Tibet Insight No. 22/14
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TIBET INSIGHT NEWS
POLITICAL Nagchu County held National Unity progress award November 17, 2014 Tsering Namgyun, Chairman of Nagchu (Ch: Nagqu) Prefecture’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) on November 25 organised the “2014 Ethnic Unity Progress Award.” Gaoyang, Vice-Chairman of TAR PPCC and Chief Commissioner of the Nagchu Administrative Office, spoke at the ceremony as the ‘special guest’. He stressed the importance of adhering to the CCP CC’s national policies pertaining to the two core issues of development and stability in Tibet and maintaining ethnic unity and harmony through extensive varieties of activities and programs. He reiterated the “six grand and comprehensive goals of Nagchu Party Committee”. These are: i) Unity in thoughts and action with Xi Jinping as the General Secretary of CCP CC; ii) To always hold high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics; iii) To build ethnic and social unity and maintain stability in the region; iv) Economic development; v) Strengthen the building of ideology and security; and vi) Proceed with the current extensive propagation of ethnic relations. Deputy Secretary of the Organization Department of Nagchu Prefecture Phurbu Dhondup (Ethnicity: Tibetan), Gyaltsen Wangdak (Ethnicity: Tibetan)- Chairman of PPCC of Nagchu, Hu Lin (Ethnicity: Han Chinese) Deputy Secretary of Nagchu Party Committee and Secretary of Nagchu Discipline Committee, Wang Yadong (Ethnicity: Han Chinese) Secretary General and Standing member of Nagchu Party Committee, Ouga (Ethnicity: Tibetan) Vice-Commissioner of Nagchu Administrative Office and other regional leaders attended the ceremony
November 17, 2014 The Propaganda Department of Nagchu Prefecture’s Party Committee held an ideological and cultural consensus, or unified thinking, forum for literary artists and journalists. The forum invited regional culture, radio and television artists, journalists, Calligraphers, civil society writers and representatives from the Writers’ Association to discuss how to create publicity and work towards ‘national rejuvenation’. The Propaganda Department discussed the crux of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech given during the Literary Forum held on October 15, 2014. Chinese media reports said the Chinese Communist Party intends to send artists, film-makers and TV personnel to live among the masses in rural areas so that they “form a correct view of art”. Quoting the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China’s official news agency ‘Xinhua’ disclosed that China’s media watchdogs “will organise film and TV series production staff on a quarterly basis to go to grassroots communities, villages and mining sites to do field study and experience life”,. Scriptwriters, directors, broadcasters and anchors will also be sent to work and live for at least 30 days “in ethnic minority and border areas, and areas that made major contributions to the country’s victory in the revolutionary war. (Comment: The move echoes the Mao Zedong era, during which intellectuals and others were “sent down” to labour among peasants in the countryside. It comes within weeks of Chinese President Xi Jinping telling artists not to chase popularity with “vulgar” works but promote socialism instead, and with the state media comparing his remarks to a speech by Mao.)
Patriotic and law-abiding award ceremony in Lhasa November 17, 2014 Authorities in Chengguan (Tib: Thinkunchu) District of Lhasa held a ‘patriotic and law-abiding award’ ceremony. The award ceremony commended seven monasteries, 344 patriotic monks, nuns and 19 Temple management cadres. The meeting-cum-ceremony urged the winners to continue to strengthen temple management and its activities.
National Unity Work Conference November 19, 2014 A national unity Conference was held in Lhasa on November 18, 2014 to award individuals and collective teams for promoting and making progress in the national unity campaign. The conference commended 167 collective teams and 300 individuals, including ethnic intermarriage couples. Deputy Chairman of the TAR People’s Congress, Dorjee, said that in the recent years ethnic Tibetan areas implemented TAR Party’s national policy to a large extent and made considerable progress in national unity and stability.
Aba People’s Government held 37th Meeting November 17, 2014 The Deputy Governor and Party Secretary of Aba Tibetan and Qiang (Tib:Changrig) Autonomous Prefecture Wu Zegang (Ethnicity: Tibetan) convened a meeting of officials of Amdo Ngawa (Ch: Aba) on November 17 to discuss the “People’s Republic of China’s Emergency Law” in general and the “Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Emergency Response Bill” in particular. The meeting discussed the division of research and other matters amongst the officials. Officials attending the meeting included Deputy Secretary and Vice Governor Zhao Ping (Ethnicity: Han Chinese), Deputy Governor and Deputy Secretary Yu Ping (Ethnicity: Han Chinese), Deputy Governor Yang Changqing (Ethnicity: Tibetan) and Secretary-General Wang Quan (Ethnicity: Han Chinese). The meeting discussed timely, immediate and effective control of these two laws and emphasised the elimination of social emergencies. It urged departments at all levels in the Prefecture to conscientiously implement the “Emergency Response Law” and the “Autonomous Emergency Response Bill”.
Gannan Prefecture sends cadres to study social governance November 21, 2014 A group of 52 state, county and township cadres in Gannan (Tib: Kanlho) Prefecture were sent to the Tianjin Foreign Studies University for special community governance training. Experts and Professors trained those cadres by introducing them to new strategies for social investigation, methods for handling social contradictions and disputes, elimination of obstructions to grass-root networks, information technology and network management of public opinion, grass-root social management, evaluation of rural social security prevention and control systems with primary emergency response and strategies etc.
Study Sessions for Ethnic Representatives held in Lhasa November 18, 2014 The TAR’s United Front Work Department held a study session of all the Ethnic Representatives in Tibet on the afternoon of November 27 to study implementation of the 18th CCP’s Eighth Plenary Session’s resolutions and discuss the National Work Conference and decide meeting areas of the 2014 National unity and progress ceremonies. The session was attended by members from Ethnic Religious groups, private economic sectors and intellectuals. Gonpo Tashi, Deputy Secretary of the TAR Party Committee, Vice-Chairman of TAR PPCC and Secretary of TAR United Front Work Department (UFWD) presided. It was attended by Shingtsa Tenzin Choedak, Vice-Chairman of TAR People’s Congress, amongst others. Gonpo Tashi echoed TAR Party Secretary Chen Quanguo’s goal of actively implementing the CCP’s rule of Tibet affairs, to extensively carry out the Party’s mass line campaign and to sustain overall social harmony and stability. He further stressed that with the strong leadership and guidance of the CCP CC’s UFWD, the District Party Committees in TAR should always stand united to maintain stability in Tibetan areas, develop large scale economic cohesion and mobilize and innovate all means in building a new socialist Tibet, to ensure harmony and stability in Tibet especially in the religious sphere.
RELIGION/MONASTIC RELATED NEWS Nuns expelled from Convent November 21, 2014 Chinese authorities have expelled more than 100 Tibetan nuns from Changlo nunnery in Dingri county of Shigatse prefecture near the border with Nepal, and sent them back to their family homes after requiring them to wear lay dresses. The move occurred after officials inspected Changlo nunnery. Of the 200 nuns living at Changlo, only 21 had a permit from Chinese authorities allowing them to stay there. In September, the Chinese authorities had launched a month-long “rectification and cleansing” campaign in Driru, ordering the destruction of recently built religious structures and demanding that younger monks be expelled from their monasteries and sent back to their families.
26 nuns expelled from nunnery in Driru Chinese authorities in Driru County have expelled 26 nuns from the Jhada nunnery in Bhenkar village on November 15. Several nuns who are not listed in Chinese government documents as nuns of the nunnery had to flee into the mountains to evade expulsion. The nuns were forced to denounce the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama during patriotic education campaign. The nuns, according to a source, refused to denounce the Dalai Lama after which the Chinese authorities checked the nunnery register and found 26 nuns whose names were not officially listed. Chinese work-teams have been visiting religious institutions since September to conduct patriotic education campaigns. Last month, Tibetans were ordered to withdraw their family members enrolled in monasteries and nunneries in Jomda County in Chamdo prefecture of TAR. Tibetans were threatened with discontinuation of government aid in addition to other punishments if they fail to withdraw their family members from monasteries and nunneries.
Monk arrested after staging lone protest November 26, 2014 Sonam Yarphel, a 22-year-old monk of Mang-ge monastery was arrested for shouting slogans against Chinese rule in Tibet in a street in Sershul County. Chinese security personnel immediately arrived at the site of protest and detained him. A large numbers of Chinese soldiers and police officers reportedly advanced towards the Mang-ge Monastery. His current condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
Zangmu Hydropower Station becomes partially operational November 23, 2014 According to the TAR Development and Reform Commission, the Zangmu (Tib:Zang) Hydropower Station, which is Tibet’s largest hydropower station and is on the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahamaputra river), became partly operational on November 23, 2014. The first generating unit of the 9.6 billion Yuan (US$ 1.5 billion) Zangmu Hydropower Station, which is positioned over 3,300 meters above sea level on the "roof of the world", went into operation on November 23 with the five other generating units due for completion no later than next year. (Comment: The massive project, which straddles the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, will have a total installed capacity of 510,000 kilowatts upon completion. It is designed to generate 2.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Tibet has annual water resources totalling 448.2 billion cubic meters, with potential water power resources reaching 201.36 million kilowatts. It has nearly 30 percent of the nation's total water power resources.)
China-Nepal border port expanded to boost trade December 1, 2014 Local authorities announced on December 1, 2014, that Kyirong port, on the China-Nepal border located in southwest Tibet Autonomous Region has been expanded to boost bilateral economic and tourism development. Kyirong border port, which started operations in 1978, used to be the largest port linking the two countries. Trade at the port will be expanded and tourists will be allowed to travel through the Port Said Dong Mingjun, Vice Chairman of the TAR People’s Government. The bridge that links Kyirong to Nepal's Rasuwa has already been opened to traffic, and Lhasa customs are working with the local government of Jilung to establish a cross-border economic cooperation zone based around the port. (Comment: The total volume of cross-border trade at the port reached 28.93 million yuan (4.7 million U.S. dollars) between January and October, with year-on-year growth of 660 percent. Nepal has been Tibet's largest trade partner since 2006. According to data from Lhasa customs, bilateral trade accounted for 58.5 percent of Tibet's total import and export volume last year.)
MILITARY NEWS Chinese, Nepali armed police conduct joint exercise November 16, 2014 The frontier police force in Tibet and the armed police and fire department of Nepal conducted a joint exercise on November 16 at the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge. The exercise focused on dealing with emergency situations such as attacks at the checkpoints. The joint exercise allegedly aims to develop cooperation between the armed police of the two countries.
MISCELLANIOUS The 37th Executive meeting of the 11th Aba (Tib: Ngawa) and Qiang (Tib:Changrig) Autonomous Prefecture People’s Government decided the following appointments and dismissals: Appointments: 1. Cai Dongyang as Deputy Director of Public Resources Trading Centre. He was the Deputy Director of the Aba Industrial Park Management Committee. 2. Wang Suying (Ethnicity: Tibetan). He is appointed as the Deputy Researcher of Aba and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. Other incumbent designation includes: Deputy Director of the Office of the State Committee of Politics and Law Committee 3. Li Xiangying (Female--Ethnicity-Tibetan). She has been promoted to Vice Chairmanship of the Finance Committee on a probation period of one year. 4. Sha Zhengzong (Ethnicity: Muslim) Incumbent designation: Deputy Researcher at China People’s Working Committee in the region. He has been promoted to the Chief Investigator of the State Committee 5. Fu Jiu Jun (Ethnicity: Qiang (Tib: Changrig), Current Designation: Vice-President of the Public Security Bureau for Traffic Police Detachment. He has been promoted in the State Public Security Bureau Police detachment on a probation period of one year. 6. Liu Chao Jun (Ethnicity-Tibetan), Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Bureau of State Security on a Probation period of one year 7. Yu Ping (Ethnicity: Han Chinese). Deputy governor of the People's Government of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture; 8. Yu Guang Ya, (Ethnicity: Han Chinese) designated to Party Secretary of Aba Industrial Park Administrative Committee from Deputy Secretary General of the Aba and Qiang People’s Government 9. Hua Wenjun, (Ethnicity: Tibetan). Designated to Aba Daily Editor from Deputy Editor on a probation of one year 10. Xiao Fei (Ethnicity: Han Chinese), Incumbent: Secretary of the Aba and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture’s Party Committee, also designated into the Party History Research Office of the State Committee. 11. Wenhui Zhao (Ethnicity: Han Chinese) Incumbent: Director of Jiuzhaigou (Tib: Sirza Degu) county. Appointed Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office of the Aba and Qiang People’s Government on a probation of one year. 12. Liu Shuai (Ethnicity: Tibetan), designated to Discipline Inspection Team leader of State Housing Fund Management Committee Office on a probation of one year 13. Liu Yifang Female, (Ethnicity: Han Chinese) promoted to Vice-President of the Aba and Qiang People’s Hospital from Jiuzhaigou County Health Bureau for a year of trial. 14. Luo Er Wu (Ethnicity: Tibetan) designated to Zamthang (Ch: Zamtang) County Deputy Secretary and Tourism Development Officer 15. Zhao Jun (Ethnicity: Han Chinese) incumbent: Lungu (Ch: Wenchuan) County Public Security Bureau. Additionally designated as Deputy Magistrate of the County. 16. Liu Jun (Ethnicity: Tibetan) incumbent: United Front Department of Lungu/Wenchuan County. Additionally designated to Deputy Secretary of Heishui (Tib: Drochu) county. 17. Wang (Ethnicity: Han Chinese) Director of Qiang (Tib: Chang) and Aba (Tib: Ngawa) Ethni and Religious Affairs Commission. 18. Lu Jun for Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Agriculture Animal Husbandry Bureau; 19. Ho Song for Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Culture, Radio, Press and Publication Bureau; 20. Wang Shuyun of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Health and Family Planning Commission; 21. Li Jun, director of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Business Administration; 22. Liu Feng Aba and Qiang People’s Government’s Legal Office. Removal: 1. Wang Xiaobing Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Bureau of State Security detachment 2. Yang Zewang of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Bureau Traffic Police Detachment 3. Zhao Ping, Deputy governor of the People's Government office of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture 4. Song Ning Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Science and Technology Bureau office; 5. Wang Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Commission 6. Ho Song Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Media & Entertainment Press and Publication Bureau office; 7. Wang Shuyun Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Health Bureau office; 8. Pema Norbu Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Bureau of Religious Affairs
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