Xi Jinping's many problems: Hong Kong to Xinjiang

My article Xi Jinping's many problems: Hong Kong to Xinjiang appeared in Mail Today/DailyO.


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Beijing faced a 'tsunami' in favour of the pro-democracy movement and then its atrocities on Uyghur Muslims were exposed to the world.

Since his visit to Mamallapuram, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been facing a rough sea at home. The 4th plenary session of the 19th Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee was held in Beijing from October 28 to 31. The members discussed the work report presented by Xi and adopted it "to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics".
The complicated situation of increasing risk challenges at home and abroad," was mentioned in the communiqué. The gathering "upheld the principle of 'one country, two systems', maintaining lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao, and promoting the peaceful reunification of China." Today, it looks like a distant dream.

Hong Kong polls
Beijing did not expect a 'tsunami' in favour of the pro-democracy movement which won 392 out of 452 seats in the Hong Kong local elections. Anti-Beijing candidates took control of 17 out of 18 district councils. "Xinhua waited until Monday afternoon to release a two-paragraph news report on the polls, stating only that the elections took place and 18 districts produced results," The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
Meanwhile, the People's Daily just spoke of the history of US intervention in foreign elections.
In the weeks preceding the elections, the Global Times repeatedly claimed that a 'silent majority' in Hong Kong was condemning the protests. What complicates Xi's life further is that their victory could give pro-democracy candidates a larger say in the selection process for the next chief executive as they control of 117 seats on the 1,200-member selection committee. "This shift in the balance of power will mean that Beijing will be more reliant on the major property developers and their business associates — at a time when Beijing has been trying to wean itself away from [them]," SCMP said. So, the 'tycoons' may decide who will be the Communist leader of the semi-autonomous region. That is not the only problem of Mr Xi.

Spy gone rogue
Wang Liqiang, who spied for China for many years, recently defected to Australia. He wrote a 12-page Chinese-language confession on some disturbing aspects of Beijing's political interference. The Age in Australia cited a few: "efforts to manipulate Taiwan's elections, infiltration of student organisations in Hong Kong, and even the kidnapping of political dissidents. [Wang gave] names of organisations and key figures in Chinese military intelligence." Wang, probably one of the first operatives from China to blow his cover, is now seeking protection in Australia.
To make things worse, on November 16, The New York Times published excerpts of 403 pages of internal classified documents on China's crackdown on Xinjiang. It is an unprecedented insider's view on the clampdown and, particularly, the internment camps, where more than one million Muslims are kept.
"As the government presented its efforts in Xinjiang to the public as benevolent and unexceptional, [Beijing] discussed and organised a ruthless and extraordinary campaign in these internal communications. Senior party leaders are recorded ordering drastic and urgent action against extremist violence, including the mass detentions, and discussing the consequences with cool detachment," the NYT reported.
"The documents show China's plans for sweeping extrajudicial detentions and internment camps in Xinjiang are all signed by one man: Zhu Hailun," the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists noted. Zhu came to Xinjiang in 1975 as part of a party initiative to send educated urban youth to live in the countryside to further China's Maoist revolution. But they should not forget Chen Quanguo, the party boss in Xinjiang. At the end of August 2016, Chen was sent from his post in Tibet to 'pacify' the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The party believed that Zhang Chunxian, Chen's predecessor in Xinjiang, could not deliver the goods. For Chen, it was a reward for his 'Tibet recipe' as he was soon promoted to the all-powerful politburo. In five years, he managed to 'stabilise' Tibet. What was the recipe? First, utter ruthlessness. Second, Chen transformed the plateau into a vast Disneyland: Chinese tourists descended on Tibet in waves to experience the 'Paradise on Earth' with its blue sky, pristine lakes and rivers, luxuriant forests and deep canyons.

Uyghur secret out
Chen used powerful slogans such as 'Social management', 'Comprehensive Rectification', 'Preventive Control', 'Eliminate-Unseen-Threats', 'Nets-in-the-Sky-Traps-on-the-Ground' or 'Copper-Ramparts-Iron-Walls'. The latter translates into "an impenetrable public security defense network consisting of citizen patrols, border security posts, police check posts, surveillance systems... and other mechanisms." This was the recipe to control the Tibetan plateau.
In Xinjiang, Chen added the infamous internment camps. I almost forgot to mention one more headache of Xi's: US President Donald J. Trump, who is threatening him with a trade war. Also, as I concluded this article, the news came that Yonten, a 24 year-old Tibetan man from Ngawa in Eastern Tibet, immolated himself protesting the Chinese rule in Tibet. He is the 156th to do so.
India is indeed a 'cool' country in comparison.

Exposing a repressive campaign in Xinjiang

My article Exposing a repressive campaign in Xinjiang appeared in the Edit Page of The Pioneer

Chinese brutality towards the Uighur Muslim minority is not new but what is surprising is that nobody dares to question Beijing. Why these double standards?

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Last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a 117-page report titled, ‘Eradicating Ideological Viruses — China’s Campaign of Repression Against Xinjiang’s Muslims’, which gave fresh evidence of Beijing’s “mass arbitrary detention, torture and mistreatment, and the increasingly pervasive controls on daily life,” in the restive Province. The US based agency affirmed: “Throughout the region, the Turkic Muslim population of 13 million, is subjected to forced political indoctrination, collective punishment, restrictions on movement and communications, heightened religious restrictions and mass surveillance in violation of international human rights law.”
The HRW report is based on interviews with 58 former residents of Xinjiang, including five former detainees and 38 relatives of detainees. Bloomberg, citing a United Nations’ assessment, had earlier reported that the Chinese authorities have detained ‘upwards of one million’ Uighurs: “As its mosques are shuttered and travel across its borders restricted, Xinjiang — once at the intersection of ancient Silk Road trade routes — threatens to become a black hole in President Xi Jinping’s effort to build new ones.”
The fact that China would like Xinjiang to be the hub of its mega project compounds the issue. The Uighurs being badly treated by Beijing is, however, not new. In a report dated May 1950, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) states: “On the pretense of suppressing guerrillas, the Chinese Communist troops have been going systematically from valley to valley, burning tents and looting cattle, thus depriving the inhabitants of the means of livelihood.”
Another CIA dispatch from January 22, 1951, affirms: “Muslims in Sinkiang [Xinjiang] are discontented with the Communist regime. Officially, there are no restrictions on prayers, but orchestras play for dancing at evening-prayer time to distract the young, and young men enlisted as soldiers have no time to attend religious services. Gatherings of more than four people are prohibited.”
Interestingly, the Chinese propaganda kept repeating that the Communists had come only to help the Uighurs and once their economy was on track, they would withdraw. Sixty-eight years later, the Turkic population is still waiting for the Chinese withdrawal.
Incidentally, the same CIA report asserts: “Propaganda in Sinkiang is stating that the Chinese ought to take the Ladakh airfield because the Americans intend to use it in their invasion of China via Kashmir and Tibet. The Ladakh road was closed in early December 1950.” It was probably part of Mao’s plans to invade Ladakh.
Last month, The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), admitted that the party imprisons ‘extremists’, to educate them and reform their religious thoughts in Xinjiang. It was a rare admission.
Ma Pinyan, a research fellow at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences and vice president of the Xinjiang Prison Association, told the party tabloid that the state had invited religious experts “to reform the extremists’ thoughts. …in prison [they] need to transform their thoughts.”
Another ‘expert’, La Disheng, former vice president of the Xinjiang Academy of Governance remarked: “As a multi-ethnic region, Xinjiang has proven that prosperous development can only be achieved through ethnic unity, while ethnic conflicts and separatism may lead to disasters.”
Today, a large majority of the population of the restive Muslim Province is considered ‘extremist’. In an opinion piece in The New York Times, Rian Thum, a historian who has been conducting research in Xinjiang, observed: “What does it take to intern half a million members of one ethnic group in just a year? Enormous resources and elaborate organisation, but the Chinese authorities aren’t stingy. Vast swathes of the Uighur population in China’s western region of Xinjiang — as well as Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic minorities — are being detained to undergo what the state calls “transformation through education”.
Since last year, a large number of studies detailed the proliferation of re-education camps in Xinjiang that appeared in the Western Press.
China Digital Times, which collected information from different sources, explained: “Ever since former Tibet Party Secretary Chen Quanguo was installed in Xinjiang to replicate his perceived successes [in Tibet where he was posted earlier], Xinjiang’s re-education system alone grew to overshadow China’s officially-abolished re-education through labor system. …Individuals can land in the camps for reasons such as contacting friends or relatives abroad, worshipping at mosques, or possessing Quranic verses on their phones.”
Even the Chinese Press realises that the situation is grim.
On July 6, noted that Beijing has relocated “461,000 poverty-ridden residents to work in other parts of the region during the first quarter of the year,” in a bid to “improve social stability and alleviate poverty.” The report asserted that the Xinjiang Government planned to further transfer 100,000 residents from southern Hotan and Kashgar prefectures by 2019, to get employed somewhere else.
Yu Shaoxiang, another ‘expert’ at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told The Global Times: “Poverty alleviation in Xinjiang is more difficult compared to other places because, aside from poverty, Xinjiang also faces ethnic issues.”
In 2017, Xinhua announced “occupational education programs” covering 1.26 million people in Kashgar and Hotan, where 47,000 poor people found jobs while 317,400 individuals and 331 villages were lifted out of poverty. It is obviously an excuse in an area which is the heart of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
In June, Beijing had announced that the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region’s Government planned to teach “standard spoken and written Chinese language to all 2.94 million students during their free and compulsory education period.” Free and compulsory!
Is there a terrorist threat in Xinjiang? There is no doubt that China faces serious challenges not only from infiltration from its all-weather friend in the south, but also from the Syrian-trained Uighurs returning to Xinjiang.
It is, therefore, a legitimate concern for Beijing; some sources estimate that 5,000 Uighur jihadists were fighting in Syria. A Dubai-based media outlet reported that 10,000 to 20,000 Uighurs were supporting the Islamic State, mostly in Idlib Province.
Whatever the number is, the issue is that ferocious repression or forced assimilation, as it is happening today in the restive region, can only make the situation worse. The future of the Province is not bright, but the most surprising aspect is that Muslim nations around the world are keeping mum about the fate of their Uighur brothers and sisters; nobody dares to question China about its Muslim policy.

The People’s Daily
Isn’t it amazing?
This is called double standards.

China's 'Tibet recipe' in Xinjiang should put India on alert

Chen Quanguo leaves Tibet to apply his recipe in Xinjiang

My article China's 'Tibet recipe' in Xinjiang should put India on alert appeared in Mail Today.

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The stability of the Muslim region is vital for Beijing and its gigantic BRI project. At the end of August 2016, Wu Yingjie takes over as party secretary of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) from Chen Quanguo who is sent to "pacify" the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party has taken this crucial decision during the annual closed-door meeting in the summer resort of Beidahe. Chen replaces Zhang Chunxian as XUAR party secretary.
It is indeed a promotion for Chen, given the fact that Xinjiang's party secretaries often serve in the politburo. Infrastructure His selection is linked to the "Tibet Recipe", the way Chen managed to "pacify" the TAR.
Once in Urumqi, Chen immediately started applying the formula that he used in Tibet to Xinjiang. But what is this recipe?
First, Chen transformed the Roof of the World into a vast Disneyland. In 2006, the arrival of the train on the plateau changed everything for Beijing and unfortunately for the Tibetans.
Wave after wave of Chinese tourists could be poured into Tibet to experience the "Paradise on Earth" with its blue sky, pristine lakes and rivers, its luxuriant forests and deep canyons (the latter in Southern Tibet).
In 2016, 25 million tourists, mainly from the Mainland, are said to have visited the Land of Snows. For this, infrastructure needed to be developed, airports opened, four-way highways constructed, hotels and entertainment parks built; this was done in Tibet on a war-footing.
Wave after wave of Chinese tourists poured into Tibet. In passing, the Tibetan intangible heritage had to be preserved, often with Chinese characteristics. The same formula has now to be replicated in Xinjiang. Second, in order to "stabilise" the plateau, Chen imposed restrictions on the local population like never before.
Similar policies will be used in Xinjiang. Human Rights Watch (HRW), an organisation based in the US, just released a "glossary" of special slogans or "formulations" (tifa) used by the Chinese officials and the media when referring to party policies on the plateau.
HRW explains: “China’s authorities place extraordinary emphasis on the importance of ‘propaganda’ in sustaining their rule. This phenomenon is particularly evident in Tibet, where there has been a long history of human rights violations, extreme hostility towards political rights, and heavy restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and access to information.”
"Poetic" tifas such as Social Management, Comprehensive Rectification, Preventive Control, Eliminate-Unseen-Threats, Nets-in-the-Sky-Traps-on-the-Ground or Copper-Ramparts-Iron Walls, are recurrently used.
The latter one for example, translates into “an impenetrable public security defense network consisting of citizen patrols, border security posts, police checkposts, surveillance systems, internet controls, identity card monitoring, travel restrictions, informant networks, and other mechanisms.”
The implementation of these tifas, which originated during Chen’s tenure in Tibet, is often dreadful... but efficient for Beijing.

Rights 
Chen has taken these tifas with him to Xinjiang and started making good use of them. The "stability" of the Western province is vital for China, as it is the geographical hub for the Belt and Road Initiative: it will connect the New Silk Road (Central Asia) to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. Chen now plans to bring millions of tourists to Xinjiang in order to "dilute" the Uyghur characteristics. In a "White Paper on Xinjiang" recently published by Beijing, the Communist Party hides its failure by saying: “Legitimate rights of religious organisations have been effectively safeguarded. Xinjiang has published translations of the religious classics of Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity in multiple languages,” adding 1.76 million copies of the Quran have been printed and distributed. But on the ground the situation is different.
To take just one example, Beijing has decided to collect DNA samples from all Xinjiang’s residents. This week, Xinhua reported China's decision to dispatch 10,000 teachers to the restive XUAR and TAR “to support local education could help solve the educational problems.” Stability Beijing says that the main problem is the lack of eligible bilingual teachers in the regions, but will the teachers from the mainland teach the Turkish language of the Uyghurs or Mandarin? Not difficult to guess. Language, in Tibet or Xinjiang, is an instrument of assimilation.

Infrastructure
Chen is also working hard to improve the infrastructure. Last week, Xinhua announced the construction of 10 new airports to be built in Xinjiang by 2020; further, six older airports will be renovated and expanded. It has implications for India.
One of these airports will be built in Yutian (also known as Keriya), a county of Hotan Prefecture not far from the disputed Aksai Chin. Located south of the Taklimakan desert and north of the Kunlun range, Keriya has always been a major stopover on the ancient Silk Road. In view of the proximity of the Indian border, it makes sense for China to have a new "civil" airport at Keriya, considering that there is no such thing as a "civil" airport in China, especially so close to the Indian border. Keriya airport is designed to annually handle 1,80,000 passengers and 400 tons of cargo; it will have a 3,200-meter runway, a 3,000-square-meter terminal building and cost 104 million US dollars, says Xinhua. There is no doubt that Chen has been mandated to apply the "Tibet Recipe" in Xinjiang.
Will he succeed is another question.
It is however certain that the stability of the Muslim region is vital for the Middle Kingdom and its gigantic BRI "linking" project; India needs to watch and be prepared.

Xinjiang: relentlessly beat and strike hard

Two years ago, during the ‘Two Sessions’, a senior Uygur military official declared that “terrorist attacks would not affect the overall stability of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), nor would they hinder its fast economic development, ethnic unity or religious harmony.”
Major General Saimati Muhammat, a deputy commander of the Xinjiang Military Area Command also told Xinhua: "Everyone in Xinjiang is against terrorism and expects peace. Now those few terrorists have no support there, and people just hate them."
General Saimati spoke of the anti-terrorism campaign then conducted in Xinjiang “it has helped people realize that terrorists are their common enemies. Everyone is obligated to battle terrorism and maintain peace," he asserted.
Despite a new counter-terrorism Law, the situation has seriously deteriorated during the last two years in the restive province. Though in 2015, the Uygur general said that “terrorism shouldn't be blamed on any specific ethnic group, territory or religion,” Xinjiang is very tense today.
The fact that General Saimati was very silent during the last ‘Two Sessions’ is telling. Today, officials are not allowed to speak about Xinjiang.

Reward to denounce ‘terrorists’
In previous posts, I mentioned the nervousness in Beijing after recent events in Xinjiang. It was apparent with the dinner offered to the ‘minorities’ by the seven members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo at the Great Hall of People during the 'Two Sessions'.
Another indication of Beijing’s uneasiness shows in a report of Radio Free Asia (RFA) which says: “Authorities in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region are offering hefty sums of cash to would-be tipsters on terrorist activities.”
It quoted an official announcement issued by the regional authorities on February 23. According to RFA’s Uyghur Service, the Hotan prefecture government had set aside 100 million yuan (U.S. $14.5 million) to reward residents reporting ‘suspicious’ acts after a knife attack in Guma (Pishan) county.
The announcement says: “Our region will create an anti-terror defense front composing every ten families as a unit, and an anti-terror reward fund in order to encourage the masses to actively provide tips related to terrorism, …Tip providers will receive anywhere from 150 yuan (U.S. $22) to 500,000 yuan (U.S. $72,426), depending upon the importance and usefulness of the tip on suspicious terrorist activity or suspicious individuals.”
The authorities guaranteed the anonymity of the informants and promised to secretly transfer rewards to their bank accounts. Anyone exposing high-ranking members of the community involved in suspicious activity will be 'handsomely' rewarded for their information, says RFA: “Tip providers who report on ‘double-faced’ cadres, party members or ‘double-faced’ religious clergy will receive 200,000-500,000 yuan (U.S. $28,970-72,426).”
That is big money.

Xinjiang and Tibet
As mentioned earlier on this blog, the arrival of Chen Quanguo as Party Secretary has witnessed a hardening of the ‘anti-terror’ measures.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) also links the new measures to Chen.
Gabriele Battaglia writes in the SCMP: “The heat is on in Xinjiang. A string of deadly killings, blamed on Islamist separatists, have rocked China’s restive far western province and prompted authorities into an unprecedented show of force – and a social clampdown experts say has been imported from Tibet.”
Interestingly, the most restive areas are located close to the Indian border in the Aksai Chin. Military parades in Hotan and Kashgar were synchronized with the one in the capital, Urumqi.
Zhu Hailun, a XUAR’s deputy secretary announced that the authorities’ intent to “relentlessly beat, and strike hard against terrorism.”
According to the SCMP’s article: “The spate of violence coincides with the release this month of a half-hour video by Islamic State that features Uygurs issuing the terror group’s first threat against Chinese targets. The event has added credibility to warnings by Beijing of the potential for Xinjiang militants to link up with global jihadist groups.”
In Beijing, Xi Jinping spoke of building a ‘Great Wall of Steel’ to keep Islamic separatists out of the Muslim province.
The SCMP remarked: “The government has responded to the growing threat by bringing in new hardline security restrictions on Xinjiang residents – restrictions some experts say have been imported from neighbouring Tibet by Chen Quanguo, Xinjiang’s Communist Party leader, who previously held the same office in Tibet.”
The situation has undoubtedly worsened.  

New Recruitment Policy

At a time when Beijing has decided to demobilize several Group Armies (Corps), the XUAR is recruiting.

The Jamestown Foundation says that Party “has built a multi-tiered security state with, among other components, the recruitment of nearly 90,000 new police officers and a 356 percent increase in the public security budget.”
Researcher of the Foundation have map the development of the security state in Xinjiang from the beginning in 2006: “The figures reveal a massive spike in police recruitment since 2012, with Xi Jinping personally praising local constabularies as the ‘fists and daggers’ of China’s counter-terrorism effort. In fact, the number of advertised police jobs in 2016 exceeded the combined figures from 2008–2012 by 30,000. …Last year, the outgoing Xinjiang Party Secretary Zhang Chunxian declared success, claiming that the situation in Xinjiang is becoming ever more stable and the number of violent incidents has declined substantially as local authorities strengthen their ability to prevent and fight terrorist activities”.
In a Communist system, it is logical for the local Party boss to announce that he has succeeded, but the truth is probably the opposite; that is why Chen Quanguo has started implementing even more comprehensive and intrusive policies (such as the rewards).
The Jamestown Foundation describes for stages of hardening of the situation.

Stage 1 (2009–2011): Responding to the 2009 Urumqi Riots
Stage 2 (2012–13): Expanded Policing and Surveillance in the Rural South
Stage 3 (2014–2015): Grid-Style Community Policing and Big Data Surveillance
Stage 4 (from 2016): ‘Convenience Police Stations and the Massive Expansion of Surveillance Manpower

The latest is the most deadly development:  “A total of 31,687 security-related positions were advertised, more than a three-fold increase over the previous year. This unprecedented recruitment drive sought to boost the Party-state’s surveillance capabilities across all regions of Xinjiang, as only 35 percent of advertised positions were designated for regions with a Uyghur population of 40 percent or higher. Notably, 89 percent of these new hires were associated with so-called convenience police stations, which are currently being built across the XUAR in the tens of thousands.”
The Jamestown Foundation says that the local media have praised these convenience police stations as ‘bringing zero-distance service’ to the people of Xinjiang.
But in reality, the article concludes: “their real purpose is surveillance, cleverly designed to make Orwellian levels of securitization more palatable, while bringing 24-hour ‘zero-distance’ policing to an ever-increasing number of neighborhoods.”
It is quite frightening.
And will it work? Probably not, that is why Chen is playing the 'tourism' card at the same time.

Today, General Saimati is silent.
And whether the PLA’s soldiers demobilized under Mr Xi's new military reforms, will find their way to Xinjiang is a matter of conjecture, it remains however clear that the Core Leader is unable to fully control what is happening in his Western Dominion.
India should closely follow the developments in the region before deciding to join the Dream One Belt, One Road, so dear to Mr Xi.

Mr Chen's recipe: tourism in Xinjiang

Repression before Tourism

At the end of August 2016, Wu Yingjie took over as Party Secretary of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) from Chen Quanguo who was sent to ‘pacify’ Xinjiang.
The decision had been taken during the annual closed-door meeting at Beidahe.
An official statement released had then announced that Zhang Chunxian would be replaced by Chen Quanguo as secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
This was indeed a promotion for Chen, given the fact that Xinjiang's Party Secretaries often serve in the Politburo (though Chen will have to wait until the 19th Party Congress later this year to find out if he has made it).
In the meantime, Chen has to deliver the goods.
A question on everybody’s lips: will Chen apply the same recipe to pacify the restive Muslim Dominion than he used in Tibet.
Six months after his appointment, it looks like Chen is ready to use ‘tourism’ as a weapon of mass destruction to eliminate the resentment of the Uyghur population against the Central Government in Beijing.

Large Scale Training
Last week, Xinhua announced that the XUAR will train 1.2 million rural residents by 2020 as part of a new wave of infrastructure spending.
Why so much infrastructure?
Let us not forget that all infrastructure developments in China have a dual use, military and civilian.
The civilian part is usually linked to tourism (at least it is so in Tibet).
According to The Global Times: “Xinjiang's fixed asset investment will surpass 1.5 trillion yuan (around 217 billion US dollars) in 2017, up more than 50 percent year on year.”
The mouthpiece of the Party speaks of a training program “to meet labor demand in various projects, mainly in infrastructure sectors such as transport, water conservancy, energy and telecommunication.”
Ming Hong, deputy head of regional department of human resources and social security told The Global Times: “Xinjiang will provide language and skills training to 800,000 farmers and herdsmen that have no working experience, over the next four years.”
Language skills refer to Mandarin and perhaps English.
Ming says that the government wants to offer training ranging from one to three months to 360,000 rural labors: “From this year to 2020, another 40,000 young people, mainly from southern Xinjiang, will enroll in vocational schools and be offered occupational qualification certificates after two to three years of study.”
The new trainees will mainly be used in the tourism sector.
The Global Times admits: “Addressing the employment of surplus labor is the key to Xinjiang's social stability and economic development.”
In other words, the same formula than in Tibet: tourism = stability = integration.

More planes for Xinjiang
Another indication of the direction Beijing has decided to move in Xinjiang is given by article in The China Daily.
It says that during the current year, Xinjiang will import 10 new aircraft from Switzerland to develop tourism, improve emergency rescue capabilities and boost its role in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Lin Haitao, head of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Aviation Business Administration told the media: “The first of the 10 aircraft - all of which are Pilatus PC-12 produced by Switzerland's Pilatus Aircraft Co - recently arrived in Shihezi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the second one is expected to arrive soon.”
The aircraft will be operated by Xinjiang General Aviation Co Ltd, one of the country's biggest aviation service providers in China.
According to the same source, the 10 new airplanes will be mainly used to "transport tourists between scenic spots that are scattered across the vast autonomous region, as well as being chartered for emergency rescue missions. The fleet can also serve neighboring countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR), if needed.”
The OBOR initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to rejuvenate two ancient trade routes - the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road - regional connectivity is closely linked to the new strategy.
Liu Kuntong, director of planning in the local government explained: "The addition of the 10 airplanes is just the start of our efforts to improve regional connectivity. We will increase investment in the sector and support the goal of building an air passage along the Belt and the Road."
Apart from the OBOR which is a panacea for all problems in China today, tourism like in Tibet, can kill several birds with one stone …and its helps develop infrastructure for the PLA.
The most important initiative is the new link road between Tibet and Xinjiang already mentioned on this blog.
Tourism also provides employment; improve the living standard of local Uyghur population and gives opportunities for Han migration, etc.


Delegates to the 'Two Sessions'
According to China Tibet Online during the recent ‘Two Sessions’, representatives to the National People's Congress (NPC) from Xinjiang and Tibet stated that the OBOR, “expanded the vision of residents in remote and poverty-stricken regions and is bringing the northwestern region of the country into a well-off society along with the rest of China.”
Yang Qin, a representative from Xinjiang remarked: “Trading between Xinjiang and Central Asia are busier than ever. As long as we have good products, we never have to worry about sales."
As the chairman of a fruit products cooperative in Manas County of Changji Prefecture in Xinjiang, she said that she benefited from the opportunities provided by the OROB.
Yang Qin explained: “The cooperative members have reaped the rewards of cross-border trading. This year, we have brought in new species of specialty mushrooms and are trying to expand production. We're hoping to break into the international market by the end of the year.”
There is of course a large part of propaganda especially when a delegate from Tibet says: “Tibet is now becoming the relay point between China and South Asia. There is a nonstop stream of merchants incoming from India, Nepal, and other countries, and trading is becoming more and more robust.”
There is hardly any trade with India through the three official land-ports (Shipkila, Lipulekla and Nathula). But the ‘Two Sessions’ is first and foremost a propaganda exercise.
A Nepalese businessman who frequents China for business and opened an import/export company in Kyirong land-port between Nepal and Tibet said that “With the rapid growth of China-Nepal trading in the past two years, his business has also taken off and is earning 450 thousand Yuan (65 thousand US dollars) annually: “There are about eight thousand kinds of Nepalese products being sent to and sold in southwest China's Tibet every year.”
There is no doubt that a ‘good’ delegate should praise Xi Jinping, the Core Leader and its Dream Project, the OBOR.
It remains that the Xinjiang government under Chen Quanguo is decided to increase infrastructure construction “for transportation, irrigation, energy, and other infrastructure in Tibet”.
Whether it is part of the OBOR initiative or not is irrelevant.
According to Xinhua, some 25 proposals were submitted by the Tibet delegation to the National People's Congress; it included infrastructure construction, livelihood improvement, industrial development, environmental protection in the fields of “politics, economics, culture, education, ecology and other areas,” reported the news agency.
The proposals on infrastructure construction projects include railways, highways, water conservancy, electric power, ecological zones and logistics parks, “which are the most urgent problems needing high attention on the region's way to reform and development,” explained one delegate.
There is no doubt that the delegates from Xinjiang presented similar requirements.
Millions of Han tourists will soon visit the Western Dominion, before that, some minimum level of security needs to be insured by the authorities to reassure the tourists.
The Han tourists are not a very brave lot, they stop en masse coming to France after the terror attacks last year.
It is a tricky job for Mr Chen.

Tibet Boss: A Han Reserved Job

Wu Yingjie, Pema Choeling (Tib) , Lobsang Gyaltsen (Tib)

During the ‘enthronization’ ceremony in Lhasa, when Wu Yingjie took over as Party Secretary of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) from Chen Quanguo, who is sent to ‘pacify’ Xinjiang (with probably a seat in the Politburo as a reward), it was interesting to see that a Han Chinese jumped over two Tibetans to make it to the top.

The order of precedence in the TAR Standing Committee was:

1. Chen Quanguo (Han), Party Secretary
2. Padma Choling (Tib), Deputy Secretary
3. Lobsang Gyaltsen (Tib), Deputy Secretary
4. Wu Yingjie (Han), Executive Deputy Secretary
5. Deng Xiaogang (Han), Deputy Secretary
6. Lt Gen Diao Guoxin (Han), Political Commissar, Tibet Military Command
7. Gongpo Tashi (Tib), United Front Work Department

Though The China Daily says that Wu “won applause for saying people's livelihoods have been his top priority during his entire political life in the autonomous region,” his promotion over two Tibetan looks like racial discrimination.
Beijing will say that it is not, it is the Party prerogative.
But the fact remains that sixty-five years after the so-called Liberation of Tibet, Beijing still does not trust the Tibetans.
Small mercy, Wu served 40 years in Tibet; he knows Tibet well.
Towards the end of the Cultural Revolution, he was then 16 only, he came to Tibet where he worked for some 20 years in the education field.
As mentioned yesterday, later he served the Party in different capacities.
After Chen had finished his farewell speech, Wu spoke very emotionally: “Since I was young, I have lived, worked and grown up in Tibet. I was brought up by the Party, the people, the Tibetan Plateau and all the ethnic groups of Tibet.”
Wu added: “Tibet is my second home. I think of myself as a local Tibetan. I deeply love the land and the hardworking people here."
He also said: “In my new position, I will continue to serve the more than 3 million people of Tibet. I know it is a glorious mission, but I do not think it will be easy.”
For those who equate Kashmir to Tibet, can we imagine the State of J & K having outsiders as Chief Ministers? And what about Tamil Nadu having a Chief Minister from UP, not speaking Tamil?
And what about a Legislative Assembly in Srinagar with MLAs from Bihar, Kerala or Bengal?
It will bring a revolution, and rightly so.
China would like to project the image of a ‘normal’ State, but it is not the case.
It must be frustrating for people like Padma Choling or Lobsang Gyaltsen to be superseded, though I am sure they are aware of the rules of the game.

Here is the list of Han Party Secretaries in Tibet since the so-called Liberation 

• Zhang Guohua     January 1950 - June 1951 (PLA background)
• Fan Ming     June 1951 - December 1951 (PLA background)
• Zhang Jingwu    March 1952 - August 1965 (PLA background)
• Zhang Guohua    September 1965 – till Cultural Revolution
• Ren Rong     August 1971 - March 1980 (PLA background)
• Yin Fatang     March 1980 - June 1985 (PLA background)
• Wu Jinghua     June 1985 - December 1988
• Hu Jintao     December 1988 - November 1992 (later China's President)
• Chen Kuiyuan     November 1992 - September 2000
• Guo Jinlong     September 2000 - December 2004 (today Politburo member)
• Yang Chuantang    December 2004 - November 2005 (today Transport Minister)
• Zhang Qingli     November 2005 - August 2011
• Chen Quanguo August 2011 - August 2106 (now Xinjiang Party Secretary)

Incidentally, Chen Quanguo was seen off by the Chinese Panchen Lama Gyatsen Norbu.

Gyaltsen Norbu behind Chen

 

 

 

Fake Lamas, Communist Lamas

Communist China has recently developed a great expertise in ‘soul reincarnation’.
The reason why the atheist Party looked into the issue is that ‘Living Buddhas’, as Beijing calls the reincarnated lamas or Tulkus, usually wield a great influence.
They can have political power, but also economic sway: in fact, it is one of the best businesses nowadays, whether in the West or in the Middle Kingdom (in India too, though ‘Indian’ lamas often dream to migrate to greener pastures in the United States). More rarely, they have spiritual authority.
But the Communist Party is also conscious that things are getting out of hand; it has now decided to differentiate between the ‘good’ lamas, who will pay obedience to Marx Doctrine, and the fake ones, who are running their own private business.
During a meeting of the United Front Work Department in June, Xi Jinping, said: “Active efforts should be made to incorporate religions in socialist society,” the Chinese President added: “religions in China must be Chinese. The development of religions in China should be independent from foreign influence.”
That is probably why Beijing has decided to develop a database of ‘Living Buddhas’ to help differentiate fake from real (Communist) rinpoches.
Earlier this week, The China Daily reported: “Authorities are setting up a database of legitimate Living Buddhas and will publish the information online. This will enable followers of Tibetan Buddhism to distinguish between real Living Buddhas and fake ones.”
It added that “some fake Living Buddhas have posed threats to national security, as they use money they collect to sponsor illegal or even separatist activities in Tibet.”
How to get a certificate from Beijing that one is the right ‘returned-soul’?
Simply follow the rules of the Communist Party, which affirmed: “Living Buddhas, also known as Rinpoches or Tulkus, are deeply revered monks in Tibetan Buddhism, where it is believed that the soul of a senior Buddha is reincarnated in a child on his death.”
According to Beijing there are 358 Living Buddhas in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) alone. That is quite a lot for a supposedly atheist region; apparently all went through the Party’s procedures.
The China Daily gives us the way to proceed:

1. After the death of a Living Buddha, a ceremony is held to honor the body and pray for rebirth.
2. A search team headed by a Living Buddha is sent first to Lhamo Latso － the Oracle Lake － in Tibet to seek prophetic visions of the reincarnation.
3. Living Buddhas are then sent in disguise to scour Tibet for special signs of a reincarnation. These include new mothers who have had unusual dreams and children who have special knowledge without being taught. Dozens of candidates are designated.
4. Final confirmation of the reincarnation is decided by the drawing of lots from a golden urn in the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa.
5. The reincarnation process is completed with an enthronement ceremony. In September 2007, the State Administration for Religious Affairs in Beijing had decided that all reincarnations of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism must receive government approval.

This edict was proclaimed in 2007 in order to control the future ‘reincarnation’ of the Dalai Lama. Beijing believes that, with the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama in their hands, Tibet will be truly ‘liberated’, i.e. under the Communist Party’s control.
Whoever controls the Dalai Lama, controls the masses on the plateau, thinks the Party.
Interestingly, the procedures were not followed for choosing the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama. After the search committee managed to assemble a list of a few possible candidates, it was clandestinely sent to the Dalai Lama, who chose his candidate, who was immediately arrested; since then he lives under house arrest ...somewhere in China.
The Chinese government then decided to run its parallel recognition process and enthrone another candidate, whose parents had better Communist credentials; Gyaltsen Norbu, the Chinese anointed candidate, is from time to time seen in Lhasa and the Tashilhunpo, the seat of the Panchen Lamas in Shigatse.
Norbu was recently elected chairman of Tibet Development Fund, a non-governmental organization …under the Chinese government.
Xinhua reported: “[The] Panchen Lama said he will work hard to help develop Tibet and lift its people out of poverty”. The fund is expected to play an even greater role in promoting social and economic development in the region under the leadership of the 11th Panchen Lama, said the news agency.

The 'fake' lamas
The issue of ‘fake’ lamas recently received some publicity from Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee.
In a CCTV interview, Zhu said that ‘[some] fake Living Buddhas are cheating people out of their savings or luring them into sexual activities using religious practice as an excuse.”
In October, one ‘Holiness Pema Woeser (alias Baima Aose) Rinpoche’, himself a self-styled Living Buddha had ‘ordained’ Zhang Tielin, a well-know Chinese actor, as a Rinpoche. The footage of the enthronement went viral on the Chinese Internet.
The China Daily said: “[Baima] deceived Han Chinese followers who don't understand Tibetan and twisted the facts, damaging the monastery's reputation.” The newspaper explained further: “The selection procedure is strict and lengthy, and nearly all Living Buddhas are from the Tibetan ethnic group.”
Duoshi Rinpoche, a Beijing-recognized Living Buddha told the Daily “the ceremony Baima Aose [Pema Woeser] performed was just a joke and Zhang had made a fool of himself,” adding that “Criminal activities involving fake Living Buddhas still occur frequently. …I've heard that some monasteries in remote places even put the title of Living Buddha up for sale and trade it with wealthy businessmen.”
Even Nirvana can be bought in China today.
Xiaba Rinpoche, another ‘Chinese’ Living Buddha from Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province argued that “the prevalence of fake Living Buddhas can be attributed to people not having access to genuine ones, enabling opportunists to take advantage.”
Why do all these Lamas have Chinese names? Are they are even Tibetans?
Nobody really knows.
In March 2015, China.org.cn ran a feature showing that ‘Fake Lamas flourish as China's middle class grows’. It says: “As China's growing middle class searches for spiritual comfort, both authentic and fake Rinpoche Lamas are becoming sought-after advisors and status symbols.”
The article mentioned the husband of Taiwanese television singer and actress Aya Liu, who is said to be a Living Buddha.
Liu revealed that her husband Tony was the seventh reincarnation of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche; he is based in the US and has many followers including Faye Wong and Tony Leung. Due to her celebrity status, Aya Liu was first not keen to admit her husband's identity: “I didn't want public opinions to disrupt our peaceful lives. He is the best partner in my life," said Liu.
The website added that “Many showbiz celebrities in the Chinese-speaking world are followers of Buddhism or Christianity, including Andy Lau, Faye Wong, Jet Li, Zhang Guoli and Zhang Ziyi. Many of them also turn to highly-respected Buddhist monks as mentors.”
A 2014 report in The Financial Times affirmed that 50 % of China's richest class people admit that they adhere to some kind of religion and one-third of the 50% claimed to be Buddhist.
The China.org.cn article explained that: “Rinpoches are currently respected and followed by many in China because they offer some comfort for their followers' spiritual needs, regardless of whether their credentials are authentic or fake. …Many allege that because wealthy businesspeople and celebrities have made their fortunes through luck and chance, they are always insecure and anxious after their success. “
Therefore, there is a need for ‘Living Buddhas’.
Another website ifeng.com explained that the reason why the rinpoche business is flourishing is that “they can either be hired both to comfort middle class individuals' hearts and minds and act as a social status symbol for middle class individuals.”
According to China's State Administration for Religious Affairs, the small number of masters is not enough to meet the spiritual needs of the rapidly growing number of wealthy men and women in China.
There was a joke circulating online: there are 300,000 wild and fake rinpoches in Beijing's Chaoyang District alone. It is the district where many of the capital's wealthy celebrities and business people live and work.
In the meantime, ‘official’ Communist rinpoches have to work hard to get Government approval. On June 24, China Tibet Online reported that 25 newly recognized reincarnated rinpoches came together in Lhasa, and participated “in the second training course for Tibet Newly Recognized Reincarnated Rinpoches.”
The government website said that participants enthusiastically discussed about the important meeting between President Xi Jinping and the Panchen Lama (Gyalsten Norbu): “They believed that this was a special and auspicious event for Tibetan Buddhism and that the Panchen Lama is currently growing into a Tibetan Buddhist leader. Under his leadership, together they can promote the incorporation of Tibetan Buddhism into socialist society under the Buddhist principles of equality and compassion among all beings.”
They are obviously well trained …politically.
In an OpEd in China Tibet Online earlier this month, the same Zhu Weiqun attacked the Dalai Lama for talking “more proactively and frequently about his own reincarnation. Although the Dalai Lama adopts a ‘playful’ attitude toward such a serious issue, he still insists that only the Dalai Lama himself can decide on the Dalai Lama reincarnation and it has nothing to do with the Central Government”, said Zhu, who added: “His reason is that the "atheist Communist Party of China cannot make decisions on matters related to religion.”
The Chinese official argued: “historical facts show that determining the existence of the Dalai lineage and reincarnation of the Dalai Lama had never been a purely religious matter, neither the individual rights of the Dalai Lamas themselves. Rather, it is an important political affair of the Tibet local government and an important manifestation of the Central Government's exercise of sovereignty over Tibet.”
Therefore only Beijing can decide who will be the next Dalai Lama; according to Zhu: “In 1959, the Old Tibet’s theocratic feudalist system was completely abolished, but the Dalai clique’s constant dream of restoring the old system is still here. …Therefore, instead of weakening its resolve toward reincarnation of rinpoches, the Central Government [Beijing] must strengthen it and ensure victory over its fight against separatists.”
Zhu may be right when he says that it is ‘an important political affair’ as the danger of having a Chinese Dalai Lama looms large over the Himalayan horizon.
The time has perhaps come to renounce the system of ‘reincarnations’, which has often brought so much disunity amongst the Tibetans.
The Dalai Lama has often hinted that he might be the last Dalai Lama, but other serious lamas should also publicize that a true Lama should not be recognized anymore through any ‘reincarnation process’ such an urn-ritual or by the amount of gold on his cloth, but his virtues and actions only.
Meritocracy should replace the old system which has outlived its time.
The Chinese (or Western) ‘devotees’ may be disappointed but it is a question of survival for the Tibetan Nation


PS: While participating in the ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the enthronement of Gyaltsen Norbu, Chen Quanguo, Tibet's Party Secretary, remarked that he hoped Beijing's Panchen Lama would "unswervingly walk with the party". This was reported in The Tibet Daily.
Does it mean that Norbu does not always walk with the Party?
Chen also asked the Beijing-selected Panchen Lama to "resolutely draw a clear line between the 14th Dalai Lama and firmly reject all subversive separatist activities."
Has Gyaltsen Norbu not drawn the line as yet?
Anyway, Chen bravely pointed out that "Tibetan Buddhism is at its best period of development in history and religious circles and believers enjoy full religious freedom."
'Full religious freedom' ...for those who walk on the Party's path, of course.

The human side to the Tibet issue

China has found a new definition for ‘corruption’.
In an article posted on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), responsible for the anti-corruption campaign, Chen Quanguo, Tibet’s Party Secretary, made a strange declaration.
Chen asserted: “Tibet's lack of oxygen and position at the frontline of fighting separatism did not mean it ignored the battle against corruption.”
It is true that very few heads have rolled in Tibet so far; only Le Dake, the head of the Tibetan Autonomous Region’s (TAR) dreaded Security Department, responsible of collecting ‘hostile foreign intelligence’ in Tibet and in India, has been demoted (Le Dake’s name had appeared in 2008 as the official responsible for a military/security cell to watch over Tibetans in order to ‘save’ the Olympic Games from hostile Western attacks).
Chen Quanguo now says that the Party's fight against corruption also applies to officials "who follow the Dalai clique, go abroad to pay respects to the 14th Dalai Lama and send children or relatives to the schools run by the Dalai clique will also be punished.”
He announced that the TAR has already promulgated 15 regulations to investigate and severely punish party members who have no firm ideal and conviction and “have an incorrect view on minority's issues and profess no religious belief but secretly believe.”
Already in April, the State Council (China’s Cabinet) released a White Paper about Tibet’s development path. It was not the first WP published by the Chinese Government on the subject; in fact, it was the 13th since the State Council first attempted to justify its position about ‘ownership and human rights’ in September 1992.
The main characteristic of this last avatar was a violent attack against the Dalai Lama. One could ask, why assail the Tibetan leader at a time when many in China realise that the Buddhist monk is the best bet if Beijing is seriously trying to find a solution to the Tibetan issue.
The longish paper however warned: “The wheels of history roll forward and the tides of the times are irresistible. …Any person or force that attempts to resist the tide will simply be cast aside by history and by the people.”
Beijing was mistaken about the tides’ direction: democracy, freedom of thought and speech are accepted concepts everywhere on the planet, except in the Middle Kingdom which seems to have passed into reverse gear under Xi Jinping’s leadership.
The White Paper requested the Dalai Lama to ‘put aside his illusions’ about Tibet’s future status. The timing of the publication was linked to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region. In 1965, Tibet was divided into five areas, about one third becoming the TAR, while other parts of historic Tibet were officially integrated in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai; divide and rule at its best.
Today, the irony is that Beijing still insists that it will nominate the next Dalai Lama; the Communist Party seems absolutely unable to see how illogical its stand is. Poor Karl Marx must turn in his tomb!
In March, as China's 12th National People's Congress (NPC) opened with the usual fanfare at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Padma Choling, the TAR’s Chairman, had already created a flutter by declaring: “it's not up to the Dalai Lama to decide [about his own reincarnation].” The Tibetan official was objecting to the Dalai Lama’s earlier announcement saying that ‘[his] traditional religious role should cease with his death’.
Padma Choling affirmed that if the Dalai Lama decides about his reincarnation it will “upset the reincarnation system that has been honored for hundreds of years in Tibet and destabilize the Buddhist region.”
He added that the process: “should follow strict historical conventions and required religious rituals of the Tibetan Buddhism …and be approved by the central government,” in other words the Party.
Can you believe that according to Beijing, it is for the Communist Party of China to decide who will be the next Dalai Lama; it is the ‘tradition’, they affirm!
Choling affirmed that the Dalai Lama stopping his own lineage “is blasphemy against Tibetan Buddhism.”
How will the Communist Party choose the next Dalai Lama?
Probably like Gyaltsen Norbu, the current Panchen Lama anointed by the Party, by falsifying the dies thrown out a Golden Urn (incidentally, the rite had not been used for the previous 2 Dalai Lamas).
Chen’s declaration came as President Xi Jinping met with his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou to try to take a step forward in the Beijing-Taipei relationship. The South China Morning Post commented: “The talks, at a luxury hotel in the neutral venue of Singapore, lasted less than an hour but were heavy with symbolism.”
The two leaders, calling each other ‘Mr.’ shook hands during 70 seconds in front of hundreds of journalists and photographers from all over the world; Xi declared: "No force can pull us apart because we are brothers who are still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken, we are a family in which blood is thicker than water.”
This raises a serious question: while efforts are being made to have a more ‘normal’ relationship over the Strait, the relations over the Himalayas are getting tenser.
Why can’t President Xi meet the Dalai Lama on ‘neutral’ ground and shake the monk’s hand for a few seconds? After all it is also in China’s interests to sort out the Tibetan issue; further, there is a serious human tragedy behind the 65-year old ‘liberation’ of Tibet.
This human aspect should be tackled first.
I can give the personal example of a close Tibetan friend of mine. As a small child, soon after her mother passed away, she was brought to India while her father stayed behind in Tibet; she went to Dharamsala in order to receive a good Tibetan education. That was 38 years ago.
In 2004, with other members of her family living in India, she had the opportunity to meet her father again, …for 4 hours after her father was literally smuggled into a remote monastery near the border between Nepal and Tibet.
Recently my friend’s father became critically ill; she was unable to speak to him, the communications between India and Tibet being cut.
Her father passed away a few days ago, but she could not even phone her family left in Tibet; and, of course, no question of attending the funeral. She eventually got some news through a relative in Nepal, who was able to contact the family on the other side of the Himalayas.
With Party officials like Mr. Chen who considers that any Tibetan official having a contact with their relatives in India is ‘corrupt’, the inhuman situation facing the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet is bound to deteriorate further.
Why can’t the Modi government take the initiative of bringing some humanity into the fate of the Tibetans?
If North Koreans can meet South Koreans at designated places, why can’t India and China agree on a few places along the borders where relatives could meet from time to time?
It seems a small thing, but it would be a great step forward, a human step.
A meeting between Xi and the Dalai Lama could help making a breakthrough in this direction. In fact, it would be a great victory for China which dreams to become ‘normal’.

Ling Jihua haunted by Tibet

I am reposting an article written in June 2013 about Ling Jihua who has yesterday been put under investigation for 'suspected serious disciplinary violations'.
Now, the media says that the two girls in Ling Gu's car where Tibetan and Uyghur. At the time of the accident, both were Tibetans.
Today, The South China Morning Post comments:

Intriguingly, a few days after the accident, mainland media reports went quiet about the incident. The South China Morning Post broke the story, naming Ling Gu, six months later.
It later also emerged that Ling enlisted the help of the former oil company chief Jiang Jiemin.
Jiang, then chairman of the state-run China National Petroleum Corporation, paid hefty compensation to the families of the two female victims in the crash, a Tibetan and a Uygur, to stop details being made public.
The families of the two young women, both university students, each pocketed tens of millions of yuan, sources said, which was transferred to their banks from China National Petroleum.

More importantly, what is now happening to the United Front Work Department headed by Ling?
The work of assimilating Tibetans and Uyghurs within the Great Chinese family will certainly continue.
Yesterday, Beijing released a document called a 'guideline' (it is a Guideline, not a White Paper), promising "to cultivate and appoint more officials from minority groups and ensure they are given full trust."
If implemented, it will certainly makes a difference. But it could be just propaganda.
According to Xinhua, the document entitled, 'Opinions on Strengthening and Improving Ethnic Work in New Situations' gives special attention "to the cultivation of intellectuals in ethnically-diverse regions, especial those from minority backgrounds."
In other words to the Tibetans and the Uyghurs.
It also promotes understanding among different ethnic groups and the cultural identity of the Chinese nation. This is more ominous. How can someone be a Han (the 'identity' of the Chinese nation) and a Ughyur or a Tibetan at the same time?
The Guideline, issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council, asserts, that it will: "vigorously foster, audaciously select, fully trust and use officials from ethnically-diverse backgrounds, and cultivate experienced Han officials in ethnically-diverse regions."
The document called on ethnic minority officials to master Mandarin Chinese, while urging Han officials to learn the local dialects of the areas where they work.
The real test: will China increase the number of 'minorities' senior officers in the PLA? This is doubtful.
According to the official communique, the 'guideline' stresses "an overall language education in ethnic regions, [it] laid out policies to help bilingual teachers who can teach students Mandarin while respecting the local tongue."
The conclusions of the document are: "China is a country built by all ethnic groups of the nation; Chinese culture is made up of the culture of all 56 ethnic groups; Chinese civilization is created by all ethnic groups; and the Chinese nation is a community of all ethnic groups."
With Han characteristic, one could add.
Hu Yaobang made similar promises in May 1980; nothing happened thereafter. Will this time be different?
Let us keep watching!
In the meantime, Beijing will have now to find a new Director for the United Front Work Department to implement this audacious project.

[My post dated June 4, 2013]
Remember this article in The South China Morning Post.
One night of March 2012, Ling Jihua, aide and confidant of President Hu Jintao lost his son and a seat in the coveted Politburo.
The South China Morning Post reported:

The 25-year-olds were pulled half-naked from a car smash. The two young women at the centre of the Ferrari crash that killed the son of high-level Communist Party official Ling Jihua have been named.
In its latest issue, Hong Kong-based news magazine Asia Weekly writes that the two young women in the vehicle when Ling Gu died upon impact after crashing his Ferrari were Tashi Dolma (Zhaxi Zhuoma), daughter of a deputy director of the Qinghai Provincial Public Security Department, and Yang Ji, then a student at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, reportedly the daughter of a well-known living Buddha also from Qinghai.
According to Asia Weekly, Yang passed away unexpectedly last month despite showing signs of positive recovery from the serious injuries she sustained in the accident. It is claimed she felt unwell and was given an injection last month, after which she fell into a coma and later died.
High-level Communist Party official Ling Jihua lost his son in the accident.
The magazine, citing 'informed Beijing sources', claims both the women are ethnic Tibetans and were each 25 years old at the time of the accident.
The accident happened in the early hours of March 18 when the speeding Ferrari smashed into a wall, rebounded and crushed a railing on the opposite side of the road. One naked body and two half-naked bodies were thrown from the wreckage. A half-naked man Ling Gu died immediately while two young women – one naked and one half-naked – were seriously injured.
Photos of the wreckage circulated online and many Internet users took it as another drink-driving accident involving the "second-generation rich".
Wild stories began to spread that the trio were playing sex games in the car when the accident took place. Different versions of who was driving and who was in the front and back seats became the subject of gossip in Beijing's corridors of power.
The accident would come to affect behind-the-scenes political jockeying in the run-up to next month’s 18th party congress – which will produce China’s new generation of leaders.
Ling Jihua is considered an important member of Hu's camp and was being groomed to become one of the People's Republic's sixth generation of leaders in another 10 years.

This was more than a year ago.
Since then, Ling Jihua, who did not make it in the Politburo, looks after the less-glamorous United Front Work Department and particularly the volatile Tibetan affairs.
For the past two weeks, Tibet has been on the boil and Mr. Ling must bear the brunt. Tibet is haunting him once again.
As reported on this blog, sometimes in May, Yu Zhengsheng chaired his first Central Tibet Work Coordination Small Group in Beijing.
Chen Quanguo, the TAR's Party Secretary was one of the attendees.
On his return to Tibet, Chen immediately went for an inspection tour of the Nagchu Prefecture (from May 21 to 24); the day he was returning to Lhasa (May 24), thousands of Tibetans gathered in Driru county, one of the largest demonstration in years.
For the Party, it is an extremely serious incident; particularly as it came at the time of the visit of the powerful Party Secretary in Nagchu Prefecture.
The situation was so serious that on May 25,  Ling Jihua rushed from Beijing to Lhasa for an 'investigation/research mission'. It appears that Ling stayed nearly a week in Tibet.
There is no doubt that his visit is linked with the incidents in Nachu
During his stay, the United Front Department's boss met most of the senior Party cadres of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, including Chen Quanguo.
Since then, officials in Tibet are repeating that everybody should study and follow the directions given by Comrade Xi Jinping in March when he met the Tibetan delegation on the side of the National People's Congress.
See my posting on the subject.
Will it help?
In the meantime, a strange news appeared in a Hong Kong publication.
A religious group would have invited the Dalai Lama to visit Hong Kong in September.
Philip Li Koi-hop, chairman of the Hong Kong Tibetan and Han-Chinese Friendship Association, said he has visited the Dalai Lama four times in India between 2009 and 2011 and invited the Tibetan leader to come to Hong Kong. Li affirmed that he was confident that the trip will go ahead, and this, despite the tensions between the Tibetan spiritual leader and the mainland's government.
Li declared: "One time I asked him if he wanted to come to Hong Kong. He answered 'Yes', and said a University of Hong Kong professor had invited him earlier. But the Hong Kong government rejected the visit."
Is it a trail balloon sent by Beijing, realizing that their minorities' policies in Tibet have failed. Reading and even putting in practice Xi Jinping's speeches does not seem to help.
It is too early to say, but the fact remains that if Ling had to rush so quickly to Lhasa, it proves that there is a serious problem on the Roof of the World.

Tibet: Cadres on both Sides

Bad weather in Tibet?

A couple of days ago, Reuters reported that Chen Quanguo, the Party Secretary in the Tibetan Autonomous Religious (TAR) vowed to severely punish Communist cadres in Tibet who 'harbor fantasies' (or illusions) about the Dalai Lama.
The article quoted by Reuters appeared in a front-page of The Tibet Daily: "As for cadres who harbor fantasies about the 14th Dalai [Lama] Group, follow the Dalai Group, participate in supporting separatist infiltration sabotage activities, (they will be) strictly and severely punished according to the law and party disciplinary measures."
Reuters concluded that "Chen's denunciation of the Dalai Lama signals a hardening stance against the Nobel Peace Prize winner whom they label a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'."
Voice of America quoted Ye Dongsong, a senior official of the Central Commission for Discipline Commission (CCDI), the party's internal discipline watchdog, who headed an 'inspection team' to Tibet and warned the local authorities to focus on 'neutralizing separatists and maintaining social stability'.
Ye would have said, "some officials in Tibet still sympathize with the Dalai Lama because of their religious beliefs."
VOA added: "The article provided no estimation of how many Communist Party officials have sympathies or links with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader."
The context of Chen's remarks is a meeting of the Standing Committee of the TAR Regional Party which followed Ye Dongsong's visit to Tibet to check on the corruption of the local Party.
Since President Xi Jinping started his campaign to catch 'the tigers and the flies' involved in corruption, CCDI's teams have been roaming around the Middle Kingdom to unearth corruption. Many heads have already rolled down, including in the PLA (the latest being Lt. Gen. Yang Jinshan, a former Commander of the Tibet Military Area, see The Fall of A powerful General).
In Tibet, the situation is different than in the rest of China, as a 'separatism' factor is an extra headache for the CCDI's inspectors and Xi Jinping.
Chen Quanguo's remarks should be seen in this context.
The Party has two enemies instead of one: separatism is added to corruption.
Here are Chen's remarks about 'separatism' and 'people on both sides'.

On the one hand, one should insist and continue to fight corruption. On the other hand, one should struggle against separatism, build a clean government; combating corruption is an important guarantee for the success of the struggle against separatism.
An important part of the struggle for a clean government is the performance of the party members and cadres in the struggle against separatism and anti-corruption.
One should take seriously the struggle against separatism and worry about the outcome of the struggle against separatism; one should not believe in the 14th Dalai group’s fantasies (illusions), or follow the Dalai group; one should beware infiltration and sabotage activities in which are involved separatist party cadres. Indiscipline will be strictly and severely punished according to the law. Party members and cadres, especially leading cadres at all levels, involved in the maintenance of unity of the motherland, should carry out this important principle of struggle against separatism; they should always firmly take a clear stand; they should have a unified understanding; they can’t be ‘people on both sides’ [with the Dalai Lama and the Party]. 

Though Tibet was supposed to have been 'liberated' more than 60 years ago, this clearly shows that some Communist cadres are still on 'both sides' and worship the Dalai Lama.
It will be easier for Xi Jinping and his colleague Wang Qishan, the boss of the CCDI to catch some tigers and some flies, than to change the inner faith of the Tibetans in their leader.
I am posting a rough translation of the article of the Tibet Daily:

Chen Quanguo presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Region’s Party
Tibet Daily
November 5, 2014

On November 4 in the afternoon, the Standing Committee of the regional party committee held a meeting to convey the spirit of the speeches of Xi Jinping and the report of the inspection team [of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection or CCDI] which inspected the situation in Tibet and gave its feedback for rectification work.
The Autonomous Region [TAR] Party Secretary Chen Quanguo presided over the meeting.

The meeting noted General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech in which he insisted that the Party must manage the party’s affairs strictly with the correct attitude. One should follow the orders of Comrade Xi Jinping for building a clean government and combat corruption with a firm determination.
The Inspection team has shown the direction to follow.
We should conscientiously study and implement the important speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping and [CCDI] Secretary Wang Qishan and implement their important instructions and follow the requirements for an honest government. One should combat corruption while keeping in mind the entire process of development and stability work, in order to promote leapfrog development and lasting stability in Tibet.
The meeting noted that the central inspection team noted the problems, made corrective recommendations, which are objective and comprehensive, which have a profound relevance. These recommendations are sharply to the point, in full compliance with the Central Committee’s spirit and in full compliance with the reality of the Tibetan situation. They are highly targeted, they provide proper guidance; they are educative and give us a wake-up call.
The [TAR] Regional party fully agrees with the recommendations and strongly supports the central Inspection team’s opinions on Tibet.
The Central Inspection team has asked us to earnestly implement corrective measures. It was decided to set up a Rectification Work Leading Group, headed by Comrade Chen Quanguo, Padma Choling, Lobsang Gyalsten, Deputy Secretaries Wu Yingjie and Comrade Deng Xiaogang as members. Under the strict supervision of CCDI, the Leading Group Rectification will have five special teams for anti-corruption work to supervise the rectification work group, check the ‘Four Winds’ issues and the rectification for the ‘funded projects’.
To meet these requirements, it is necessary to implement the rectification work as an important task for the current and future times; this important agenda includes rapid deployment schedule and firm and realistic planning for doing a good job.
Thematic studies should be undertaken to develop reform proposals, condemnation should be taken one by one, pulled out from the problem list; refined corrective measures should be done one by one, clear rectification responsibility should be fixed one by one, the problem will not be solved after withdraw [to Beijing] of the inspection teams. Feedback from the central inspection teams is needed to ensure full implementation of the rectification work, to improve the work style, and promote a clean government and continue the anti-corruption struggle.
The meeting stressed that the primary task is to strengthen the political discipline, grasp the key rectification issues to ensure the rectification results; to further implement strict political discipline. Always put in the first place, strict adherence to political discipline; have a firm political stance, a clear political direction; this should be insisted upon in Tibet. Although Tibet is far away from Beijing, the heart [of the Centre] is always with the people of all nationalities.
Xi Jinping as general secretary firmly believes that we are all closely linked together, at any time, under any circumstances through the same ideological and political action.
Xi Jinping’s speech is highly consistent; one should listen to Comrade Xi Jinping’s command.
Further one should strengthen the ‘Four Obedience’, and firmly correct indiscipline, liberalism and severely punish violations of political indiscipline; one should never allowed ourselves to engage in ‘gang’ groups, cliques, have a double face; one should have a fair and honest behaviour and resolutely safeguard the Party's centralized control and resolutely safeguard Xi Jinping's authority.
In mountainous Tibet, in the midst of difficult conditions, the main battlefield of the struggle is against separatism, but one should not think twice about a clean government and anti-corruption issues; there can’t be exception when one faces party discipline; one cannot cross the red line, break the bottom line.
On the one hand, one should insist and continue to fight corruption. On the other hand, one should struggle against separatism, build a clean government, combating corruption is an important guarantee for the success of the struggle against separatism.
An important part of the struggle for a clean government is the performance of the party members and cadres in the struggle against separatism and anti-corruption.
One should take seriously the struggle against separatism and worry about the outcome of the struggle against separatism; one should not believe in the 14th Dalai group’s fantasies (illusions), or follow the Dalai group; one should beware infiltration and sabotage activities in which are involved separatist party cadres. Indiscipline will be strictly and severely punished according to the law. Party members and cadres, especially leading cadres at all levels, involved in the maintenance of unity of the motherland, should carry out this important principle of struggle against separatism; they should always firmly take a clear stand; they should have a unified understanding; they can’t be ‘people on both sides’ [with the Dalai Lama and the Party]. 

Change of life style
One should strictly implement the provisions of the Central Committee’s spirit, expanding and constantly consolidating the results of the massline’s [campaign] educational practice; continue to carry out special campaigns to increase discipline supervision, public exposure and disciplinary accountability and seriously deal with disciplinary cases, in order to win the trust of the [masses]; it should become the new norm.
One should think in strict accordance with the General Secretary [Xi] while serving the public; be diligent and pragmatic; clean and honest in the selection of good cadre and follow the appointment criteria and strictly implement the "Regulations on Appointing Cadres" and "Selecting and Appointing Cadres to Work on Strengthening the Supervision of Opinions"; concentrate on the "Four Focus", intensify one’s efforts to improve the way to achieve proper coverage of inspection work.

Further implement one’s responsibility. If the Party committees do not have a firm grasp [on the cadres] and establish a clean government, it is a serious dereliction of consciousness. With the main responsibility firmly in mind, on its shoulders, in its hands, the Party Secretary [Chen] should earnestly fulfill his ‘first responsible’ role and the other members of the team too, should seriously implement their shared responsibility.

Further strengthen the oversight responsibilities.
Commission for Discipline Inspection at all levels should strengthen supervision and inspection efforts to effectively perform good discipline, fulfill its responsibility and strict implementation of a clean government while being accountable to fight corruption. They should further improve the institutional system; seriously implement the "establishment of a sound system for punishing and preventing corruption work plan 2013-2017"; fully implement the measures suggested by the discipline inspection, in line with the reality of Tibet institutional system for punishing and preventing corruption and explore the establishment of effective mechanisms to implement the motto ‘not rot, does not rot, do not want to rot’.

What was the Panchen Gyalsten Norbu doing in Lhasa?

Tibet is a popular destination these days, not only for tourism.
After General Wang Jianping, the People's Armed Police Force Commander last week, the Panchen Lama selected by Beijing visited Lhasa ...for 3 days.
Why such a short visit?
Difficult to say.
Officially, the Panchen Lama Gyaltsent Norbu had come for 'inspection' and for his 'religious duty'.
He went to pay homage to Jowo, the statue of the Buddha in the Jokhang Cathedral in Lhasa. Is it considered as his 'religious duty'?
Gyaltsen Norby also went to Sera monastery where he met a few selected monks.
Xinhua later reported: "The 11th Panchen Lama concluded his religious duties in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Friday."
He had reached on Tuesday.
The news agency further elaborated: "The 11th Panchen Lama Panchen Gyltsen Norbu, one of the two most revered living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism, visited monasteries in Jokhang and Sera, where he performed rituals, including sutra interpretations and blessings."
The name of the second 'most revered one' is of course not mentioned as he is presently in Ladakh performing the Kalachackra.
As a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, Gyaltsen Norbu met CPPCC regional members in Lhasa.
He told them: "As CPPCC members, we should work together on national development and people's interests in Tibet."
Xinhua says: "These visits have become an annual event in recent years."
The question is, why should the visit last 3 days only?
It is  rather strange.
Last year, Gyaltsen Norbu reached Lhasa on August 27 and left mid-October after visiting Tashilhunpo monastery and Sakya. Read my posting on "The Strange Case of the Panchen Lama".
The TAR website (in Chinese) gave more details, particularly about Gyaltsen Norbu's meeting with the Party's big shots in Lhasa on July 2.
The website says: "The Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Chen Quanguo met with the 11th Panchen Erdeni Gyaltsen Norbu in the afternoon at Lhasa. The Vice minister of the United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee (UFWD) Sithar, leaders of the Autonomous Region like Padma Choling, Wu Yingjie, Gongpo Tashi, Qizha La, Tenzin Langjie, Thupden Kedup [Rinpoche?], Phagpalha Geleg Namgyal Rinpoche, etc. were present during the meeting."
It is interesting that the Lama was accompanied by Sithar, a Tibetan working for the United Front Work Department in Beijing (and earlier posted in Germany).
Chen Quanguo expressed a warm welcome to Gyaltsen Norbu "for returning to Tibet for investigation (research?) and inspection and for carrying out Buddhist activities".
The Party Chief added: "We are truly happy for your growth and progress and give you our heartfelt wishes.”
Chen Quanguo then gave a long lecture to Gyaltsen Norbu, giving a brief on the condition of Tibet’s economic society: "From this year onwards, the Party Committee of the Autonomous Region and the Governmental will lead masses and cadres from every ethnic group, further implement the spirit of the Second and the Third Plenum of the 18th Party Congress; implement the spirit of the series of the important talks delivered by Xi Jinping - especially the important strategic thought of 'To govern a country, we must govern the borders, for governing the borders, we must first make Tibet stable' and the instruction of working hard for Tibet’s sustained stability, long term stability and comprehensive stability."
Obviously, the Chinese leaders are nervous about the situation on the border.
That is the reason Deng Xiaoping is still in Rutok.
What was the real reason of Gyalsten Norbu's visit to Lhasa?
On one side the 'border', the Dalai Lama is revered by the 'masses' (1,50,00 people are attending the Kalachakra) while on a Tibet side, a few apparatchiks meets one Lama that they have selected themselves. There is here a problem for powerful China.
Incidently, Xinhua reported that the 14th Dalai Lama "is now holding the 33rd Kalachakra, or time-wheel, assembly, in Indian Kashmir. The Dalai Lama has recently held the assembly on a yearly basis."
One so-called Tibet expert, Li Decheng, head of the religious studies at the China Tibetology Research Center, explained that "the ceremony incited hatred, terror and extremist action, seriously tarnishing the Kalachakra's nature of solemnity and purity, and affecting the healthy development of Tibetan Buddhism."
To come back to Chen and Gyalsten Norbu, the Party Chief asked the Lama to "implement CPPCC Chairman Yu Zhengsheng’s 'Rule Tibet as per law, build Tibet for the long term, win the hearts of the people and ram the foundation', adhere to 'One Core', 'Two Major Tasks', 'Four Insurances' that have been clearly stated by the Party, innovate, do solid practical work, stick to scientific development, social stability, unity of nationalities, improvement of the nationalities, harmony in religion, good ecology and strengthen the building of the party."
The usual Communist jargon.
Chen Quanguo added that Xi Jinping and the Central Committes are "highly concerned about the growth and progress of the 11th Panchen Lama. The Tibetan compatriots and the Buddhist circles have high hopes about him. We sincerely wish that the 11th Panchen Lama would grow and make even more progress and work hard to become the model of the Great Tibetan Buddhist masters."
Chen then gave 6 advices to Gyaltsen Norbu to become a role model for the masses.
Gyaltsen Norbu gave the expected answer: “In the recent years the Party Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Government have sincerely implemented the religious policies of the government, strengthened and innovated the management of the monasteries, has shown concern for the monks and implemented a series of policies that were beneficial for the monastery and the monks. In this process, Tibetan Buddhism has found its roots once again."
Gyaltsen Norbu said that the development of a religion and the fate of a nation are deeply interrelated: “As a person from the religious background, I must have unwavering patriotism, I must unwaveringly walk on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and persistently harbour mercy in my mind to deliver the masses from difficulty. The world of Tibetan Buddhism must treasure and protect the good situation prevailing now, must promote and safeguard harmony and the stability of the society in a better manner, and must serve the China’s Dream of rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in a better manner."
Well, this does not explain, how his religious duties and his inspection tour could be completed in a record 3 days (compared to 6 weeks last year).
Sometimes, I think that the Communist leadership does not really trust 'their' Panchen Lama. Let us not forget that the late 10th Panchen Lama was also 'their' choice. He turned out to be one of the greatest Tibetan patriot.
And why to come to Lhasa, just to receive a lecture from Chen Quanguo?
Why did Sithar need to accompany him?
All these questions have no answer today, except perhaps that the leadership is nervous.
By the way, as Gyaltsen Norbu was leaving, guess who arrived in the Tibetan capital?
Zhang Yijiong, the head of the Office of the Central Work Coordination Leading Small Group on Tibet, and Deputy Secreraty of the UFWD.
He is the one who will eventually lead the Chinese delegation, if talks with Dharamsala are one day resumed.
Zhang is also the direct boss of Sithar.
The climate in Lhasa must be pleasant these days.

In Jokhang

Meeting the Party bosses

With Phagphala

In Sera Monastery

In Jokhang