Serfs Emancipation Day
| Serfs Emancipation Day | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Bàiwàn Nóngnú Jiěfàng Jìnìan Rì () |
| Also called | Serf Liberation Day |
| Type | Cultural, government |
| Date | March 28 |
| Next time | 28 March 2018 |
| Frequency | annual |
Serfs Emancipation Day (simplified Chinese: 西藏百万农奴解放纪念日; traditional Chinese: 西藏百萬農奴解放紀念日; pinyin: Bàiwàn Nóngnú Jiěfàng Jìnìan Rì), on March 28, is an annual holiday in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, which celebrates the emancipation of serfs in Tibet. The holiday was adopted by the Tibetan legislature on January 19, 2009, and was promulgated that same year. In modern Tibetan history, March 28, 1959 was the day that the Tibetan government was declared illegal by China, which, according to official Chinese history, liberated Tibetans from feudalism and theocracy. The head of that former government, the 14th Dalai Lama, calls the holiday a diversion from current problems in Tibet.
The holiday was announced to mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of "democratic reform" of the Tibetan feudal theocratic social structure on March 28, 1959, where according to China, one million people were freed from serfdom. The People's Republic of China had been established since 1949, and has had control over Tibet since 1951. Mao Zedong had entered into negotiations with the 14th Dalai Lama to initiate land reform, but was told in 1957 that any reforms would have to be approved by the Tibetan nobility. Mao was surprised by the 1959 Tibetan uprising, which Chinese historians call an attempt by feudal lords to continue the system forever, but the Dalai Lama calls a "national uprising". In retrospect, the Dalai Lama also prefers the term "poor people" for Tibetans, for which he says the designation "serf" is questionable. He also alleges that the Government of Tibet had drawn up plans to gradually lower hereditary debts, but that the central government was hesitant, preferring to do things their own way.
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