General Zhao Zongqi: from Tibet to the CMC

Chairman Xi meets the old CMC and new commanders

Yesterday, President Xi Jinping announced the reorganization of the four PLA military headquarters or departments - staff, political, logistics and armaments - into 15 new agencies which will directly work under the Central Military Commission (CMC).
Xi Jinping, who also CMC Chairman, met the new bosses of each unit.
He described the reshuffle as ‘a breakthrough’ and ‘a crucial step’ toward a stronger military.
Xi added that all the military leaders should adhere to the Party spirit, obey political discipline, and be politically intelligent (sic)!
Xi urged the new leaders to ‘frequently, actively and resolutely’ align their direction with the CPC Central Committee and the CMC.
As mentioned earlier on this blog, the seven Military Area Commands are being replaced by five Combat Zones, primarily focusing on 'combat'.
The new Western Combat Zone will replace the two Military Area Commands today facing India in the High Himalaya (Chengdu and Lanzhou).
According to The South China Morning Post, General Zhao Zongqi will command the Western Combat Zone.
I re-posting an old piece on General Zhao.
That was a good prediction.
General Zhao should automatically become member of the CMC.

Here are the 15 New Units of the CMC

1. General Office
2. Joint General Staff
3. Political Work Department
4. Logistical Support Department
5. Equipment Development Department
6. Training Management Department
7. Military Defense Mobilization Department
8. Discipline Inspection Commission
9. Politics and Law Commission
10. Science and Technology  Commission
11. Strategic Planning Office
12. Reform and Establishment Office
13. International Military Cooperation Office
14. Auditing Administration Office
15. Administration Affairs Management Office

General Zhao Zhongqi

General Zhao Zongqi: from Tibet to the CMC?
July 24, 2015
A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece The Chinese who matter in Tibetan Affairs. Since then, several officials who ‘mattered’ have lost their job or have disappeared from the Chinese political scene.
The prime case is of course Ling Jihua, who from 2007 to 2012 served under President Hu Jintao, as Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and in 2012, became Head of the United Front Work Department, dealing with Tibet among other subjects.
His son's car accident (with two Tibetan girls) signaled the beginning of his downfall.
Jia is now investigated for six violations of law and Communist Party discipline, including taking bribes, adultery and illegally acquiring a large number of ‘core secrets’ of the State and Party. It is what a Politburo statement, relayed by Xinhua, said.
The South China Morning Post rightly says: “The accusation that Ling illegally obtained the secrets surprised some observers, who said he was supposedly entitled to access to the information”.
This is one of the mysteries of Chinese politics.
Another Chinese who matters(ed) is/was General Wang Jianping, a member of the 18th CCP Central Committee. In 2009, he became Commander of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force with a bigger budget than the PLA.
His name has often been mentioned on this blog. (A good chess player takes the initiative?)
Apparently, in January 2015 Wang was ‘transferred’ as deputy head of a coordinating group on military training; it is obviously a great fall.
Interestingly on July 17, The Hong Kang Oriental Daily published an article on the military leadership changes in China. It was titled, “Three Phenomenon at the Center of Army Restructuring.”
It was later republished in the Mainland under a different title, “Xi Jinping’s Big Move: Jiang Zemin’s Closest Army Allies Are No longer in Power.”
The article says that Xi has assigned several senior military generals to insignificant positions: "Over the last six months, those in the most important leadership positions in the armed forces have all been replaced. Those officials who were close to Xi were promoted."
Wang Jianping is one clearly one of those who lost their seat.
Another powerful figure who has disappeared from my list is Lieutenant General Yang Jinshan. In October 2014, I wrote about The Fall of a Powerful General.
After serving as Commander of the Tibet Military Area, in June 2013, General Yang was transferred (on promotion) to Chengdu as a Deputy Commander of the Chengdu Military Region. He was one of the rising stars in the PLA
His fall is probably related to Xu Caihou’s case.
He was even demoted from the Party's Central Committee.
And there is also the case of Le Dake, the head of External Intelligence in Tibet. A few weeks ago, Reuters had reported that the former top Chinese security official in Tibet was being investigated ‘for suspected graft’.
The news agency explained that it is “a rare example of corruption busters going into the restive and remote region.”

The new rising star: General Zhao Zongqi
While some officials have sunk into oblivion, some are rising very fast.
It is the case of the Jinan Military Region’s Commander, Lieutenant General Zhao Zongqi, who, earlier in his career spent 20 years in Tibetan Military District.
Recently, General Zhao went on an inspection trip with General Fan Changlong.  
The South China Morning Post reported: “A top leader from the Jinan military area command accompanied Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, on an inspection trip to the northwest, raising speculation over a personnel reshuffle.”
According to The PLA Daily, Lieutenant General Zhao Zongqi accompanied Fan to inspect garrisons in Gansu, Xinjiang and Ningxia.
The article says that “Zhao, 60, is the youngest commander among top leaders from the key military areas. He is also one of a handful of senior military officials who took part in China's border conflicts with Vietnam in the late 1970s.”
His long stint in Tibet is not mentioned.
However, the Chinese press parried: “The pairing of the two [Fan and Zhao] on the trip fueled speculation over whether Zhao would be promoted to even higher rank.”
'Higher rank' can only mean 'Central Military Commission'.
Last year, I mentioned on this blog a high level tour of General Fan Changlong in Tibet. He was then accompanied by three Military Region Commanders (Lt. Gen. Liu Yuejun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, General Li Shiming, Commander, Chengdu Military Region and Lt. Gen. Zhao Zongqi, Commander, Jinan Military Region).
I then wondered what was the Jinan MR Commander was doing there.
This was soon after the Chumur incident in Ladakh during the visit of President Xi Jinping in India.
I then wrote: “The main purpose of General Fan's Tibet tour was most likely to convince the PLA officers that they should follow Xi Jinping in his crusade against corrupt officers.”
At that time, Xinhua reported that General Fan told the army to firmly obey the command of President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
China's senior-most general told the troops that “the army and the armed police should resolutely implement the strategies made by the CPC Central Committee and Xi, also the CMC Chairman, and uphold the correct decisions to investigate Zhou Yongkang and punish Xu Caihou.”
To follow the orders of Chairman Xi was important, said Fan; the defence forces should implement the instructions by achieving ‘Four [questions] to Ask’.
One of the ‘Four to Ask’ was “To ask oneself whether one follows the correct guiding ideology in training, whether the practices followed are correct to [avoid] other negative phenomena [i.e. corruption?]”.
Apparently General Zhao got it right; he probably answered the question the correct way.
As the result, he may soon be the first Chinese ‘Tibet hand’ reaching the PLA’s Heaven (the Central Military Commission).

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.

About Reincarnation in the Communist Party

Zhang Yijiong, Ling Jihua (centre) and Sitar (behind)

Communist China is changing very fast.
Even hardcore Marxists of the Central Committee are today interested in the reincarnation system.
In 2012, Hua Jintao's favorite, Ling Jihua did not get the seat in the Politburo which was promised to him.
In an earlier posting, I wrote about his son's Ferrari-accident in which two Tibetan girls (and the boy) were killed. That was the end of Ling's dreams.
He nevertheless became vice-chairperson of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and minister of the United Front Work Department, in charge of 'Tibetan affairs'.
On July 25, 2014, when he visited the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing, he showed particular interest in a special exhibition "The Living Buddha Reincarnation System of Tibetan Buddhism" organized by the Center.
Can you believe that the Old Communist Party is organizing exhibition on the reincarnation system? Is is new China?
Mao must be turning in his grave (or mausoleum).
At the Tibetology Center, Mr. Ling gave the usual speech quoting the speeches of his bosses, President Xi Jinping and Yu Zhengsheng, the Chairman of CPPCC. He said that both have given "a series of important instructions on Tibet-related work, pointing out the direction of further development for Tibetan studies".
Ling was accompanied by Zhang Yijiong (Dharamsala's interlocutor in case of talks) and Sitar (a Tibetan) of the United Front Work Department, who recently visited Tibet (particularly the popular Ngari region).
Ling told the officials that he hoped that the China Tibetology Research Center could make "deep investigations and studies, research with great concentration, blaze new trails in a pioneering spirit ...to contribute wisdom and strength for the economic development and social stability of Tibet and Tibetan areas, as well as for the national reunification and ethnic unity."
Well, it is certainly good for today's China to learn about reincarnation.
The study of the reincarnation system might also be good for Mr. Ling.
His end seems to be coming fast.
The South China Morning Post reported last week: "Speculation grows that CPPCC vice-chairman Ling Jihua could be implicated in corruption inquiry as brother-in-law is held in custody."
The Hong Kong daily further believes: "The detention of a relative of Ling Jihua, a former senior aide to ex-president Hu Jintao, has led to speculation the authorities may be building a case against Ling himself."
Wang Jiankang, Ling's brother-in-law is a deputy mayor in Yuncheng in Shanxi province; he was recently been taken into custody.
According to the SMCP, Wang is the latest relative of Ling to be detained: "Last month, Ling's brother Ling Zhengce was taken into custody over allegations of corruption. He is a vice-chairman of the Shanxi CPPCC."
Another source says that Wang's wife, Ling's elder sister Ling Luxian, had also been detained.
Ling Jihua, Hu Jintao's former personal secretary, was once upon the time the rising star of the Party.
The SMCP asserts: "Ling Jihua comes from Shanxi and was said to be a founder of the 'Shanxi gang', officials who either worked their way up the ranks in the coal-rich province or traced their ancestry to there. Several senior officials with links to the province have been detained over allegations of corruption this year."
All this perhaps explains Mr. Ling's interest in 'reincarnation'.
His present political life is probably coming to a close.
It is time to think of 'next one'.

Xi Jinping and the Tibet issue

My post The Chinese who matter in Tibetan Affairs has been updated. I have added Wang Huning, a member of the Politiburo who 'represents' Tibet at the National People's Congress.
Recently, he has often been seen with Xi Jinping; for example he accompanied him to Gansu (near the Labrang monastery) during the Spring Festival.
According to the correspondent of the Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper regarded as the mouthpiece of Communist Party of China, Wang Huning, Chang Xiaobing and Ding Zhongli, the Han members of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) delegation were present during Xi Jinping’s meet with the TAR delegation during the on-going National People's Congress.
The Party General Secretary would have said the trio was members of the TAR delegation because they represented three faces of the vital Aid Tibet program (Central, economic and scientific aid).
Xi also noted that a large number of senior officials who attended the Two Meetings in Beijing had been involved with different responsibilities in Tibet in the past. (It is said that 10 of the 25 members of the Politburo have been involved at one point or another of their career with Tibet).
Xi apparently said the number of top officials involved in Tibet affairs will only increase in the future. He gave the assurance that Beijing will continue to pay close attention to the region.
Ma Haoliang, the Ta Kung Pao correspondent (or reporter) was apparently present when Xi Jinping met the Tibet delegation. He noted:

Xi pledged that his new leadership group would pay the same close attention to Tibet as previous leadership groups and would continue to emphasize “the maintenance of stability and leap-frog style development”, following China’s own special pathway and according to Tibet’s special characteristics. He cautioned however that there can be no stability in Tibet without economic development, but a constant vigilance must be exercised against ethnic problems, sensitive religious issues and sudden waves of Tibet independence sentiment .
Xi said China will not bend to the pressure produced by collusion between foreign hostile forces and those seeking Tibet independence.
Xi said the special characteristics of Tibet must be respected with even greater protection to its culture and religious faith as well as continuous support for its rapid, leap-frog economic development.
Xi remarked about how impressed he was by Tibet during his July 2011 trip for the 60th anniversary of Tibet’s ‘peaceful liberation.’

There is no other independent source to corroborate the Ta Kung Pao's assertions.
Also regarding Tibet, the South China Morning Post mentioned that: "The former top aide to outgoing President Hu Jintao scraped through to vice-chairmanship of the nation's top political advisory body (CPPCC) yesterday with the lowest number of votes, after his career was hit by a scandal over the cover-up of his son's death in a Ferrari crash in Beijing last March."
I have mentioned a few times on this blog the role of Ling Jihua, the new boss of the United Front Department dealing amongst others with Tibet affairs.
Ling Jihua, Hu Jintao's former Chief of Staff, made it to vice-chairman with 90 of the 2,191 delegates voting against him, the highest number of opposition votes recorded.
The Hong Kong newspaper said the Ling showed no emotion after the result was announced. Though the vice-chairmanship of the CPPCC is largely symbolic, those holding the office are regarded as 'state leaders' and entitled to a range of perks.
Remember the Ferrari car accident which ruined Ling's promising career. Two Tibetan women were apparently involved.,
The South China Morning Post had reported on October 2012.

The 25-year-olds were pulled half-naked from car smash in March
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 least one can say is a solution for the Tibetan issue is not on the horizon, though Xi's rule may be more benign than Hu Jintao's.

Negotiations with a demoted leader

The media mentions again of the 'demotion' of Ling Jihua, Hu Jintao's protégé following the car accident of Ling's son, (I briefly mentioned it yesterday).
Now The South China Morning Post writes: "The car - a Ferrari according to some of the sources - crashed in Beijing on March 18 in an embarrassment for the ruling Communist Party, sensitive to perceptions that children of top party officials live rich, privileged lifestyles completely out of touch with the masses. ...The car crash, the details of which are still shrouded in mystery, reportedly involved the son of Ling Jihua, 55, who state media said was dropped at the weekend as head of the party's General Office of the Central Committee. It is a powerful post, similar to cabinet secretary in Westminster-style governments. Ling is very close to Hu."
The article added: "Over the weekend, Ling Jihua was appointed head of the Communist Party's United Front Work Department, a less influential position than his current post, in a move that was viewed as a setback for President Hu's efforts to retain major influence in the next administration."
It also means that when the Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala speaks of reopening the negotiations with Beijing, they have to realize that they will have to deal with Ling and his deputy.
It is doubtful that a 'demoted' leader can deliver the goods. 
But in China, we never know.

Tibetan govt in exile to give fresh push to talks with China
PTI Sep 2, 2012,
SHIMLA: The Tibetan government in exile is hoping to give a fresh push to the stalled dialogue with China this December, once the leadership change takes place in Beijing.
To continue the dialogue process, the Tibetan Task Force on Negotiations will meet in December after the new Chinese leadership will assume office, the government-in-exile said in a statement issued here on the 52nd anniversary of Tibetan Democracy Day.
The dialogue was stalled since 2010 and two special envoys of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in talks with Beijing since 2002, had resigned in June citing the 'deteriorating' conditions in Tibet and frustration over lack of positive response from Chinese side to the dialogue process.
The statement said the Tibetan 'Kashag' and Parliament has decided to hold the second special general meeting of Tibetans in Dharamshala from September 25 to 28 to discuss ways and means to address the "urgent and critical situation" in Tibet.
Advocating middle-way policy and resolving Tibet issue peacefully through dialogue, the government-in exile said, "Both for Dharamshala and Beijing, this is a win-win proposition and we also welcome the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's recent call on the Chinese government to resume serious dialogue with the Tibetan leadership."
It asserted that the Tibetan spirit and their quest for freedom "cannot be crushed by China's military might."
"Under the continued occupation and oppressive polices of the Chinese government, 51 Tibetans have set themselves on fire and sadly, 42 have died," the statement said.
"To understand the self-immolations, it is crucial to know that no space exists in Tibet for freedom of speech and other conventional forms of protest and even participant in a simple demonstration could face arrest, torture and even death. These conditions help explain the terribly high number of self-immolations in Tibet," the statement said.
The government asked Tibetan people to remain vigilant to counter the hard line Chinese leaders efforts to undermine the Tibetan cause.

A new boss for the United Front Work Department

The appointment of Ling Jihua as the boss of the CCP's United Front Work Department has an interesting collateral. 
It means that even after retirement, President Hu Jintao will continue to keep his fingers in the Tibetan pie through his protégé.
Contrary to what the Reuters article quoted yesterday believes, Xi Jinping may not be in a position to give a new lead in the Beijing-Dharamsala relations.
Due to his closeness with the Chinese President, Ling has helped tailoring China's Tibet policy for many years (first as a Director of the Central Policy Research Office and later as Hu’s Secretary in the General Office of the Central Committee). 
Both have always shared theirs views on the subject.
As CCP's General Secretary, when he attended the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Hu had to be attached to a regional or Central organization.
For seven years, Hu was a member of the delegation from Tibet. 
Three years ago, he was replaced by Ling Jihua and Wang Huning, till yesterday Secretary of Party's Central Secretariat (he is still the Director of Policy Research Office).  
Of course rumours have circulated that Ling had become close to Zhou Yongkang, the powerful member of the Standing Committee when Ling's son was killed in a car accident on March 18. Ling's son is said to have been died in his car while having sex with two young women — an account never proven. 
A Taiwan publication said that  "Ling needed Zhou's support to cover up the embarrassing story. Ling would have promised to convince Hu to allow Zhou to remain in his position on the standing committee and stop any investigation against Zhou in connection with the Bo Xilai affair in exchange for help with the cover-up."
This story, true or false, has no connection with China's Tibet Policy, though it may explain Lings' relative demotion.
We have to wait to see how the future unveils.
Many issues will probably depend of the balance of power in the next Standing Committee of the Politburo.
 
Blow for president Hu Jintao as key ally's route to Politburo is blocked
Choi Chi-yuk
South China Morning Post
September 1, 2012
Blow for president as trusted aide he hoped to see promoted to Politburo's supreme Standing Committee is shuffled out of key positions
President Hu Jintao's most trusted aide, Ling Jihua has been appointed to lead the party's United Front Work Department - a strong indication that scandals have damaged the rising star's hopes of securing a seat on the powerful Politburo this year.
Another Hu ally, Li Zhanshu , will succeed Ling as director of the General Office of the Communist Party's Central Committee.
The moves, announced yesterday, are the first of several reshuffles expected before top posts change hands at the 18th party congress this autumn. The transfer suggests that Ling's career has been capped, since none of his three predecessors in the United Front post, Wang Zhaoguo , Liu Yandong and Du Qinglin , were elevated to the Politburo during their tenures.
While an obvious setback for Ling, the move could also be seen as a blow to Hu, who had shepherded his rise over the previous two decades and was widely believed to be pushing for his promotion to the Politburo's supreme Standing Committee.
Analysts believe Ling, 56, lost an intense behind-the-scenes fight for a better post, such as succeeding Liu Qi as Beijing party boss or Li Yuanchao as the head of the party's Central Organisation Department, because of scandals widely publicised on the internet and in overseas media.
The scandals - including the death of his only son in the crash of an expensive sports car in Beijing in March, in which two women were also seriously injured - made it harder for the party to justify giving him a more high-profile position.
"Ling's political prospects apparently suffered a blow from the widespread speculation over the past couple of months," said political analyst Chen Ziming . "This speculation is not entirely groundless."
Nonetheless, the transfer suggests that Hu could help his long-time secretary find a reasonably soft landing as minister in charge of the party's united front work. Ling's new portfolio includes Hong Kong affairs, negotiating sensitive cultural and religious issues in places such as Xinjiang and Tibet and engaging non-communist political organisations.
Ling has been a secretary to Hu since 1999. He has long been seen as a key ally the president was grooming for high office to help him retain political influence once he gives up the reins of power.
Ling appeared primed for advancement in 2007, when he was appointed director of the General Office, which has been a springboard for rising stars. Premier Wen Jiabao served in the office from 1986 to 1993.
A source familiar with Beijing's affairs in Hong Kong said Ling knew the city well, as he had assisted Vice-President Xi Jinping and his predecessor, Zeng Qinghong , with Hong Kong affairs since 2004.