Tibet's new Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo, who replaced long term hard-line party official Zhang Qingli, today made no reference of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in his maiden public speech
Marking a shift from the angry rhetoric of his predecessors, Tibet's new Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo, who replaced long term hard-line party official Zhang Qingli, today made no reference of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in his maiden public speech.
Chen, who took over as the new secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee of Tibet Autonomous Region, focused on development and stability in the region and made no reference to the Dalai Lama.
"Tremendous efforts are needed to boost development in Tibet and the region's long-term stability," he said at a meeting in provincial capital Lhasa, while taking charge.
Tibet holds political significance and is an important strategic position, Chen said.
"The Party and the central government have high requirements for the development of Tibet, and local cadres of all ethnic groups have great expectations," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
A retired soldier, Chine was regarded a moderate compared to the hard-line image of his predecessor Zhang during whose tenure Lhasa riots took place in 2008 in which Buddist monks opposed the presence of mainland Hans in the region.
Zhang described the Dalai Lama as "wolf in monk's robes" and the "scum of Buddhism."
Analysts say that the change of party guard in Tibet is significant as the Party Chief is the most powerful official answerable only to the central leadership.
Chen, who has the reputation of "good at handling the overall situation" is taking over just when the Dalai Lama relinquished his political authority to new "Prime Minister" Lobsang Sangay, a 43-year-old Harvard legal scholar who grew up as a refugee in Dharamashala in India.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}