Basang or Pasang (; ; born March 1937) is a retired

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

politician of the People's Republic of China. A former slave, she joined the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

and rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution, when she became Vice-Chairwoman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). She was a member of the

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a political body that comprises the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is currently composed of 205 fu ...

for 14 years and was the only woman leader in the TAR government from 1979 to 2002.

Biography

Basang was born in March 1937 in Gongkar,

Lhokha ShannanThe official spelling according to (), also romanized from Tibetan as Lhoka (; ), is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shannan includes Gonggar County within its jurisdiction with Gongkar Chö ...

, Tibet. Her parents were slaves, and after her mother died in 1947, Basang worked as a slave for nine years for the landlord of Chika. In 1956, Basang escaped from slavery and joined the Chinese

. She was sent to study at the

Tibet Public School Xizang Minzu University (; ), also known as Tibet University for Nationalities, is a Chinese university established to educate ethnic minorities, specifically Tibetans. It is under the jurisdiction of Tibet Autonomous Region, but is physically lo ...

(now Tibet Minzu University) in Xianyang, Shaanxi Province. She joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in May 1959, and became a cadre in Nêdong County, and later Nang County, both in Tibet. In July 1965, she was promoted to deputy county magistrate of Nang. Basang rose to national prominence during the Cultural Revolution. In May 1966, her article praising

Mao Zedong Thought Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...

was published in the ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language ...

'', the official CCP mouthpiece. In September 1969, when the Revolutionary Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) was established to replace regional government and Party organs, she was elected its Vice-Chairwoman. She was elected Secretary of the new CCP Secretariat of TAR in August 1971, and Chairwoman of the Tibet Women's Federation in July 1973. In August 1973, she became a member of the

10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 1973 to 1977. It was preceded by the 9th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. It held three plenary sessions in the 4-year period. It was formally succeeded ...

. After Deng Xiaoping came to power, most leaders who rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution lost their positions, but Basang was reelected to the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

and

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

Central Committees, keeping her seat until 1987. Starting in 1979, Basang successively served as Deputy Chairwoman of TAR, Deputy Party Chief of TAR, and Deputy Chairwoman of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

(CPPCC) of TAR. She was concurrently Vice-Chairwoman of the All-China Women's Federation from 1998 to 2003. By the time she retired in late 2002, she had served for 24 years as the only woman in the leadership of the Tibet Autonomous Region. She continued to be a member of the National CPPCC until 2013.

References

{{Authority control 1937 births Living people People's Republic of China politicians from Tibet Chinese Communist Party politicians from Tibet Tibetan women in politics People's Liberation Army personnel Members of the 10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party 20th-century slaves All-China Women's Federation people