Top officers of the armed police in Tibet and Xinjiang, two of the most politically sensitive regions on the mainland, have been transferred or promoted in a new round of military personnel reshuffles.
Major General Cui Jinglong, the deputy political commissar of the People's Armed Police Force (PAP), announced on Monday at a meeting in Lhasa that Major General Kang Jinzhong, the political commissar of the PAP's Tibet Autonomous Regional Command, had replaced Major General Zhu Fengyun as political commissar of the Guangdong Provincial Command, according to the Tibet Daily yesterday.
The vacancy left by General Kang would be filled by Wang Xianghua, a senior propaganda officer with the armed police force. General Zhu was due to retire as he had reached the maximum age of 58 for the post, the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis News reported.
General Cui praised General Kang, 54, for his contribution to ensuring stability in Tibet and establishing a local force in the Tibetan-populated areas in the past three years.
General Kang was promoted in February 2006 to lead the force in Tibet, which has long been troubled by independence activities. He was one of the senior officers in charge of the crackdown against rioters in Lhasa on March 14 last year.
Nearly 70,000 military police were reportedly sent to Tibet in the run-up to the first anniversary of the crackdown in March.
Major Colonel Zhong Xuan , the chief of staff of the PAP's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Command, was promoted to head of the Shanxi Provincial Command on Saturday.
