BEIJING: China
announced on Thursday that it had removed its top official in Tibet,
three years after ethnic violence exploded in the restive Himalayan
region.
Zhang Qingli was replaced as the Communist Party head of Tibet by Chen Quanguo, 55, until now the governor of northern China's Hebei province, Xinhua news agency said.
No reason for the reshuffle was given, but it comes ahead of a high-level Communist Party congress next year that is expected to usher in a wide range of leadership changes.
Xinhua said Zhang would be re-appointed to another post.
Zhang, 60, was in charge of Tibet in 2008 when violence exploded in Lhasa after Buddhist monks clashed with police and spread throughout regions in China inhabited by ethnic Tibetans.
Zhang also oversaw the subsequent crackdown on ethnic unrest, although both are still continuing in the region.
"Zhang Qingli presided over the imposition of the most severe crackdown in Tibet in more than 40 years," Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the rights group the International Campaign for Tibet, told AFP.
"He persisted with the same policies that have failed to bring stability to Tibet."
His removal did not signal a policy shift on Tibet, she said.
Many Tibetans remain angry over what they view as increasing domination by China's majority Han ethnic group, and accuse the government of trying to dilute their culture.
Both Zhang and Chen are ethnic Han Chinese.
China however says Tibetan living standards have improved markedly in recent decades.
Chinese President Hu Jintao was Tibet's party secretary in 1989. His strict handling of riots marking the 30th anniversary of a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising is widely seen as having paved the way for his rise in the party.
- AFP/de
Zhang Qingli was replaced as the Communist Party head of Tibet by Chen Quanguo, 55, until now the governor of northern China's Hebei province, Xinhua news agency said.
No reason for the reshuffle was given, but it comes ahead of a high-level Communist Party congress next year that is expected to usher in a wide range of leadership changes.
Xinhua said Zhang would be re-appointed to another post.
Zhang, 60, was in charge of Tibet in 2008 when violence exploded in Lhasa after Buddhist monks clashed with police and spread throughout regions in China inhabited by ethnic Tibetans.
Zhang also oversaw the subsequent crackdown on ethnic unrest, although both are still continuing in the region.
"Zhang Qingli presided over the imposition of the most severe crackdown in Tibet in more than 40 years," Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the rights group the International Campaign for Tibet, told AFP.
"He persisted with the same policies that have failed to bring stability to Tibet."
His removal did not signal a policy shift on Tibet, she said.
Many Tibetans remain angry over what they view as increasing domination by China's majority Han ethnic group, and accuse the government of trying to dilute their culture.
Both Zhang and Chen are ethnic Han Chinese.
China however says Tibetan living standards have improved markedly in recent decades.
Chinese President Hu Jintao was Tibet's party secretary in 1989. His strict handling of riots marking the 30th anniversary of a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising is widely seen as having paved the way for his rise in the party.
- AFP/de
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