A People's Daily editorial (August 19) recalled President Xi Jinping’s July visit to Tibet commemorating the 70th anniversary of its “Peaceful Liberation,” pointing out that this is the first such visit by a CCP or Central Military Commission (CMC) chair.  It said that Xi Jinping had stated that, since the “peaceful liberation” was announced in the 17-Article Agreement of 1951, the people of Tibet have “been forever freed from imperialist aggression and chains” and have taken the road of national unity and progress. The Editorial further stated that in this short time period, Tibet has made extraordinary progress, and that “only through maintaining the leadership of the CCP, the system of socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and the system of regional ethnic autonomy can Tibet be provided with a fundamental guarantee for long-term peace and stability and prosperous development.” The Editorial concluded by pointing out that the 70th anniversary of Tibet’s “peaceful liberation” occurred in the same year as the initiation of the 14th Five-Year Plan, China’s achieving its goal of a moderately prosperous society, and its first centennial. It called for unity around “the party centre with Xi Jinping at its core and the implementation of the spirit of the Seventh Central Symposium on Tibet Work.”