Advertisement
Terror expert is new Urumqi party chief in China’s Xinjiang region
- The former soldier came to Beijing’s attention when he captured 30 terrorists and was reportedly on an ETIM wanted list
- Yang Fasen is one of a number of appointments to the Xinjiang Standing Committee at its regional party congress
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
2
A former PLA soldier with extensive anti-terrorism experience has been confirmed as party chief of Urumqi, capital of China’s far western Xinjiang region.
Yang Fasen, 50, appeared in his new role for the first time alongside the 14 other members of the new Standing Committee for the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region at the closing of the regional party congress on Monday, according to Xinjiang’s official broadcaster.
Yang will serve under Chen Quanguo, who is expected to continue as the region’s party chief until next year’s 20th national party congress. Chen last week used his opening address to urge all party officials in Xinjiang to “stay vigilant against terrorism and in maintaining stability” in their everyday work, according to the official Xinjiang Daily.
Advertisement
Xie Maosong, a senior researcher with the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said Xinjiang had became the country’s first region to finalise a comprehensive succession plan for its party leadership, showing its “great strategic value” to the overall development and security of China’s vast western area.
Advertisement
“For now, it seems that Beijing wants Chen Quanguo to stay on as a ballast stone in Xinjiang. It also wants the younger officials deployed to Xinjiang to learn from [him] because Xinjiang’s continued stability is very important to national plans in western China, especially the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle [development strategy],” he said.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x