The official said that the government respects and safeguards the rights of Tibetans and other ethnic groups in Tibet to live their lives and conduct social activities in accordance with their traditional customs, and they have freedom to engage in normal religious activities and major religious and folk festival celebrations.

    The official also said that the Central People's Government and the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region have always paid special attention to respecting and protecting the freedom of religious belief and normal religious activities of the Tibetan people.

    The religious scriptures and classics have been well preserved, and some of them have been republished.

    Now, Tibet is home to more than 1,700 monasteries, temples and other sites of religious activity, with over 46,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, accounting for two percent of its total population.

    Since 1980, the government has spent about 300 million yuan (36 million U.S. dollars) in renovating and rehabilitating monasteries, temples and other sites of religious activities, said the official.