An analysis of the individuals holding leadership positions at the prefectural level and above in Tibetan areas indicates that while numerically Tibetans have some level of representation, in practice power is deeply tilted toward non-Tibetans. Throughout Tibet, the most critical and strategically important positions are not in the hands of Tibetans. This contradicts the official line espoused by China’s leadership, claiming that “people from all walks of life in Tibet have gained the right to participate in the administration of state affairs,” as well as the claim that “a large number of minority cadres are in leading posts at all levels.”
According to an analysis by the International Campaign for Tibet, in a Chinese system where the Chinese Communist Party wields all the power, non-Tibetans hold every party position at the provincial level in Tibetan areas. Non-Tibetans also hold the majority of party positions at the prefectural level of administration, the analysis shows. Of the 17 prefectural-level and two county-level administrations, only four have Tibetans as party secretaries.
Ever since the People’s Republic of China’s takeover of Tibet beginning in 1949, Tibetans have not had effective say in their governance. In fact, during the time of moderate leader Hu Yaobang as the Chinese Communist Party’s general secretary in the 1980s, an attempt was made to alter this situation. After an eye-opening investigation trip to the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1980, Hu found the situation deplorable and publicly announced a liberal six-point reform program, which included the requirement that “full time cadres of Tibetan nationality should account for more than 2/3rds of all government functionaries in Xizang within the next 2-3 years.”
However, following Hu’s downfall, it is clear that the situation did not change for the better. In general, China’s one-party state system is an authoritarian one that does not have any space for representative or democratic governance. Even though there are “elections” in the party and governmental organizations, both the candidates and the final outcome are almost all pre-determined by the party leadership.
The International Campaign for Tibet compiled a list of the current holders of positions in the three pillars of Chinese rule—the party, the government and the military—in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the prefectures under it as well as in the Tibetan prefectures and counties in Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces.[1] Overall, there are 17 prefectural-level and two county-level administrations that are designated by the Chinese government as autonomous Tibetan areas.
A study of the list is revealing, with Tibetans outwardly having representation, but in reality denied most of the positions of real authority. In addition to the lack of Tibetans in provincial and prefectural level party positions, no Tibetan finds a place as military commander, both at the provincial and prefectural levels.
Instead, more Tibetans are afforded places in less-important government positions, as well as the People’s Congress (PC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (PCC). These offices are subservient to the party, and the PC and the PCC are often seen as mere rubber stamps. Nevertheless, an outward semblance of Tibetan presence in the governance structure enables the Chinese authorities to pursue their political agenda.
In 2008, Chinese leadership analyst Cheng Li wrote about his assessment of the Chinese strategy of placing “minority leaders” like Tibetans in positions of administration. He wrote, “At the same time as it has appointed minority leaders to top posts in the ethnic minority regions, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has also maintained its firm control over these provinces by giving the most important leadership posts—the Party secretary positions—to cadres who come from Han Chinese backgrounds. Indeed, none of the Party secretary posts in any of the five provincial-level minority autonomous regions are currently held by an ethnic minority leader.”
Tibet holds a strategic position in Asia. As recently as the seventh Tibet Work Forum meeting at the end of August, President Xi Jinping has made clear Tibet’s important role in China’s security and defense considerations.
Tibetans do not head the Party structure
In terms of the Communist Party structure, no Tibetan holds the highest leadership position at the provincial level. To this day, a Tibetan is yet to fill the position of the party secretary in the TAR.
At the prefectural level, out of seven prefecture and prefecture-level cities in the TAR, two are headed by Tibetans, namely Lhasa City and Shigatse City. The other five have Chinese as the prefectural party secretary.
In Qinghai, out of six Tibetan prefectures, two are headed by Tibetans, namely in Tsojang and Tsolho. Three others are headed by non-Tibetans.
In Sichuan (where there are two Tibetan prefectures and one Tibetan county), Gansu (one Tibetan prefecture and one Tibetan county) and Yunnan (one Tibetan prefecture), the head of the prefectural party is not a Tibetan.
When it comes to representation of Tibetans in the military structure, as mentioned above, in all Tibetan prefectures and counties, no Tibetan holds the position of the military commander. In general there have been reports of some Tibetans being in the senior leadership of the People’s Liberation Army, including Major General Ngawang Sonam and Major General Thubten Thinley, who are reported to be deputy commanders in the Tibet Military District. But no one is at the level of heading a military region.
The government pillar of Chinese rule has the most Tibetan representation, including at the provincial level. The head of the TAR government is a Tibetan, as are the heads of five of the seven prefectures under it. The heads of the two prefectures and one county under Sichuan are also Tibetan. In Qinghai, the heads of five of the six prefectures are Tibetan, while one is a non-Tibetan. In Gansu, too, the heads of the one prefecture and one county are Tibetan, as is the head of the one prefecture in Yunnan. However, as noted, government positions are subservient to party authorities.
When it comes to the People’s Congress, Tibetans have mixed representation. The head of the TAR people’s congress is a Tibetan, but only four out of the seven prefectural people’s congress under it are headed by Tibetans. In Sichuan, the heads of the two prefectures as well as one county are Tibetans. In Qinghai, three out of the six prefectural people’s congresses are headed by Tibetans. In Gansu, the head of the one prefectural people’s congress is Chinese while that of the county is a Tibetan. In Yunnan, the head of the prefectural people’s congress is a Chinese who also is the prefectural party secretary.
As for the political consultative conference, there is comparatively more Tibetan representation. In the TAR, the head at the provincial level is a Tibetan as also four out of the seven prefectural level political consultative conference heads.
In Sichuan, while the heads of the PCC of the two prefectures are Tibetan, that of the county level PCC is not. In Qinghai, the provincial level PCC is headed by a Tibetan and five of the six prefectural level PCCs are headed by Tibetans. In Gansu, the heads of both the one prefecture and one county are not Tibetan. In Yunnan, the head of the sole Tibetan prefecture is not a Tibetan.
United Front Work Department
Interestingly, when it comes to heads of the United Front Work Department, which plays a critical role in implementing policies related to Tibetans, our research shows that the majority of the heads of the three administrative levels in this category are Tibetans.
Overall, in the TAR and Qinghai, the provincial level United Front heads are Tibetans, while 10 of the 17 prefectural level administrations are headed by Tibetans.
In the TAR, the provincial level as well as six of the seven prefectural level United Front offices are headed by Tibetans. Only in Nagchu is the head not a Tibetan.
In Sichuan, the head of one prefectural United Front is a Tibetan while the head of the other is not. For the one county in Sichuan we have not found information about its head.
In Qinghai, the provincial level United Front is headed by a Tibetan. At the prefectural level, out of six prefectures, only one seems to be headed by a Tibetan. In Gansu, the prefectural and county heads of the United Front are not Tibetan. In Yunnan, the sole Tibetan prefectural United Front is headed by a Tibetan.
The United Front has been assigned the task of winning over the Tibetan people, both within Tibet and in exile. It undertakes both overt and covert activities, as can be seen from the case of the New York City police officer who has been charged with colluding with Chinese diplomats connected to the United Front, to make Tibetans toe the party line.
Trust deficit
One reason why fewer Tibetans find a place in the senior echelons of the party and the military is because trust and leadership stability have been considered important factors by the Chinese leadership on personnel matters. Despite official claims of equality and ethnic unity, in practice there is a trust deficit when it comes to Tibetans.
Li, the Chinese leadership analyst, says, “Chinese leaders have recognized the value of having ethnic minority cadres serve in the Party-state elite, both for propaganda purposes as well as to inspire minority peoples to view the system as containing opportunities for their own advancement and therefore work within the system rather than against it. Those ethnic minority elites who have been appointed by the CCP Organization Department have usually gone through a great deal of scrutiny to make sure that they are loyal to the Communist regime and will obediently carry out the orders of the Party’s national leadership.”
Increasingly, the Chinese authorities show indication that they have issues with trusting Tibetans, irrespective of how strong their adherence to party principles is. A case in point is the experience of Bapa Phuntsog Wangyal Goranangpa, one of the most senior Chinese Communist Party members. Despite the fact that he was a committed party member going back to the period before 1949, he was not only not given any positions of authority in his later years, but his very movements were restricted during the period before he passed away in 2014.
Decrease in Tibetan representation
This trust deficit could be the reason why there is a decrease in the number of Tibetan cadres being trained for higher positions in the party. Cai Xia, the retired professor of the Central Party School who was dismissed in August for criticizing the leadership, mentions her assessment of the decrease of Tibetan officials attending the party school. A course in the party school is mandatory for cadres to be promoted.
In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Cai Xia says the Central Party School has classes for Tibet and Xinjiang meant for people from these areas. In the 1980s and 1990s, Tibetan cadres accounted for two-thirds of the officials attending the class for Tibet, with the rest being Chinese. But the situation changed dramatically in recent years. While outwardly there is still a class in the party school for Tibet, now Tibetan officials are only one-third of the participants in the class, while Chinese cadres account for two-thirds. Cai Xia said this indicated that the Communist Party does not trust even the Tibetan cadres in its system, and appoints only Chinese officials for leading and authoritative positions.
Cai Xia’s reference to the trust issue is also corroborated by a Tibetan in exile originally from the capital city of Lhasa who has family members who were officials in the Chinese system in Tibet. This Tibetan told the International Campaign for Tibet that today among Tibetan college graduates, there is concern about employment as they find positions being filled by Chinese from other provinces.
There seems to be an internal strategy to impose additional criteria while recruiting Tibetans for positions. In June, ICT reported on police recruitment announcements in Tibet that reveal state-sponsored discrimination against Tibetans, using reasons such as being involved in “separatist activities” and having family members who “exited the country illegally.” China routinely maintains that any expression by Tibetans of their unique culture and religion is “separatist activity.”
This report has not looked at the secondary level of authority at all these administrative structures. There would be quite a few Tibetans at this level, even in the party and the military. In 2015, China claimed that in the TAR, 70.95% of officials were “Tibetans and other ethnic minorities.”
Perception of Tibetans “overrepresented” in Party Central Committee
If one looks at the national level of Tibetan representation in the three pillars of administration, on the party front in percentage terms, there is a view that Tibetans fare better than some other “minorities.” In the party central committee, according to some observers, even a mere four Tibetans makes them over-represented compared to Tibetans’ proportion of the People’s Republic of China’s population.
But, experts feel that this is “probably intended to co-opt local elites as those regions’ allegiance to Beijing is a perennial preoccupation of the CCP.”
In the current 19th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, two Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen (Luosang Jiangcun) and Che Dalha (Qizhala), are full members, with two others, Yan Jinhai and Norbu Thondup, as alternate members. All four of them are working in the TAR, although Che Dalha and Yan Jinhai are from Tibetan areas in Yunnan and Qinghai respectively. In the 18th Party Central Committee, there was one additional Tibetan as an alternate member.
Tibetans in “elected” national positions
In the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, there have been Tibetans at the level of vice chairperson. Tibetans have also been appointed as chair of the NPC’s Ethnic Affairs Committee.
The loyalty and ideological stance of Ragdi (Chinese: Raidi), a senior Tibetan leader who has been deputy secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee since 1994, have also been recognized in his election as one of 15 vice-chairs of the Standing Committee of the NPC this month. The NPC Standing Committee, the executive organ of the NPC, is elected by the NPC and exercises state legislative power together with the NPC.
These national-level appointments, in particular when they are for the PCC, generally do not involve governance and high-level decision-making on policy and are rewards for loyalty to the party.
Only one Tibetan as a national-level minister
In the national government, to date only one Tibetan, Dorje Tsering, has served at the level of a minister in Beijing. He was the minister of civil affairs in the 1990s. No Tibetan has ever been in any post above this level, such as state councilor or vice premier, not to speak of higher ones. Dorje Tsering is from Kanlho and was posted in the TAR in 1959 eventually climbing up the bureaucratic ladder to the position of a minister at the national level.
Following the retirement of Ragdi in the latter part of the 2000s, no Tibetan has had a visible presence at the national level of the Chinese leadership. Ragdi had joined the CCP in 1961 and worked his way up, serving as the head of the TAR’s People’s Congress and Political Consultative Conference and eventually elevating to be one of the vice chairs of the NPC in Beijing. Tibetans have seen him as a symbol of collaboration more so because his colleague, Tenzin, who was regarded as someone with Tibetan interest in his heart, got shunted off by the authorities. In September, President Xi Jinping ordered Raidi to be awarded with the national honorary title of “Outstanding Contributor to National Unity.”
International Campaign for Tibet quote by Bhuchung K. Tsering, Vice President:
“This report is a clear example of how the Tibetan people face discrimination on the fundamental issue of their governance. By denying the Tibetan people the right to effectively govern themselves, the Chinese authorities display the hollowness of their projection of Tibetans enjoying autonomy. Thus, China’s lack of trust in Tibetans has made them second-class citizens in their own homeland.
“Sadly, China’s token representation of Tibetans in government was on full display this week when Che Dalha, the ethnic Tibetan chairman of the TAR government, spoke to reporters at a briefing in Lhasa. The visit by foreign journalists to Tibet’s capital was extremely rare, given China’s well-known restrictions on access there. There is no other option to Che Dalha than to deny the coercive training program that researcher Adrian Zenz documented using many of China’s own official sources.
“This showed that unfortunately, China would rather try to mislead the world about its coerced labor training system in Tibet rather than give Tibetans any meaningful role in their own governance.”
Party, government and military positions in Tibetan areas and the names of Tibetans filling some of the positions[2]
Tibet Autonomous Region
Provincial Level
- Secretary of the Party Committee of TAR: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of TAR government: Chi Dralha (Chinese: Qizhala)
- Chairman of TAR Political Consultative Conference of TAR: Phakpalha Gelek Namgyal (Pabala Gelie langjie)
- Chairman of the TAR People’s Congress: Lobsang Gyaltsen (Luosang Jiangcun)
- Commander of TAR Military District: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of TAR Military District: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the United Front Work Department of TAR: Tenkho (Danke)
Lhasa City
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Lhasa City: Pema Wangdu (Baima Wangdui)
- Mayor of Lhasa City: Go Khok (Guo Guo)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Lhasa City: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Lhasa City People’s Congress: Yonten (Yun Dan)
- Director of the Lhasa City United Front Work Department : Anu Tsering (Anu Ciren)
- Commander of Lhasa Garrison[3]:
- Political Commissar of Lhasa Garrison:
Lhokha (Chinese Shannan) City
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Lhokha City: Non-Tibetan
- Mayor of Lhokha City: Phurbu Dondhup (Pubu Dunzhu)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Lhokha City: Bakdro (Ba Zhu)
- Chairman of the Lhokha City People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the Lhokha City United Front Work Department: Tenzin (Dan Zeng)
- Commander of Lhokha City Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Lhokha City Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Nyingtri (Chinese Linzhi) City
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Nyingtri City: Non-Tibetan
- Mayor of Nyingtri City: Wangdu (Wangdui)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Nyingtri City: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Nyingtri City People’s Congress: Duo Buqing[4]
- Director of the Nyingtri City United Front Work Department: Dawa (Da Wa)
- Commander of Nyingtri City Army Division:
- Political Commissar of Nyingtri City Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Nagchu (Chinese Naqu) City
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Nagchu City: Non-Tibetan
- Mayor of Nagchu City: Tsering Namgon (Cairen Langgong)[5]
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Nagchu City: Tsering Namgon (Cairen Langgong)
- Chairman of the Nagchu City People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the Nagchu City United Front Work Department: Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Nagchu City Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Nagchu City Army Division:
Shigatse (Chinese Rikaze) City
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Shigatse City: Zhang Yanqing (Tibetan from Tianzhu in Gansu)
- Mayor of Shigatse City: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Shigatse City: Phurbu (Pubu)
- Chairman of the Shigatse City People’s Congress: Seems vacant
- Director of the Shigatse City United Front Work Department: Passang (Basang)
- Commander of Shigatse City Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Shigatse City Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Chamdo (Chinese Changdu) City
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Chamdo City: Non-Tibetan
- Mayor of Chamdo City: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Chamdo City: Rinchen Yangzom (Renqing Yongzong)
- Chairman of the Chamdo City People’s Congress: Kunchok Gyaltsen (Gongqiu Jiangcun)
- Director of the Chamdo City United Front Work Department: Tsering Gyulme (Zeren Junmei)
- Commander of Chamdo City Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Chamdo City Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Ngari (Chinese: Ali) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Ngari Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Administrative Commissioner of Ngari Prefecture: Tenpa Wangchuk (Danba Wangjiu)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Ngari Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Ngari Prefecture People’s Congress: Phuntsok Tenzin (Pingcuo Danzeng)
- Director of the Ngari Prefecture United Front Work Department : Kelsang Dawa (Gesang Dawa)
- Commander of Ngari Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Ngari Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Sichuan Province
Provincial Level
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Sichuan: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Sichuan government : Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of Sichuan Political Consultative Conference: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Sichuan People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Sichuan Military Region: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Sichuan Military Region: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the United Front Work Department of Sichuan: Non-Tibetan
Ngaba (Chinese: Aba) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Ngaba Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Ngaba Prefecture: Yang Kening
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Ngaba Prefecture: Wu Zegang
- Chairman of the Ngaba Prefecture People’s Congress: Zhang Tongrong
- Director of the Ngaba United Front Work Department : Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Ngaba Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Ngaba Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Kardze Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Kardze Prefecture: Xiao Youcai
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Kardze Prefecture: Changchub (Xiang Qiu)
- Chairman of the Kardze Prefecture People’s Congress: Li Kang
- Director of the Kardze United Front Work Department : Shu Dachun
- Commander of Kardze Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Kardze Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Mili (Chinese: Muli) County
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Mili County: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Mili County: Wu Song
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Mili County: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Mili County People’s Congress: Kalsang Wangdhen (Garong Wengding)
- Director of the Mili County United Front Work Department : Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Mili County Army Division:
- Political Commissar of Mili County Army Division:
Gansu province
Provincial Level
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Gansu: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Gansu government : Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of Gansu Political Consultative Conference: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Gansu People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Gansu Military Region: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Gansu Military Region: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the United Front Work Department of Gansu: Non-Tibetan
Kanlho (Chinese: Gannan) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Kanlho Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Kanlho Prefecture: Zhao Lingyun
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Kanlho Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Kanlho Prefecture People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the Kanlho United Front Work Department : Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Kanlho Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Kanlho Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Pari (Chinese: Tianzhu) County
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Pari County: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Pari County: Ma Tashi (Mazaxi)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Pari County: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Pari County People’s Congress: Wang Yuanlin
- Director of the Pari County United Front Work Department : Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Pari County Army Division:
- Political Commissar of Pari County Army Division:
Tso-ngon (Chinese: Qinghai) Province
Provincial Level
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Qinghai: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Qinghai government : Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of Qinghai Political Consultative Conference: Dorjee Rabten (Doujie Redan)
- Chairman of the Qinghai People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Qinghai Military Region: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Qinghai Military Region: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the United Front Work Department of Qinghai: Gonpo Tashi (Gongbao Zhaxi)
Tsojang (Chinese: Haibei) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Tsojang Prefecture: Nyima Dolma (Nima Zhuoma)
- Governor of Tsojang Prefecture: A Gedhun (A Gendeng)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Tsojang Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Tsojang Prefecture People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the Tsojang United Front Work Department : Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Tsojang Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Tsojang Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Malho (Chinese: Huangnan) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Malho Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Malho Prefecture: Qiao Xuezhi
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Malho Prefecture: Lin Palden (Lin Huadan)
- Chairman of the Malho Prefecture People’s Congress: Lhugyal Tsering (Lijia Cairang)
- Director of the Malho United Front Work Department : Karma Phuntsok (Gama Puncuo)
- Commander of Malho Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Malho Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Tsolho (Chinese: Hainan) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Tsolho Prefecture: Zhang Wenkui
- Governor of Tsolho Prefecture: Sonam Dondhup (Suonan Dongzhi)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Tsolho Prefecture: Kunsang (Geng Zang)
- Chairman of the Tsolho Prefecture People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the Tsolho United Front Work Department : Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Tsolho Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Tsolho Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Golog (Chinese: Guoluo) Prefectural
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Golog Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Golog Prefecture: Pegyal Tashi (Baijia Zhaxi)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Golog Prefecture: Dondhup (Dang Zhou)
- Chairman of the Golog Prefecture People’s Congress: Yang Ying
- Director of the Golog United Front Work Department:
- Commander of Golog Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Golog Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Yulshul (Chinese: Yushu) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Yulshul Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Yulshul Prefecture: Tsering Thar (Cairang Tai)
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Yulshul Prefecture: Gangsang (Ga Sang)
- Chairman of the Yulshul Prefecture People’s Congress: Zhou Hongyuan
- Director of the Yulshul United Front Work Department : Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Yulshul Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Yulshul Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Tsonub (Chinese: Haixi) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Tsonub Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Tsonub Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Tsonub Prefecture: Li Kejia
- Chairman of the Tsonub Prefecture People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the Tsonub United Front Work Department : Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Tsonub Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Tsonub Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Yunnan Province
Provincial Level
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Yunnan: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Yunnan government : Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of Yunnan Political Consultative Conference: Non-Tibetan
- Chairman of the Yunnan People’s Congress: Non-Tibetan
- Commander of Yunnan Military Region: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Yunnan Military Region: Non-Tibetan
- Director of the United Front Work Department of Yunnan: Non-Tibetan
Dechen (Chinese: Diqing ) Prefecture
- Secretary of the Party Committee of Dechen Prefecture: Non-Tibetan
- Governor of Dechen Prefecture: Qi Jianxin
- Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Dechen Prefecture: Du Yongchun
- Chairman of the Dechen Prefecture People’s Congress: Zhou Hongyuan
- Director of the Dechen United Front Work Department : Miao Youfa
- Commander of Dechen Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
- Political Commissar of Dechen Prefecture Army Division: Non-Tibetan
Footnotes:
[1]China has divided the Tibetan areas into the following administrative areas. The Tibet Autonomous Region with six prefecture-level cities of Lhasa, Shigatse, Nagchu, Lhoka, Chamdo, Nyingtri, and one prefecture, Ngari. In Sichuan, two prefectures, Kardze and Ngaba prefectures, and Mili county in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture; In Gansu, one prefecture, Kanlho, and one county, Pari; in Yunnan, one prefecture, Dechen; in Qinghai, six prefectures, Tsonub, Tsojang, Tsolho, Malho, Golog and Yushu. Also in Qinghai, in Tsoshar Prefecture, there are four Tibetan townships each in Hualong Hui Autonomous County and in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, one Tibetan Townships in Ping-an County, two Tibetan townships in Ledu County, one Tibetan township in Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County and two Tibetan townships in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, and under Xining City, there is one Tibetan township in Huangzhong County, two Tibetan townships in Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County, and one Tibetan Township in Huangyuan County.
[2]We are unable to get information on some of the positions while some other positions may not even exist at that level. These have been left blank.
[3]Although we could not access information about its current occupant, in the past the post has also been held by a Tibetan.
[4]Individuals like him with Chinese-sounding names are listed in state media reports as being Tibetan. We have kept the name as listed.
[5]He seems to have a dual position, also heading the PCC