"The care from the CPC Central Committee and nationwide assistance to Tibet have erected an immortal monument in the heart of people of all ethnic groups in Tibet," said the 64-year-old Tibetan who is now deputy secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the CPC.

In the years working in Tibet, Raidi has been deeply impressed by the care of the three generations of CPC leadership for Tibet and the Tibetan people.

On Oct. 19, 1989 shortly after he was elected CPC's general-secretary, Raidi said, Jiang Zemin presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau to hear reports from Tibet. "Regarding Tibet-related work as being very important, Jiang asked the half-day meeting to be extended to one day." And that's when guidelines for Tibet-related work were mapped out, which are vital to stability, solidarity, economic development and emancipation of the mind in Tibet.

"General Secretary Jiang has said to me many times that he is 'concerned about Tibetan people' and stressed 'work in Tibet must be done well'. He also told me 'Tibet takes up a very important position in my mind and my work agenda,'" recalled Raidi, also chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress.

Jiang came to Tibet in July 1990, paying visits to the countryside, pastoral areas, enterprises, government institutions, schools, residents' families, as well as police officials, and the army stationed there. "He made a series of important speeches which are of great significance to guiding Tibet-related work," he said.

In June 2001, Jiang Zemin called the fourth working meeting on Tibet where he emphasized that the development, stability and security of Tibet are closely related to the implementation of the strategy of developing the country's western regions, national unity and social stability, national reunification and security, as well as China's image.

The Party's constant attention to Tibet is coupled with increasing national assistance for the region which covers all of its districts, in a bid to boost economic advancement in the autonomous region.

During a group discussion at the Fifth Plenum of the 15th CPC National Congress held in November 2000, Raidi said construction of a railway in Tibet has been a long-held wish of generations of Tibetans. Jiang Zemin was present at the discussion.

Once month later, Jiang wrote a three-page note to a relevant report by the Ministry of Railways, saying the railway is very necessary and work should be started as soon as possible.

To carry out Jiang's instruction, a working meeting of the State Council studied the railway issue in February 2001, when Premier Zhu Rongji declared it was high time to construct the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

"The Qinghai-Tibet Railway embodies CPC Central Committee's concern for the Tibetan people," said Raidi, who joined the Party in 1961.

As a delegate to several CPC national congresses, Raidi has always made good use of his right to make suggestions, especially on the development of ethnic minority regions, national unity and the nurturing of cadres of ethnic minority origin. "And many of my suggestions have been adopted by the Central Committee," he said with pride.

Raidi considers himself as a bridge between the Central Committee and the Tibetan people. "When in Beijing (attending various working conferences), I talk about Tibet truthfully without any reservations. Back in Tibet I try to relay the Party's concern about and national support for Tibet to my folks."

"Only by safeguarding national unity and solidarity under the Party leadership and taking the socialist path unswervingly in the great family of the motherland, can Tibetan people enjoy today's happy life and ensure a good future," Raidi concluded.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2002)