Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, a senior Chinese legislator and political advisor, passed away in Beijing Wednesday at the age of 100.

Ngapoi, of Tibetan ethnic group, died of disease at 4:50 p.m. Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

In the statement, he was described as "a great patriot, renowned social activist, good son of Tibetan people, outstanding leader of China's ethnic work and close friend of the CPC."

Ngapoi, once a senior official of the former local government of Tibet, served as vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee from 1964 to 1993 and vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) for many years.

He was also president of the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2009)