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‘Xinjiang King’ removed

 Originally published by Straits Times, 24 Apr 2010

By Peh Shing Huei

BEIJING – CHINA has replaced the top official in Xinjiang, months after the restive region was rocked by violent ethnic riots, bizarre syringes attacks and massive demonstrations.

The removal of unpopular party boss Wang Lequan came after months of speculation that his unusually long 15-year reign was coming to an end, following rare calls from thousands of Han Chinese protestors last September for his head to roll.

Mr Wang, 65, was replaced by Hunan provincial party boss Zhang Chunxian, 56, according to a two-line dispatch by the state Xinhua news agency, which gave no reasons for the change. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said that Mr Zhang, who is a former Communications Minister, is a suitable choice, according to the China News network.

Xinhua added that Mr Wang has been appointed as the No 2 security man in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a position which analysts saw as a demotion. ‘It’s a ceremonial post for him to wait it out till retirement at the 18th Party Congress in 2012,’ said Chinese politics’ watcher Wang Zhengxu from the China Policy Institute of the University of Nottingham.

It is believed that Mr Wang retains his position in the elite 25-member Politburo of the CCP, a face-saving role for the man who had been the face of the party in the troubled Xinjiang region since 1995. While most top regional officials serve a maximum of 10 years in a position, he has been the region top man for 15 years, earning him the nickname of ‘Xinjiang King’.

He was in charge when bloody riots broke out in the regional capital of Urumqi last July, with minority Uighers attacking Han Chinese. Almost 200 were killed, mostly Han in the country’s worst communal violence indecades. Han Chinese retaliated two days later, with unknown casualty figures as the Chinese media blanked out coverage of the reprisals.

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_518829.html