[1] The holiday was announced to mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of democratic reform of the Tibetan social structure on 28 March 1959, where according to China, one million people were freed from serfdom.
[4] On 28 March, in what state-run China Daily called the simultaneous "end of serfdom and the abolition of the hierarchic social system characterized by theocracy", Zhou Enlai issued a State Council Order declaring the "dissolution" of the government of Tibet.
[5] The order also directed the People's Liberation Army to suppress the uprising,[6] confiscate the possessions of the rebels, and give them to the serfs, which by China's estimate, comprised 90% of the population in Tibet.
The resolution calling for the reforms to take place in Tibet was passed by the National People's Congress in Beijing on April 28, 1959, and formally adopted by the Preparatory Committee on July 17.
The procession started at 10 a.m. at Potala Palace, and the then-Governor Qiangba Puncog presided over the event, wearing traditional Tibetan dress.