China on Thursday held a grand gathering in Lhasa to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, outlining priorities for the region to achieve durable stability and high-quality development. 

A congratulatory message from China's central authorities called for efforts to focus on "four priorities" for Tibet-related work, namely "stability, development, ecology and border management." 

The message was jointly sent by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, the State Council, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee and the Central Military Commission. 

It has reiterated important remarks made by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his inspection tour to the Tibet Autonomous Region last month and at the seventh Central Symposium on Tibet Work last year. 

In a speech at the gathering, China's top political advisor Wang Yang also stressed these priorities. He called on Tibet to follow the leadership of the CPC, enhance stability within the region and in the border areas, advance ethnic unity, promote high-quality economic and social development and protect the ecological system of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. 

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Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, reviewed the development of Tibet since its peaceful liberation in 1951, which he said "marked a historic transition with epoch-making significance for Tibet." 

"Since then, Tibet has embarked on a path from darkness to brightness, from backwardness to progress, from poverty to prosperity, from autocracy to democracy, and from closeness to openness," he said. 

China "drove out all the imperialist forces and carried out sweeping democratic reform, separated religion from political powers and ended theocracy," and "established the people's democratic government" in Tibet, said Wang. "Seven million serfs rose and held their future in their own hands." 

The past seven decades witnessed historic progress in the economic development, people's lives and ethnic unity in Tibet, he said, comparing figures in various fields. 

In 1951, the gross domestic product (GDP) in Tibet was just 130 million yuan, while the figure surpassed 190 billion yuan ($29 billion) last year, and the average life expectancy has risen from 35.5 years in 1951 to 71.1 years, he noted, adding that religious groups of all ethnic groups are fully respected. 

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, 628,000 people from inhospitable mountainous and remote areas in Tibet have been lifted out of poverty, and 266,000 have been relocated to new homes, Wang said. 

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At last year's high-level meeting on Tibet, China mapped out policy directions for building a new modern socialist region that is united, prosperous, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful.  

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, elaborated on his vision for Tibet's high-quality development during his inspection tour in the region in July: ensuring national security and enduring peace and stability, steadily improving people's lives, maintaining a good environment, solidifying border defense and ensuring frontier security. 

In his speech on Thursday, Wang urged the region to "make new advances in achieving durable stability and high-quality development" in the new era. 

"Tibet now enjoys continued social stability," he said. "This is an achievement which has not come easily and must be all the more cherished."

He called for efforts to "mobilize officials and the general public of all ethnic groups to forge an ironclad defense against separatist activities." 

Wang warned external forces against interfering in Tibetan affairs. "No one outside China has the right to point fingers at us when it comes to Tibetan affairs," he said. "Any attempt or maneuver designed to separate Tibet from China is doomed to fail." 

Underscoring the need to foster a strong sense of the Chinese nation as one community, he called on all ethnic groups to "work together in unison" and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. 

He also stressed the importance of ecological protection and green development in Tibet, known as the world's last "pure land" and the "roof of the world." 

"We are confident that we will continue to keep skies blue, waters clear and air clean in this snowy plateau," said Wang.