The religious and ethnic minority sections have the most representatives at the top political consultative conference in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region and experts believe these two particular sections have contributed significantly to the region's development and stability.

A total of 80 Buddhist monks and nuns in red robes entered the venue of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Tibet Autonomous Region Committee on Tuesday, making the religious section the biggest of 16 sections including the Communist Party of China, women's federation, arts and culture, scientific technology and business at the regional CPPCC, the China News Service reported.

Tibet's 11th CPPCC has 519 members, a 15.6 percent decrease on the previous session's 615. The 519 members include 129 Han majority people, 368 Tibetans, seven Hui, five Menba and five Manchu, according to a list on tibet.cn.

A large number of members from religious and ethnic minorities have become a unique section of Tibet's CPPCC, Lian Xiangmin, an expert at the China Tibetology Research Center, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"The CPPCC members from the religion section are usually Living Buddhas and eminent lamas from the administrative committees of each temple," Lian said.

The CPPCC members in the region are mostly concerned about Tibet's development, stability, ecology and people's livelihood, the China News Service reported.

"Religious and ethnic minority members in the CPPCC have played a unique and significant role in the development, stability and cultural protection of Tibet, which is a policy that was made based on the actual situation of Tibet," Lian said.

The political consultative system was the first political system introduced and built in Tibet after 1949, Lian said. For united front concerns, it was built earlier than Tibet's people's congress and regional ethnic autonomy system, he added.

The conference is scheduled to end January 29.

The Tibet CPPCC committee has organized six representative groups in the past five years to visit more than 10 countries including India, Germany and Australia, to promote Tibet, China News Service said.

The CPPCC conference will also invite Nepal consular officials from Lhasa to attend the CPPCC conference every year.

By Shan Jie