China’s security chief calls for ‘resolute crackdown’ on separatists in Tibetan areas

Chen Wenqing’s four-day visit comes as security is tightened in sensitive Tibet region ahead of National Day on October 1

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Chen Wenqing (third from right), head of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, in Lhasa, as part of his tour of Tibet and Sichuan’s Ganzi prefecture. Photo: CCTV

Published: 9:00am, 16 Sep 2024

Maintaining stability and guarding against independence activities are the top priorities for security personnel in Tibetan areas, China’s security chief said during a trip to the western regions last week.

Chen Wenqing, head of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission – the ruling Communist Party’s top security body – said security forces must “resolutely crack down on separatist and destructive activities”.

They must also “resolutely manage religious affairs, while resolutely protecting normal religious activities”, so as to prevent risks, crack down on crimes, and maintain stability, Chen said on the trip that included stops in the Tibet autonomous region as well as the Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province.

The four-day tour, which ended on Friday, was Chen’s first regional inspection trip since the party’s policymaking third plenum in July, and came in the lead-up to National Day on October 1.

China is preparing to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic and security is being tightened in the sensitive Tibet region.

The trip also came less than a month after senior American officials met the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, in New York.