CHINA vowed to fight separatism yesterday on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

Communist Party of China politburo member Yu Zhengsheng said the government’s anti-separatist campaign was to defend national unity and regional stability in the face of imperialist aggression.

Mr Yu was addressing a rally of senior officials and thousands of Tibetan people gathered in front of the Potala Palace in TAR capital Lhasa.

“Tibet has entered a new stage of sustained stability after people of all ethnic groups together fought against separatism, successfully foiling sabotage attempts by the 14th Dalai Lama group and international hostile forces,” he said.

Mr Yu said bids to “split China and undermine ethnic unity have been defeated time and time again.”

He also hailed social and economic progress in the region, which was languishing in medieval conditions at the time of the Chinese revolution in 1949.

“During the past 50 years the Chinese Communist Party and the Tibetan people have led the transformation from a backward old Tibet to a vibrant, socialist, new Tibet,” said Mr Yu.

The Dalai Lama fled China in 1959 following a failed CIA-backed coup.

China established the TAR in 1965 and it is one of five autonomous regions in the country.