the reforms, the Tibetans had gained the right to self-government; all the senior officials of the Autonomous Region of Tibet and the local government committees were Tibetans, as were 97.8 per cent of local cadres and the senior officials of all the main government agencies. The Tibetan economy had also been considerably strengthened. In 1959, the value of Tibetan industry and agriculture had been 187 million yuan renminbi; by 1989, that figure had risen to 1.7 billion yuan renminbi. Before 1959, the province had had nothing but a few primary schools; now, it CERD/C/SR.871 page 5 had 4 institutes of higher education, 14 professional and vocational schools, 68 secondary schools and 2,400 primary schools. Those establishments catered for a total of 170,000 pupils, of whom 88.6 per cent came from minority groups. Since 1985, 17 provinces and cities outside Tibet had organized secondary-level education for Tibetan students. There were 3 secondary schools for Tibetan students in Peking and other cities, catering for 5,200 pupils. Where health facilities were concerned, before 1959 there had been a few small clinics, mainly in the capital, Lhasa; now there were more than 820. There were 9,000 trained medical staff, of whom 73 per cent belonged to minority groups. One of the hospitals, which practised traditional Tibetan medicine, was the only hospital in China where treatment was completely free for all citizens. Health standards in Tibet had risen considerably, with the average life expectancy standing at 63.7 years, as opposed to 35 in the period before 1959. With regard to culture, there had been no newspapers in Tibet at all before 1959. Now, there were 11 newspapers and 7 periodicals, and over 3 million books had been printed. The number of books in the Tibetan language now stood at 1,85 million, as opposed to only 400,000 in 1965, 
**Analysis**
The text describes the significant improvements and developments in Tibet after 1959, with a focus on the economic, educational, and cultural aspects. The emphasis on the number of schools, hospitals, and medical staff, as well as the growth of the economy, suggests that the text is highlighting the achievements in the fields of education, health, and economic development.

**Category**
Economic development, Education, Health, Culture