The Chinese authorities have demoted six officials of Tibetan descent from their high-ranking posts in Toelung Dechen (Chinese: Duiling Deqing) County in Lhasa Municipality, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
Dawa Tsering, the Vice-Party Secretary of Tolung Dechen County; Passang, the Vice-Head tof he County Religious Affairs Bureau and Nyima Wangdue, the head of the County Religious Affairs Bureau and three other Tibetan officials were demoted from their posts, reported the Chinese government-owned Xizangradio.com on 17 May 2012.
The decision to demote the officials was taken by the Lhasa City branch of Communist Party of China (CPC) which held a meeting to discuss the demotion. The reason for their demotion was their failure to strictly undertake their duties and responsibilities in maintaining stability.
Nyima Wangdue was demoted to the post of Vice-head of the County Religious Affairs but it is not immediately known what lower posts Dawa Tsering and Passang have been assigned. The Lhasa City branch of CPC said it will investigate these cases and then punish them accordingly.
The cases of other three demoted officials will be decided after investigation, the report quoted the Lhasa City branch of CPC as saying at the meeting.
The Lhasa City branch of CPC said the officials’ duty in maintaining stability is of utmost importance and any negligence in fulfilling these duties should not be excused but shall be strictly dealt with. The Party also advised other officials to learn lesson from these cases.
This is the second time in recent months that a group of officials have been demoted since Chen Quanguo became the new Party Secretary of TAR. In February 2012, TCHRD learned that 13 officials including both Tibetan and Chinese were fired or demoted for the same reason.
The recent demotions are the result of the implementation of the regulations passed on 1 December 2011 by the TAR Party Committee and the TAR government. The regulation, which included 44 Articles, requires that the government officials be fined and punished if they fail to carry out their duties in maintaining stability.