LHASA, March 28, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A flag-raising ceremony is held to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 28, 2016. In 2009, March 28 was designated as the day to mark the freeing of 1 million people, or 90 percent of the region's population at that time, from the feudal serf system in 1959. (Xinhua/Chogo)

LHASA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Tibetan Autonomous Region on Monday marked Serfs' Emancipation Day with flag-raising ceremonies and official vows to fight separatism.

Losang Jamcan, chair of Tibet regional government, said in a speech that secessionist activities were doomed to fail.

"The clique of the 14th Dalai Lama has never ceased its attempts to split China. Such activities run counter to the constitution, state system and the interests of all people in Tibet, and are doomed to fail,"he said.

The clique can not deny the great achievements Tibet has made under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Losang Jamcan said, or dampen the resolution of all Chinese, including Tibetans, to safeguard national unity.

Tibet can only continue to advance and prosper by following the CPC leadership and the path of socialism, he said.

In 2009, March 28 was designated as the day to mark the freeing of 1 million people, or 90 percent of the region's population at that time, from the feudal serf system in 1959.

Tibet'sGDPsurpassed 100 billion yuan (15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015 after 23 years of double-digit growth. Per capita disposable income for its rural residents increased to 8,244 yuan last year, double that of 2010.

The region has also led the country in offering 15-year free education and free health check-ups for rural and urban residents.

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China Voice: Serfdom-free Tibet marches toward greater prosperity

BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- On March 28, 1959, about 1 million Tibetans broke the chains of serfdom in a historic democratic reform. Fifty-seven years on, the autonomous region once beset by inequality and oppression has witnessed encouragingly fast economic growth and better-than-ever standards of living.

As a documentary that China Central Television (CCTV) aired over the weekend showed, serfs in Tibet were belittled, discriminated against, and treated no better than livestock. Full story