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.

The Chinese Model of Governance

Soon-to-be president of China, Xi Jinping made it a point to meet the 'Tibetan' delegates at the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing. 
These delegates are not known political figures in Tibet; they must have just been picked up for the circumstances.
The 'Han' Tibetans such Prof Ding Zhongli,Wang Huning or Chen Quanguo are not seen on the pictures, but the photo session was probably reserved to 'ethnic' Tibetans. The caption says:

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), receives a hada [khata], a white silk scarf symbolizing respect and blessing, from a deputy [Lobsang Tempa] to the 12th from southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2013. Xi joined a discussion with the Tibet delegation attending the first session of the 12th NPC in Beijing on Saturday.  

Amusingly, China speaks of the Chinese Model of governance. 
Eric Li, Shanghai venture capitalist and a 'political scientist' wrote in Foreign Affairs an article praising the supreme meritocracy prevalent in the Middle Kingdom. 
He said: "A person with Barack Obama's pre-presidential professional experience would not even be the manager of a small county in China's system," adding that Xi Jinping: "By the time he made it to the top, Xi had already managed areas with total populations of over 150 million and combined GDPs of more than US$1.5 trillion."
Li believes: "China will continue to rise, not fade. The country's leaders will consolidate the one party model and, in the process, challenge the West's conventional wisdom about political development and the inevitable march towards electoral democracy. In the capital of the Middle Kingdom, the world might witness the birth of a post-democratic future".
I would like to know what are the 'merits' and 'experience' of these Tibetan delegates. The answer may puncture the so-called Chinese Model of governance.
By the way, an agency report mentioned that: "China's single legislative, the National People's Congress (NPC), is almost the wealthiest in the world with 83 billionaires counted among its delegates, according to a report. The China-based Hurun Global Rich List has identified 31 people having more than one billion dollars in personal assets, among the listed billionaire delegates to the Parliament. According to the list, the richest is Zong Qinghou, who is the founder of Chinese drinks maker Wahaha, with an estimated fortune of $13 billion. The Hurun list identifies the remaining 52 billionaires as delegates to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body. According to the list, the average fortune among the 83 billionaire delegates is 3.35 billion dollars, which contrasts heavily with the average annual wage of less than 7,000 dollars for Chinese urban workers. The number of dollar billionaires identified by the list was up 17 percent this year."
This is again called the Chinese Model.

Tibetan lamas write thank-you letter to Xi Jinping
BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Saturday expressed his best wishes to Tibetans after receiving a three-meter-long thank-you letter from 108 Tibetan lamas.
"Please convey my best wishes to all. Tashi delek (a Tibetan greeting for good luck and best wishes)," Xi said while attending a panel discussion of the Tibetan delegation to the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC).
NPC deputy Losang Tenpa presented to Xi a hada, a strip of raw silk and linen for good blessing, as well as the hand-written thank-you letter from the 108 high monks of Tibetan Buddhism.
"The high monks in Tibet are grateful to the CPC for its religious policies, so they wrote the letter that I'm presenting to you," Losang Tenpa said.

Xi Jinping  general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), talks with a deputy to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2013.

Chinese Hans from 'Tibet'

Dr. Ding Zhongli of the Chinese Academy of Science

A Chinese official publication yesterday asserted: "Tibet, the snow-covered holy land in southwest China, topped a survey of residents’ sense of happiness in Chinese inland areas, with the most satisfying index of air condition."
This was found during a survey, 'China Happiness Index Map', conducted by Tencent.com together with 34 local media involved 10 million voters from 34 provinces, cities and autonomous regions.
The outcome of the survey was: "Tibet was graded with 6.7 points (full marks for 10 points), followed by the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region with a score of 6.2 points and three other provinces including Hainan, Liaoning, Jiangsu Fujian ranking third with the same score of 6.0 points. While Guizhou, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, with 5.0 points, became the least happiness areas of Chinese inland."
The website added: "Happiness index shows social systems and people’s life, and it is also the indicator of the social development and people's opinion. The survey clearly showed that the 'happiness map' was affected by the pace of life, environment and many other factors a city."
So, why so much resentment against the Central Government of China, if Tibet is such happy place. One could give a long list of reasons. 
Look at this one!
As the Two Meetings are being held in Beijing, I came across the list of delegates from Tibet to the National People's Congress (NPC). 
Tibet is entitled to a meager quota of 20 delegates on nearly 3000 members 'elected' to the rubber-stamp Parliament.
You may be under the impression that the 20 'Tibetan' delegates are born and live on the Roof of the World. You are wrong! 
Amongst them are many Han Chinese as the Bloomberg article posted below shows.  
What is the connection between Chang Xiaobing, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd, a company dealing in wireless carrier and Tibet?
It is a billion yuan question.
And Prof Ding Zhongli, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences?
Though Ding is certainly aware of the environmental problems facing the Himalayas as a Board Member of ICIMOD, the Kathmandu-based organization, is it a criteria for representing Tibet?
According to Prof Ding's CV:

Ding Zhongli, Professor at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was born in Shengzhou, Zhejiang Province in 1957. He was elected as Academician of CAS in 2005, as Chairman of the Chinese National Committee for the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (CNC-IGBP) in January 2008, and as a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China in March 2008. He became Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in January 2008, following nearly seven years as Director of the CAS Institute of Geology and Geophysics. For the past two decades, Professor Ding has focused his research on the Quaternary climate change and associated forcing mechanisms, and made systematic observations and a pedostratigraphic correlation of the loess sequences over the Chinese Loess Plateau, laying a foundation for later study. For the fi rst time, he established a 2.6-Ma orbital timescale of stacked grain-size records for Chinese loess that is highly compatible with the marine isotope record. He found that the East-Asian
winter monsoon intensity registered in the loess grain-size was in phase with the Milankovitch cycles, particularly the 100 ka eccentricity cycle, and that the winter monsoon intensity is closely related to global ice volume changes. A recipient of many awards, his achievements and many innovative results have been published in numerous highly-ranked international journals and are widely cited. He has also contributed to textbooks that have been published in America and England. Professor Ding has a PhD in Quaternary Geology from the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Master of Science in Geochemistry from the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Well, he could perhaps help to suggest measures to stop the melting of the glaciers and as a geologist, he could advise his colleagues in Beijing about the danger of building too many dams on the Tibetan plateau.
Another  'Tibetan' is Wang Huning, mentioned a couple of times on this blog.
He is one of the rising star of the Party and recently accompanied Xi Jinping in in his 'inspection tour' in Gansu province.
Already a member of the Politburo, he will probably make it to the Standing Committee in 2017.

Wang Huning

I had thought that he would become a 'super' Foreign Minister in Li Keqiang's government, but now it appears that Yang Jiechi, the present Minister will be promoted as State Councilor and will seat in Dai Bingguo's chair, while Wang Yi, a former China's ambassador to Japan from 2004 to 2007 will take Yang's place in the ministry.
Can Wang Huning, with his proximity to Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping do good to Tibet? It has to be seen.
Other Han 'Tibetans' are Chen Quanguo, who was appointed Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 2011 and Wu Yingjie, the Deputy Secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region.
By the way, Hu Jintao himself used to be a member of the Tibet delegation.
No comment!

China Unicom Chief Joins Congress as Tibet Representative
Bloomberg News
March 4, 2013
China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. (762), the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier, said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chang Xiaobing has joined the National People’s Congress as a member of the Tibet delegation.
Chang is not ethnically Tibetan, and China Unicom has no information on why he was chosen for that delegation, Zhou Xiaoke, Unicom’s Hong Kong-based director of investor relations, said in an e-mailed response to questions today. Chang has previously served on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which advises the legislature, he said.
“Many large state-owned enterprises are headquartered in Beijing and their heads cannot be all elected to the Beijing delegation,” Zhou said in the e-mail. “There is some mechanism to allocate the qualified candidates to other delegations.”
Chang joins the Tibetan delegation at a sensitive time as a rising number of activists from the region are setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. Chang is part of the nation’s ethnic Han majority and is from the northern province of Hebei that surrounds Beijing, according to a biography posted on the online encyclopedia Baike run by Baidu Inc., the nation’s largest search engine.
Last year, 83 Tibetans died after setting themselves ablaze, and at least three more died in January, the Tibetan government-in-exile said in a Jan. 25 statement.
The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, has lived in northern India since fleeing in 1959, when China’s military took over the region. China accuses the Dalai Lama of waging a campaign for independence while the spiritual leader says he is seeking autonomy for Tibet.

Self-Immolations in Lhasa

May 27, 2012, outside Jokhang Cathedral in Lhasa

Padma Choling, alias Pema Thinley is an important man.
Officially, he is a deputy to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), director of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Region People's Congress，deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China in Tibet Autonomous Region, but most importantly (and this is not mentioned in this article of China Tibet Online), he is the only Tibetan in the elite 205-member Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
In other words, he is the senior most Tibetan in the hierarchy today.
In an interview on the side of the National People's Congress, he said with a straight face that "No local residents, monks or nuns in Tibet Autonomous Region have self-immolated so far, despite a string of similar incidents in neighboring Tibetan-inhabited regions."
Either Pema Thinley is ignorant or he is poorly informed of what is happening in his region.
While it is true that most of the self-immolations occurred in the former provinces of Amdo and Kham (now administrated by the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan, and Sichuan), a few immolations were reported from the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
Here are some statistics:

• 107 Tibetans are known to have self-immolated in the PRC since February 27, 2009
• 93 men, 14 women
• 88 of the 107 are known to have died following their protest
• 23 of the Tibetans who self-immolated were 18 or under
• Two occurred in Lhasa
• 38 of the 107 are from Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province
• 11 of the 107 were monks at Kirti monastery in Ngaba
• 10 of the 107 are former monks at Kirti monastery in Ngaba (It is currently not known who of the nine chose to disrobe, or were expelled from the monastery by government authorities)
• Two of the 107 were nuns from Mame Dechen Chokorling nunnery in Ngaba
• 106 of the self-immolations have occurred since March 16, 2011

International Campaign for Tibet mentions at least two self-immolators in Lhasa itself.

Dorje Tseten, age: 19, date: May 27, 2012, deceased
Location: Outside of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa

The Washington-based organization commented:

Two young Tibetan men set fire to themselves on May 27 outside one of Tibet’s holiest shrines, the Jokhang Temple, in the first self-immolation in Lhasa, Tibet’s historic capital. Nineteen-year old Dorje Tseten had left home after high school and had been renting a room in a house in Lhasa. The entire household was detained soon after his self-immolation. Voice of America Tibetan language service has reported that the two Tibetans, who self-immolated together, worked in a restaurant in Lhasa. Dorje Tseten was reportedly from Labrang (Chinese: Xiahe) in Gansu, the Tibetan area of Amdo.
The self-immolations took place during Saga Dawa, an important religious period for Tibetan Buddhists that commemorates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. The self-immolations are the first in Lhasa where Chinese security has been tight since March 2008 when protests occurred across Tibet and rocked the capital city. The official media reported today that Lhasa's Public Security Bureau has set up a special task force to investigate the case.
Dorje Tseten is referred to in Xinhua sources as Tobgye Tseten.

The second is Dargye
Dargye, age: around 25, date: May 27, 2012, deceased
Location: Outside of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa

According to monks from Kirti Monastery in exile, 25-year old Dargye had entered Kirti monastery as a boy and disrobed a few years ago. Voice of America Tibetan language service has reported that the two Tibetans, who self-immolated together, worked in a restaurant in Lhasa. Dargye was reportedly from Ngaba (Chinese: Aba) in Sichuan (where most of the self-immolations have taken place).

As the map shows, some self-immolations also occurred in Chamdo, Nagchuka and other places in the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
Next time, Pema Thinley should do his homework before giving interviews.

NPC deputy: Tibet sees regional development as top priority
March 3, 2013
Doreen Wang
China Tibet Online
The key to Tibet's future is to focus on the regional development and make people live a better life, said by Padma Choling, deputy to the 12th NPC, also director of the Standing Committee of the regional people's congress，deputy secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China in Tibet Autonomous Region in an interview.

Regional development is the key
Padma Choling said several decades have passed since the peaceful liberation and the Tibet democratic reform. All ethnic groups in Tibet could feel the warmth of the motherland as well as the atmosphere of national solidarity.
Padma Choling pointed out that the key to the development of Tibet is good management of its own regional affairs, particularly improvement of people's livelihood. Only in this way would the ordinary people embrace the Party and motherland.
People are willing to live a stable and happy life, and they certainly will cherish and protect the hard-won happiness. Therefore, any conspiracy intended to split Tibet from our motherland is doomed to fail, Padma Choling added.
No local residents, monks, nuns self-immolate in Tibet
Padma Choling said that the Central government has held five work conferences on Tibet to improve people's livelihood in recent years. People in Tibet including monks and nuns deserve a happy life. They cherish life and love the society and the country.
"No local residents, monks or nuns in Tibet Autonomous Region have self-immolated so far, despite a string of similar incidents in neighboring Tibetan-inhabited regions,"said Padma Choling.
Developing economy, improving people's well-being, and building a sound education is crucial to overall development of Tibet, Padma Choling added.