Lhasa Party chief calls for more vigilance

A top official in the Tibet Autonomous Region has urged vigilance against sabotage attempts and called for more well-designed social management programs that would win over public opinion.

The remarks came days after unrest in nearby Sichuan Province that saw the death of one unidentified rioter.

During his weekend visit to Mozhugongka county, a gateway to Tibet from Sichuan, Qi Zhala, Party secretary of regional capital Lhasa, asked for more attention to be paid to security at certain "sections of national highways and key temples," and requested that cadres strengthen registration and inspection work to prevent trouble-makers from entering Tibet, the Lhasa Daily reported Monday.

At the same time, Qi ordered cadres working at the frontline to continue to work on new social management models and reinforce a series of favorable policies on the management of monasteries and do more work to win over people's hearts and minds.

The remarks came as tensions grew in Luomo county, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where hundreds of residents and some monks took to the street on January 23 after being incited by some mobs, who claimed that three monks had immolated themselves in protest and told locals to retrieve their bodies from the government. Some of them carried knives, threw rocks and tried to storm two police stations. One of the attackers was killed and nine injured during the clash, according to a previous Global Times report.

Referring to recent social management models and favorable polices, a local official with the United Front Work Department in a county near Lhasa told the Global Times Monday that management committees at monasteries headed by government officials and including monks have been set up in every temple in Tibet by the end of last year, which greatly boosted regional stability.

Mobile police stations were also established to enhance police presence, the official said, noting that police officers will be stationed at temples located in remote areas to further ensure the region's stability, the official said.

"Meanwhile, universal coverage of social welfare for monks in Tibet launched last year also contributed to improving monks' well-being," the official added.

In order to crack down on separatist and other criminal activities incited by the Dalai Lama clique, all cadres should cooperate closely and raise their sense of responsibility, Qi was quoted as saying by the Lhasa Daily.

The London-based Free Tibet advocacy group claimed that police opened fire on Tibetans peacefully protesting against religious repression.

"Overseas forces promoting 'independence for Tibet' have always fabricated rumors and distorted the truth to discredit the Chinese government with issues involving Tibet," said Hong Lei, a foreign ministry spokesman.

"I don't think the riot that occurred in Sichuan last week will affect life here in Tibet. We have established a sound network to ensure social stability. Monks enjoy their life here," the official who asked for anonymity said of the Ganzi incident.

A Tibetan handicraft vendor in Lhasa who identified himself only as Khasang told the Global Times that their lives were not influenced by the riot in Ganzi last week, and he hoped Tibet would continue to maintain its stability.

The idea was echoed by an ethnic Han in Lhasa surnamed Zou who said that she had faith in the local security situation after governments attached great importance to it.

Nevertheless, local government officials are not relaxing their vigilance. According to the official website of the autonomous region, as of January 22, police officers, armed police forces and firefighting troops had checked more than 4,800 people from the floating population, 2,100 rented and residential rooms, randomly checked over 4,600 people and examined more than 1,900 vehicles.

"Maintaining stability is the most important political task that prevails over all other things in Tibet. And government bodies at all levels must enhance inspection work," Luosang Jiangcun, standing committee member of the Party committee of Tibet, said in a telephone conference Saturday. Those who do not fulfill their responsibility and failed to prevent incidents from happening will be removed from office instantly, he was quoted as saying by the Tibet Daily Saturday.

Baima Chilin, chairman of the autonomous region, said in the same meeting that all cadres should implement government policies and smash the conspiracy of the Dalai Lama clique, creating a harmonious environment for the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China later this year.