Dalai Lama backers among officials to be punished

Authorities in the Tibet Autonomous Region pledged to punish officials who follow the Dalai Lama and support activities of splitting the country, after receiving feedback from inspectors of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) discipline watchdog on Monday.

"Some officials have failed to take a firm political stand and some grass-root officials in the region were found to have serious corruption issues," said Ye Dongsong, head of an inspection team of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

Ye stressed that "the Tibet Autonomous Region enjoys no exception in the anti-graft campaign."

Ye required the regional government to focus on neutralizing separatists and maintaining social stability, crack down on corruption and strictly monitor projects in the region.

In response to the CCDI inspection team's report, Chen Quanguo, Party chief of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said that the anti-separatism campaign should be strengthened and will severely punish those officials who are more concerned with their personal welfare, or those who still want to follow the Dalai Lama group or support separatism.

"Some officials in Tibet still sympathize with the Dalai Lama. They continue to support the Dalai Lama out of their religious beliefs," said Xiong Kunxin, a professor with the Minzu University of China, adding that those officials also support the Dalai Lama's separatism activities.

Xiong noted that those officials support the Dalai Lama's renewed push for a high-degree of autonomy in Tibet to drive away the Han people.

"Such officials should not be tolerated," he said.

Apparently, Western countries support this idea, which made the Tibet issue more international, said Xiong.

People should be encouraged to report on such dangerous trend among officials, Xiong said.

Since July, 13 inspection teams were dispatched by the central discipline inspection agency to 10 regions including Tibet, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Jiangsu, to weed out corruption and close loopholes in Party and government work.

An inspection team in Zhejiang Province also found some local Party members allegedly embraced religious beliefs. In China, Party members are banned from joining religions.

In the past few months, local officials in Zhejiang demolished several churches.

Another inspection team revealed problems in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, saying that it has mismanaged research funds. It also said land meant for scientific research was used for commercial purposes without prior approval.