Zhao Kezhi, the 'Tibetan' arrives in India

Zhao Khezi (left) with Zhao Leji (center), member of the Politburo's Standing Committee
meeting the Tibetan delegates at the NPC, Wu Jingjie, Tibet's Party Secretary (right)

Zhao Kezhi, China's Minister of Public Security will be in India tomorrow.
He will meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discuss security cooperation between India and China. During his stay in Delhi, Zhao will also sign a bilateral internal security cooperation agreement.
According to PTI: “The proposed pact is expected to cover areas of intelligence sharing, exchange programme, sharing of best practices, cooperation in disaster mitigation besides others.”
A Chinese delegation has already met some Indian officials on August 28 to discuss Zhao’s visit and the proposed pact.
An Indian official told the news agency: “This will be the first such agreement between the authorities of India and China which look after the internal security of the respective countries.”
PTI added: “While Singh is the head of eight central armed police forces with a combined strength of about 10 lakh personnel, Zhao is responsible for day-to-day law enforcement in China and commands about 19 lakh personnel.”
More interesting Zhao is personally responsible for Tibet in the Communist set-up, being one of the 20 ‘Tibetan’ delegates at the National People’s Congress.
A few months ago, I wrote about his personnel interest in the Tibet affairs.

My March post
In March 2013, I wrote about the Chinese Hans from 'Tibet' on this blog.
I mentioned the nomination of three Han cadres in the Tibet delegation to the National People’s Congress (NPC).
The three members were then
Chang Xiaobing, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd (he was later investigated and sacked), Prof Ding Zhongli, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wang Huning, who since then, has reached the Communist paradise; he is now a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo.

A new list
Now three new 'Han Tibetans' have been nominated for the 13th NPC.
This time there is no member of the politburo, however Zhao Kezhi (赵克志) the Minister of Public Security will 'represent' Tibet. 
Other members are Guo Qingping (郭庆平) Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China and Jing Hanchao (景汉朝）Deputy Secretary of the National Political & Legal Committee and member of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Zhao Kezhi (赵克志)
Zhao is born in December 1953. He is presently Minister and Party Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security.
He earlier served as Party Secretary in Hebei and Guizhou provinces and has been Governor of Guizhou province and vice governor of Shandong and Jiangsu provinces.
According to his biography, Zhao was born in Laixi, Shandong province. 
Zhao Kezhi entered the work force in March 1973 as a middle school teacher in his native Laixi, Shandong province; he joined the Communist Party of China in January 1975.
In April 1984, he became the mayor and deputy Communist Party Chief of Laixi County; in March 1987, he was transferred and served as mayor and deputy party chief of nearby Jimo and later became party chief of Jimo in 1989.
In December 1997, he was promoted to be the party chief of Dezhou, a prefecture-level city in Shandong.
From February 2001 to March 2006 he was a vice governor of Shandong province.
In 2006, Zhao Kezhi was transferred to neighbouring Jiangsu province, where he was the executive vice governor until August 2010, when he was sent again to southwestern Guizhou province as deputy party chief and acting governor.
A month later, he was elected governor by the Guizhou Provincial Congress.
In July 2012, Zhao was promoted to concurrently serve as the Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou; in December he relinquished his governor post, and Chen Min'er (now politburo member) was selected as his successor.
In July 2015, following the dismissal of Zhou Benshun, Zhao was named party chief of Hebei province.
In October 2017, shortly after the 19th Party Congress, Zhao, then 63, was appointed as the Party Committee Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security.
He took over as Minister of Public Security on November 4, 2017.
He is a member of the 19th Central Committees of the Communist Party of China.

Guo Qingping

Guo Qingping (郭庆平)
The second nominated member of the Tibet delegation for the NPC is Guo Qingping. 
Since March 2015, Guo, a senior economist, is Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBC).
He was born in August 1956.
Here are some details about his career.

• 1982-1991 Vice President, Fuxin City Branch of the PBC
• 1992-October 1998 Vice President, Liaoning Provincial Branch of the PBC; President, Shenyang City Branch of the PBC
• November 1998-November 1999, Vice President, Shenyang Branch of the PBC
• December 1999-January 2003, Director-General, Internal Auditing Department of the PBC as well as Director-General, Asset Disposal Office of the PBC
• February 2003-November 2008, President, Tianjin Branch of the PBC
• December 2008, Assistant Governor, PBC

Is he going to put some order in the accounts of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) or help the region to secure more funds for its development?
In December 2016, The China Daily reported that Guo had announced that Beijing would strengthen its anti-money laundering cooperation with countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Guo affirmed that China would “enhance domestic enforcement of international sanctions at home. …Combating the financing of terrorism regimes and spread of massive weapons of destruction have become the new battle field for anti-money laundering."
He was speaking at the Sixth China Anti-Money Laundering Summit at Fudan University in Shanghai. He also said that China had “established an inter-ministerial mechanism led by the bank with 22 other government agencies, including the Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme People's Court, to combat illegal money transfers.”
What does it mean for Tibet is not clear?
There is a high probability that he will push for an integration of TAR with the BRI in particular with Nepal.

Jing Hanchao

Jing Hanchao (景汉朝)
The third nominated Han in the Tibet delegation is Jing Hanchao.
He is currently Vice-President of the Supreme People's Court.
He is born in 1960 in Shen County of Hebei Province.
In 2009, he became Vice-President, Supreme People's Court.
He started his career in 1984 as a clerk in the Higher People's Court of Hebei Province (at provincial level)
Later he became Assistant Judge in the same Court; he was later promoted Vice-President and then President.
Between 1994 and 1996, he did a Master of Laws at Beijing University while serving Judge in the Economic Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court.
From 1996 to 2006, he was Deputy Secretary Party Committee of the Higher People's Court.
Between 2000 and 2003, he followed a course to become Doctor of Laws from the Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing.
From 2006 to 2009, he served a member of the Leading Party Group of the Supreme People's Court.
Later he became a Member of the Judicial Committee and the Director of the General Office of the Supreme People's Court.
In February 2017, Jing Hanchao addressed the opening ceremony of a 'public open day' in East China's Zhejiang province, detailing the progress of dealing with individuals and companies who ignore civil court rulings. 
What will be his role in the Tibet delegation to the NPC is not clear, but he will probably make sure that the corruption is tackled and that the Tibetan flies and tigers are caught.

I will come back on the 17 other members on the TAR delegation in a few days.

The Communist High-Mass

The High-Mass of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has started.
Every five years, it follows the same precise ritual. The outgoing CCP’s General Secretary (in the present case, Xi Jinping), gives a 3 hour long speech, describing the internal and external changes facing the country, which the party needs to address.
Everything is scripted.
First, the election of 2287 delegates to the 19th Congress which took place months ago, among 40 ‘electoral blocs’ – representing each of China’s 31 provinces as well as the central party organs, national State institutions, the People’s Liberation Army, etc.
There are two types of delegates, the ‘big shots’ who will make it to the 200-odd member Central Committee (CC) and the ‘grass-root’ delegates which count for nearly half of the delegates; and five or seven ‘big ones’ who will eventually reach the Communist Paradise, the Politburo’s Standing Committee.
The Party Congress has three main purposes.
First, it establishes a new party line to be followed for five years; the Congress is the authoritative body to do so. The ‘draft’ read by the General Secretary has been seen and commented by thousands and hundreds of amendments have already been incorporated.
Alice Miller, one of the best experts in CCP’s affairs wrote: “Over the course of its session, a party congress sets down a consensus evaluation of the party’s work over the five-year period since the preceding congress and an assessment of the party’s present situation, and it sets forth general guidelines—the party’s line—for the party’s priorities, emphases, and tasks for the coming five-year period until the next congress.”
At the end, a resolution will endorse Xi Jinping’s speech establishing the party’s consensus on all policies that the party leadership will face.
Then, according to the Constitution, a CC Plenum must convene at least once a year to follow up on the directions given by the Congress.
The second purpose of the Meet is to revise the Party’s Constitution and introduce changes such as a new theory, a brain-child of the current Secretary General.
Finally, the Congress nominates a new leadership for the five years to come. It includes the CC whose plenums give directions to the Party between two Congresses, but also some 170 alternate members whose role is replace the CC’s full-members when required (when full members are sent to jail for corruption for example), as well as a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CDIC), whose job is to tackle corruption.
Finally, before the Congress closes its doors, the CC’s first Plenum will appoint the top party leadership. It also nominates the all-powerful Central Military Commission, a new Secretariat (the body that facilitates the implementation of Politburo decisions) as well as the State Council or Cabinet, headed by the Premier, usually the No 2 in the Party’s hierarchy.
During his speech on October 18, President Xi Jinping outlined his vision for the next five years of China’s development. According to The South China Morning Post, “he vowed to step up ideological guidance within the party, strengthen its anti-corruption campaign, retain the government’s grip on Hong Kong and Macau, and oppose any moves towards independence in Taiwan.”
One of the most expected parts of the speech was the inclusion of Xi’s so-called political philosophy; it will thereafter be known as ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era’.
The new motto will be repeated thousand times all-over the Middle Kingdom. It is said that there are 14 elements behind the elaborated concept; the first is that Party should lead in every aspect of life in China. Xi declared that “the dream of national rejuvenation would only be a fantasy without the leadership of China’s Communist Party. The party should lead in all areas and the authority of the party central leadership should be respected.”
Other highlights are ambitious targets to be achieved during the next 30 years and more, “From 2035 to 2050, China should become a nation with pioneering global influence.” The momentum of the anti-corruption campaign is ‘irreversible’ and rule by law would be maintained.
Of course, national security would be boosted and the Party would resolutely protect its sovereignty and interests. Xi spoke of ‘historical breakthrough’ in national defence and military reform: “The navy has protected the nation’s maritime interest and its army rapidly upgraded its weaponry. …The People’s Liberation Army should be a ‘world class’ force by 2050.”
Some in India may think, it is not necessary to worry; 2050 is far-away. However it is crucial to watch the CMC’s new composition. It may bring radical changes and surprises which could determine if new ‘Doklam’ incidents would take place in the years to come.
Sharp observers have predicted that the number of Vice-Chairmen of the Commission may go from two to four. Some of Xi Jinping’s close allies are expected to be promoted.
One is General Zhang Youxia, director of the Equipment Development Department, who is tipped to become one of two vice chairmen, while present vice chairman, Xu Qiliang, is expected to stay on. Zhang, like Xi is native from the northwestern province of Shaanxi and both he and Xi are children of former senior PLA officials.
The other two candidates are Li Zuocheng, director of the Joint Staff Department and Miao Hua, the new head of the Political Department; they may also make it.
Whether China will follow a ‘peaceful rise’ or a more tumultuous one, will depends on the capacity of Xi to impose a ‘rule of law’.
If the generals remain ‘wild’ as in the past, India may have to face a serious situation.
The battle is not yet played out.

The Tibetans in full costume 
Apart from the Secretary General's speech,  is it interesting to look at the attire of the delegates.
On the second day of the 19th Congress, the delegates of the 31 provinces met separately.
While most of the delegates wore suit and tie, the Tibetans had to show off their regional attire.
Just have a look at these photos.

Hubei Province delegation

Anhui Province delegation

Yunnan Province delegation

Fujian Province delegation

Delegation of the central financial organs

Qinghai Province delegation

Guangdong Province delegation

Gansu Province delegation

Zhejiang Province delegation

And now the Tibetan delegation.
Out of 29 delegates, 11 Tibetans are from the 'grass root'.
While the 'big shots', from the regional Standing Committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Region like Wu Yingjie, Lobsang Gyaltsen or Che Dralha wore suits and ties, the 'grass root' delegates have no choice but to show their regional costumes.
It is always a great attraction for the journalists and photographers.
Can it be considered as a display of Tibetan culture?
Are the delegates just for the show in Beijing ?
Difficult to say.

Yearly Communist Rituals are on

Khatas are presented to Xi by the Qinghai delegation at the NPC

Who says that the Communists do not believe in rituals?
Every year in March, the same rituals take place in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Deputies of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National Peoples’ Congress (NPC) assemble in Beijing to demonstrate the ‘vitality’ of China’s democratic system …with Chinese characteristics.
The High Mass is known as the 'Two Sessions'.
Deputies from far-away (and often restive) provinces land in the capital to ‘debate’ and vote the new Laws of the Land.
Incidentally this year they have to ratify a new counter-terrorism law, which may not be to welcome by the 'ethnic' masses.
Monika Chansoria wrote in The Sunday Guardian: “The anti-terrorism law’s Article 18 establishes obligations of technology companies to assist the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of National Security in investigating terrorism, including providing technical support and assistance with information encryption. This essentially implies that technology firms will be required to install ‘backdoors’ in products or hand over sensitive information including encryption keys to the Chinese government.”
A frightful program!

Tibetan delegate

The Ritual Visit
An important part of the rituals is costumed parade of the ‘ethnic’ delegates wearing colourful dresses, impressive hats and shiny jewelry ...and Communist badges.
The Mass is also for the ‘regional’ delegation, the occasion to get the darshan (and sermon) of one of Magnificent Sevens (i.e. the members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo),
I had been wondering who of the Sevens, would drop by at the ‘Tibetan party’ this year.
In 2013, Xi Jinping, the Numero Uno himself appeared.
In 2014, Yu Zhengsheng, No 4 in the hierarchy, provided the annual lecture (‘follow the Party’).
Last year, Wang Qinshan, No 6 and the czar of the anti-corruption campaign, delivered the Message on behalf of the Sevens.
This year, Zhang Gaoli, No 7 and Chinese Vice Premier, attended the second session of the NPC Fourth Session and met the ‘Tibetan’ delegates.
Xinhua reported that the Vice Premier participated in the deliberations with the ‘lawmakers’ from Tibet Autonomous Region.
Zhang Gaoli took the opportunity to stress some important principles, such as governing Tibet according to the Law, striving to make people rich or working through long-term development, for the region bright future.
Zhang asked the 'Tibetans' to continue building a moderately prosperous society, for that: “Tibet needs to strengthen ethnic unity and make earnest efforts to maintain stability,” he added.

Zhang Gaoli and the Tibet delegation

‘Follow Xi’
Zhang also explained that it is important to 'follow' General Secretary Xi Jinping and read the series of his important speeches, and implement his ‘Four Comprehensives’; Tibet should adhere to the directions of the Party's leadership, follow the rule of law and work for the cohesion of the people of different nationalities …by keeping in mind Chinese characteristics ...as well as the characteristics of Tibet's development path.
When the ‘Tibetan’ delegates gave their views, Zhang Gaoli listened and took notes; from time to time, he interrupted the speaker to inquire about the situation in Tibet.
The atmosphere was very warm, commented Xinhua.
It has to be!
Interestingly, among the 20 ‘Tibetan’ delegate (on a house of 2,900 members), only 15 are Tibetans or belonging to ‘border’ tribes (memba and lopa).
Apart from Chen Quanguo, the TAR Party Secretary and Wu Yingjie, his deputy, 3 Han have been nominated to keep a check on the Tibetans.
One is Wang Huning, Xi’s closest collaborator and member of the Politburo; another one is Prof Ding Zhongli from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (probably keeping an eye on the environment of the plateau).
The last ‘Tibetan’ Han delegate is (was) Chang Xiaobing, till December 2015 the Chairman of China Telecom, who is now ‘investigated’ by the sleuths of Wang Qishan. He was obviously not seen on the pictures, as he is probably in jail.
Wang Huning too did not appear during the deliberations (at least on the published pictures).

Where was Xi Jinping?
According to The China Daily, the Chinese president joined a panel discussion with the delegates from Qinghai province.
He spoke at length about the environment of the Tibetan plateau, particularly about the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve (or the Three Rivers Nature Reserve); it is where the headwaters of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, and the Mekong River are located.
Xi said that protecting the fragile ecology there is of utmost importance.
He told the local government officials that it was their duty to protect the ecological environment on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, especially in the Sanjiangyuan area: "The ecological environment has irreplaceable value. We should treat it as our lifeline and protect it like the apple of our eye.”
According to Xinhua, President Xi urged the officials to try hard to lift people out of poverty and maintain ethnic unity (Tibetans and Hui constitute at least half the population of Qinghai.
Sanjiangyuan is said to be one of the world's most biologically diverse nature reserves, the area is home to more than 2,200 types of wild plants, 85 animal species and over 230 kinds of birds, explained the Chinese news agency: “However, since the late 20th century, the source lakes have shrunk as a result of environmental damage caused by human activities and overgrazing.”
In December, the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, headed by Xi, passed a bill to launch a national park in Sanjiangyuan, highlighting the area's significance as a national focus for environmental protection.
Xi told the lawmakers that the ecological system of the plateau is fragile and glaciers, lakes, rivers and wetlands should be protected to guarantee that ‘rivers of clean water run eastward’.
Is the Chinese President really aware of the importance of the plateau for Mainland China?
Only Beijing's actions will tell!
Luo Huining, Qinghai’ Part boss and also a member of the NPC, affirmed that Sanjiangyuan is the most sensitive place for global climate change and the ecology there is related to the water safety of China and the rest of Asia.
More controversial is the decision of the Qinghai government to relocate 60,000 residents (read 'nomads') from the national park area ‘for ecological restoration’.
Luo asserted: “Our goal of establishing Sanjiangyuan national park is not to boost tourism, but to protect the ecology there."
Can he be believed?
The nomads will the first to pay the price of ‘relocation’.

On the other side of the Himalaya
India is also concerned by the new dams coming up on the Yarlung Tsangpo/Siang/Brahmaputra in Tibet (3 more like the Zangmu dam during the 13th Five-Year Plan).
Though China announced that the projects are “scientifically planned to ensure that there is no impact on water flows to downstream areas “, can Beijing be trusted in the absence of any trans-border treaty or agreement?
Beijing however affirmed that its position is ‘just and legitimate’.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei even told PTI: “There has been good cooperation between China and India on the issue of trans-border rivers for a long time. The Chinese side has overcome many difficulties and provided service such as provision of hydrological data to the Indian side thus playing a positive role".
This is a ritual declaration.

A few comments
1- Where was Gyatsen Norbu, the Chinese Panchen Lama?
He was not seen on any picture though he is a member of the CPPCC National Committee?
Was he indisposed?
2- Why are the Sikyong candidates so uninterested by what is happening in Tibet and China? They do not have anything to say on the seriousness of the situation inside Tibet?
3- Why only 20 delegates for the Tibetan Autonomous Region?
Han chauvinism probably.

The new Delegation Policy of China

Padma Choling (center) in Latvia

A new policy trend has appeared in 2014: Beijing has started to send on a larger scale, Tibetan Communist leaders abroad  to provide to the West (according to them,'brainwashed' by the Dalai clique), a 'true picture' of the situation in Tibet.
It is an interesting development which will probably take some amplitude in 2015.
Will it succeed in convincing the West, is another question.
China Tibet Online reported "Tibet Embraces the World With More Int'l Exchanges"
The website explains: "Tibet, known as the 'lost horizon' in the western world, has opened its mind to becoming more engaged in the international world. In 2014, ten Tibet-related international cultural exchange activities were conducted. A brand new face with more confidence has now been shown to the world."
Here is the list of the 'delegations' mentioned in the Chinese press:

Delegation to offer a true picture of Tibet in U.S.
Dradul, deputy mayor of Lhasa led a 'cultural exchange delegation' from Tibet; the delegation was on a four-day visit starting from Jan.10, 2014. In Los Angeles, the delegates met American reporters. According to Xinhua: "They described the true picture of modern Tibet and dispelled many common misunderstandings about the situation in China's Tibet Autonomous Region. ...Dradul denied the rumor that the hazy days in Lhasa last December were caused by overexploitation, saying it is too soon to talk about excessive development in Lhasa."
The mayor stated: "In fact, the economy of Lhasa started at a slow pace, and has shown limited development potential compared with its inland counterpart cities. Besides, the government of Lhasa has put hefty investment in preventing and reducing the side effects of pollution to the environment."

A delegation of the National People's Congress to Latvia
The Chinese 'Tibetan' delegation was headed by Padma Choling (alias Pema Thinley), chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet People's Congress. He was received by Latvia's Speaker of Parliament Solvita Aboltina. Padma Choling was accompanied by some legislators of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region. There were in Riga on March 20, 2014.
During his visit Padma Choling declared that his visit to Latvia was aimed to deepen mutual understanding and trust in a bid to further push forward the bilateral ties.
Solvita Aboltina would have said that Latvia attached a great importance to developing the relations with China; that Latvia adheres to the One China policy and respects China's core interests and major concerns. She would have added that Latvia hopes to communicate and cooperate with China in more fields.
In other words, do good business!

Tibet legislative delegation visits Poland
A delegation of Tibet People's Congress visited Poland and attended a seminar with some Polish politicians on March 17 and 18.
Xinhua reported that the delegation was also led by Padma Choling, who admitted: "In the international world there had long been a deep prejudice toward and misunderstanding of China's policies on Tibet, either because of people's ignorance of the real situation in Tibet or the difference in political beliefs."
The Polish parliamentarians would have said that "they had been paying attention to developing a strong relationship with China, and would enhance cooperation with China's National People's Congress, to boost the China-Poland strategic partnership."

A Tibetan delegation in Australia
A Chinese Tibetan cultural exchange delegation went to Sydney and Canberra on June 16 to 18. The delegates had meetings with the local Chinese as well as some Australian parliament members.
On June 16, the Chinese Tibetan delegation visited the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China.
Luorong Dradul, a professor from Sichuan University who headed the delegation delivered a lecture on 'China's Tibet-past, present and future'.

Tibet development forum in Lhasa
I have already mentioned on this blog the The Forum on the Development of Tibet held in Lhasa in August.
According to Xinhua: "The forum had three primary aims: to facilitate exchanges between Tibet and the outside world, to help people - especially foreigners - to further understand Tibet's culture, history, and current situation, and to attract more tourists to visit Tibet."
It ended by the infamous 'Lhasa Consensus'.

Chinese Tibetan cultural exchange delegation visits Belgium
A Chinese 'Tibetan' cultural exchange delegation went for a three-day visit to Belgium starting on September 21.
It was reported by Chinanews.com that the delegation met some officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium.
Zhang Yun, Director and Professor of the Institute of History Studies of China Tibetology Research Center, the delegation's leader "gave an overview of the economic and social progress achieved in Tibet after its peaceful liberation, China's ethnic policy, and the protection and traditional Tibetan culture."
The Chinese website says that "all of these issues are the central concerns of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
Doubtful!

Tibetan culture on display in Strasbourg
The Chinese consulate in Strasbourg, France, "organized Tibet-themed conferences and cultural events with the aim of helping people in the city understand more about this vast region of southwest China."
It was held between September 24 to October 2.
Zhang Yun, who let the Tibetan cultural delegation said that these activities were organized "to promote understanding of Tibet and its position in modern, multi-ethnic China."
One Dr. Tsering spoke of the history and practice of Tibetan medicine, and one Mrs. Gesang outlined the development of Tibet in recent decades. A Buddhist monk explained the role of religion in Tibetan society.

Tibetan dances in Africa
Actors from the China Tibet Art Troupe performed traditional Tibetan dances in Harare, Zimbabwe on October 24.
Xinhua reported that the visiting troupe had been invited to perform in Zimbabwe and Mauritius:"The art troupe aimed to let the African people know about Tibet through art."
Nyima Tsering, head of the Tibet Art Troupe and also director of the Tibet Cultural Bureau "hoped the performance would promote cultural exchanges between Africa and China's Tibet." He invited African art troupes to perform in Tibet.

Chinese delegation in Canada
A 2014 China Tibetan Culture Week was held in Toronto, Canada. The delegation addressed the media on November 3.
Dorje Tsedrup, Vice Chairman of the People’s Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region stated: "I hope friends from the press get a real picture of Tibet through this cultural event. I sincerely invite you to visit Tibet, enjoy its beautiful landscape, and experience the great changes that have taken place over the past 63 years."
The Tibet Culture Week was organized by the Association for Promotion of Chinese Culture in Canada.
The event was held in Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto: "It showcased various activities including Tibetan folk culture, Tibetan movies, Thangka exhibition and singing and dancing performances.
The event was the second of its kind hosted in Canada, aiming to offer Canadian people a glimpse of Tibet's beauty, culture, and economic development and to promote international friendship."

These events certainly indicate a new policy put in place by the Chinese Government which is keen to counter the tremendous negative image Beijing has earned for its policies on the Tibetan plateau.
What is surprising is that the Tibetan diaspora did not take the occasion to engage the visiting delegations and start a serious dialogue with the Tibetan delegates.
It is possible that the visits and venues were kept secret till the last minute; this would explain the absence of fruitful discussions between the Tibetans living in the West and their official Communist countrymen.
If this is correct, this would mean that China is still very nervous to debate the 'true' situation in Tibet, despite the fact that Beijing pretends to show "a brand new face with more confidence to the world."
There is no doubt however that this 'delegation' policy will amplify in 2015.

Xi Jinping meets the Tibetan Delegation at the NPC

Xi Jinping with Tibetan 'leaders'

A few days back, I mentioned on this blog that  Lobsang Sangay, the 'Prime Minister' of the Tibetan government-in-exile had stated in Washington DC that he accepted: "the Communist Party's rule in Tibet".
This raises several questions which should be debated by the Tibetan Diaspora.
In the context, it is however interesting to look at a report of the first encounter between the newly-elected CCP's General Secretary and a Tibetan delegation.
Ma Haoliang, one of the Beijing correspondents of the Hong Kong newspaper, Ta Kung Pao provided a detailed report of Xi Jinping’s visit to the Tibet delegation at the National People’s Conference on March 9, 2013.
Ma was apparently present during the event.
Xi Jinping made the following points:

• Xi Jinping offered the pledge 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” (weihu wending 維護穩定and kuayueshi fazhan 跨越式發展) following China’s own special pathway and according to Tibet’s special characteristics.
• Xi however cautioned that there can be no stability in Tibet without economic development. A constant vigilance must be exercised vis-a-vis ethnic problems, sensitive religious issues and sudden waves of Tibet independence sentiment.
• Xi affirmed that China will not bend to the pressure produced by collusion between foreign hostile forces and those seeking Tibet independence.
• Xi stated that 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.
• The Party’s General Secretary remarked how impressed he was by Tibet during his July 2011 trip for the 60th anniversary of Tibet’s ‘peaceful liberation’.

Ma Haoliang, the journalist says that Wang Huning [1], Chang Xiaobing [2] and Ding Zhongli [3] were present during Xi’s visit to the Tibetan Delegation at the NPC. He explained that they were members of the TAR delegation because they represented three faces of the vital Aid Tibet program, i.e., Central Government aid, economic aid and scientific aid.
Xi also noted that a large number of senior officials attending the March Twin Meetings in Beijing are presently, or have in the past, directly shouldered responsibilities in Tibet issues; he says that the numbers will only increase in the future insuring that the Centre will continue to pay close attention to this region.
The Hong Kong newspaper then mentions the connection of Xi’s father with Tibet (the reporter may have been informed by Wang Huning or Li Zhanshu [4] of the relations between Xi Sr. and Tibet).
The article quotes Xi Zhongxun who was said to be close to the 10th Panchen Lama and who interacted with the Dharamsala delegations in the 1980s when he was responsible for United Front Work.
Xi Zhongxun was quoted as saying to the Tibetans from Dharamsala, “It is not possible speak about Tibet as a ‘nation’.”
He would have also said “Calling for a high degree of autonomy cannot be entertained. You must change this attitude of yours. We definitely are not on the same wavelength.”
Xi Sr. would also told the delegations: “You people are still raising something called a Greater Tibet Autonomous Region. This fundamentally is not a reality and also is an impossible demand.”

Two days (March 11), the meeting was reported by Radio Lhasa: “Xi Jinping joins TAR delegation's group discussion”.
Here the ‘official’ comments on the meeting:

On March 11, TAR party committee Secretary and TAR delegation leader Chen Quanguo convened a meeting of TAR delegates to the 1st session of 12th NPC and read out and studied the spirit of the important speech given by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his participation in the group discussion of TAR delegates.
Chen Quanguo said, "We must treat studying, publicizing and implementing the spirit of the important speech of the General Secretary as a vital political task for the present and the near future and seriously study and intensively implement it collectively to gain ideological unity with the spirit of the important speech of the General Secretary.
Uniform arrangements must be made for the Central Committee's strategy on Tibet affairs, use the General Secretary's speech to ideological arm and guide implementation and boost work.
With clear priorities the nature of the spirit should be understood, the development path with Chinese characteristics and Tibetan characteristics must be followed to achieve speedy economic and social development people's life must be improved and protected and efforts made to en able the masses to lead a happier and beautiful new life.
National unity must be strengthened and developed resolutely, the masses of divergent nationalities should be encouraged to share same fortune and same ideology, and co-exist in harmony and resolve problems with united spirit.
Basic work for long term stability should be carried out successfully and continued stability, consistent stability and over all stability of TAR must be protected. Building cadres force should be strengthened and the fine tradition of talking less and working more, working with dedication and not leaving till results are achieved should be promoted and relations between the party and masses of divergent nationalities should be strengthened. The foundation of the Party's rule in Tibet should be strengthened so that the important goal of building moderately prosperous society by 2020 along with the entire nation can be achieved.
The saying, "Empty talk leads to downfall of the state and practical work leads to growth of the state and practical work leads to growth of the state, must be borne in mind and in accordance with the reality of Tibet responsibility should be increased, methods adopted, tasks divided and implemented to carry out precise development and stability. New steps should be adopted to promote scientific development and swift development, achieve new success in improving people's life, new progress should be achieved in boosting and strengthening national unity, new outlook given to protecting social harmony and stability and new look given to strengthening building of the party".
Chen Quanguo stressed that everyone in TAR, from top to bottom, should regard implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech as the nerving force and seek truth from fact, be pragmatic, persevere and overcome limitations and through swift development and long term stability make the party central committee led by general secretary Xi Jinping satisfied and create happiness for the masses of divergent nationalities. The province level TAR leaders in Lhasa also held meeting and released and studied the important speech given by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his participation in the group discussion of TAR delegation.

[1] Wang Huning became member of the Politburo of the 18th CPC Central Committee in November 2012.
[2] Chang Xiaobing served as director of the telecommunications administration department of the Ministry of Information Industry until 2004; he was then appointed as chairman of China Unicom (China United Telecommunications Corporation Limited) in that same year.
[3] Ding Zhongli is presently the director of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He also serves as vice-chairman of the Chinese Quaternary Science Committee. In 2008, he became vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008.
[4] In 2012, Li Zhanshu became Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; he is a member of the Politburo of the 18th CPC Central Committee.