notes that over the last 50 years, all undertakings of Tibet have scored tremendous achievements, and earth-shaking changes have taken place in its economy and society. Under the CPC leadership, officials and people of all ethnic groups in Tibet have abolished feudal serfdom and established the power of people' s democracy, exercising regional ethnic autonomy and pressing ahead with the building of socialism.

"All this has unleashed and expanded Tibet's social productive forces to an unprecedented level and contributed to the continuing improvement of the Tibetan people's material and cultural lives," says the message.

Since China started its reform and opening-up drive, especially after the third working conference on Tibet was held, the state has worked out a series of special policies and preferential measures for Tibet.

Other provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and all social sectors in the country have offered unreserved support and assistance to the reform and development of Tibet, says the message.

"Tibet is now in one of its best periods in its history in terms of economic development and social stability," it continues, "This is evidenced by, among other things, its increasingly rapid economic growth, significant improvement of its people's living standards, remarkable achievements in its building of advanced socialist culture and ethics, and vigorous development of all its social undertakings."

"Today Tibet enjoys economic development, social progress and ethnic unity," says the message. "Its people live in peace and harmony. With good government and united people, Tibet is forging ahead in every field."

"Both history and reality have proven that without the Communist Party of China, there would not have been a socialist new Tibet, nor its development and prosperity."

Tibet has great potential with its vast land and abundant natural resources. The autonomous region will surely have a brighter future with forceful backing from the Central Government and the whole nation, and through continued self-reliance and unremitting efforts by cadres and people in Tibet.

It is important to ensure that economic growth will be quality and results oriented, as required by the development of the socialist market economy, and to vigorously widen the scale and scope of the reform and opening-up, and implement the strategy of rejuvenating the country by relying on science, technology and education, and sustainable development.

The message points out that it is also important to carry forward and promote the fine cultural traditions of all ethnic groups, strengthen their great unity, and make a bigger contribution to Tibet's development, prosperity and social stability.

"It is the common task of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, including Tibetan people, to consolidate and promote Tibet 's political stability and unity," says the message, adding that it is essential to keep to and improve the system of regional ethnic autonomy.

"We should fully and correctly implement the Party's ethnic and religious policy and unite all forces possible," says the message, "We should resolutely foil all separatist plans and sabotage attempts by the few separatist elements and the international hostile forces and strive for a lasting peace and political stability in Tibet."

"The PLA garrison and the PAPF units in Tibet are the devoted and staunch guards in defending the motherland. They should strengthen their unity with the government and the people and serve as a great wall of steel in the southwestern frontier of the motherland," it says.

"We hope that the cadres and people of all ethnic groups in Tibet will take the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet as a new starting point and follow the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Jiang Zemin at the core, hold high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory and firmly put into practice the important thinking of the 'Three Representatives'," it says.

The message expresses hope that Tibet will continue to focus on the central task of economic development and keep a firm grip on the two top priorities of developing the economy and maintaining stability, and promote the transition from a progressively accelerated economic development to a leapfrog development and from relative stability to a lasting peace so that Tibet, on the roof of the world, will shine more brilliantly in the new century.