LHASA, Feb. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Farmers and herdsmen in China's Tibet autonomous region are tuning to their radios and televisions to acquaint themselves with elsewhere in the world thanks to a government project to enrich their cultural lives.

By late 2003, 83.05 percent of the Tibetans had had access to radio broadcasts and 84.44 percent, most of whom are local farmers and herdsmen, had access to TV programs, according to statistics from the regional radio, film and television bureau.

With an area of more than 1.2 million sq km, Tibet has a population of 2.62 million, over 80 percent of whom are farmers and herdsmen living in remote areas with rigid, harsh natural conditions.

The central government launched a project to treat rural people to radio and TV programs in 1999. More than 88 percent of the national population had access to radio programs in 1998 compared with 65 percent in Tibet, while 89 percent of the people around China had access to television broadcasts compared with 55 percent in Tibet.

Since then, a total of 140 million yuan (16.92 million US dollars) has been spent on over 5,930 new radio and TV relay stations in Tibet.

Source:www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-18