China’s security tsar calls on Tibet’s neighbouring provinces to take ‘clear stand’ against ethnic separatism

Communist Party security chief Chen Wenqing urges officials to safeguard stability in the western autonomous region and surrounding provinces
Leaders deem crackdowns in Tibet and Xinjiang effective, allowing them to focus on other areas with Tibetan, Uygur and Hui populations, observer says

Human rights in China

William Zheng

Published: 7:00pm, 27 Aug 2023

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The security tsar of China’s ruling Communist Party has called on provinces neighbouring Tibet to help ensure stability in areas with large ethnic minority populations.

Chen Wenqing, a member of the party’s Politburo and chief of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, sent out the call as part of an inspection trip to the northwestern province of Gansu, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

Addressing a group of provincial security chiefs on Thursday, Chen said the officials must “take a clear stand” to safeguard the unity of China, oppose ethnic separatism and ensure national security.

He said they must “take the initiative to prevent and control risks” and “resolutely maintain the long-term peace and stability” of not only the Tibet autonomous region but also of prefectures with Tibetan majorities in the surrounding four provinces.

The meeting was held in Gansu’s Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, the last stop of Chen’s three-day trip to the province.

Gannan is one of 10 Tibetan autonomous prefectures in China and home to nearly 430,000 ethnic Tibetans, who make up 57 per cent of the prefecture’s population.

There are also Tibetan autonomous prefectures in Sichuan, Qinghai and Yunnan provinces.

Chen delivered a similar message about security on a trip to Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in June and in Ningxia Hui autonomous region in July.

In Ningxia’s capital Yinchuan, he held an “anti-separatist and anti-terrorism” work conference with “relevant provinces and municipalities”, according to Xinhua.

While praising previous security works as “effective”, he asked the security officials to act with a higher sense of urgency on counterterrorism and stability efforts.

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A researcher from Minzu University in Beijing said Chen’s trip indicated that China’s leaders believed Tibet and Xinjiang were now largely under control after a harsh crackdown in recent years, and their attention was now turning to peripheral areas.

“Beijing started a major security crackdown in Tibet and Xinjiang after strings of incidents in the 2000s. After more than a decade’s work, President Xi Jinping has declared victory in China’s war on terror,” said the researcher, who declined to be named.

“This indicates that Beijing now can cast the net wider by directing more resources to the areas surrounding Xinjiang and Tibet, where many Uygurs, Tibetans and Hui live.”

Chen, a confidant of Xi, was promoted to the top security role and the Politburo – the party’s 24-member inner circle – during the national party congress in October.

As head of the commission, he oversees the country’s police, prosecutors, judges, prison and top spy agencies. Before his October promotion, Chen was the country’s state security minister.

The Chinese government has long been accused of conducting widespread crackdowns on Uygurs and Tibetans in Xinjiang and Tibet. But Beijing rejects those accusations and insists that security measures are necessary to clamp down on terrorist attacks.

Despite international criticism, Xi has hailed Beijing’s ethnic policy in the region as “totally correct” with stability restored in these two areas.