Luhuo county, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, where violent unrest has drawn the attention of world media, launched a campaign Sunday to promote "law-abiding monks and harmonious temples" and eliminate the "cancer" that harms social stability.
The county will further implement a policy regulating that Party and government officials should take part in the management of monasteries and continue to promote the law among monks.
Officials should fully understand that the "comprehensive rectification battle" launched on Sunday is badly needed to consolidate the power of the Party in areas of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and oppose Tibetan separatism, the Ganzi Daily reported Tuesday.
The press office of the Ganzi Autonomous Prefecture and Sichuan Province declined to elaborate on the measures to be adopted in the campaign, referring the Global Times to the Ganzi Daily.
On the afternoon of January 23, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, a group of rioters, comprised of Tibetan separatists, including some monks, chanted "Tibet independence" slogans and smashed government office buildings with stones, sticks and stormed local police stations in Luhuo county.
The next day, rioters struck Seda, another county in Ganzi. They threw Molotov cocktails and stones, injuring 14 police officers.
Rioters involved in both attacks smashed residential houses decorated with Spring Festival decorations and lanterns, in an apparent attempt to intimidate people observing Han culture, according to a previous Global Times report.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Tuesday that the riots were the work of criminals and were instigated by overseas groups advocating "Tibetan independence," according to the Associated Press.
Liu Daoping, Party chief of Ganzi, termed the situation as a fierce battle against the Dalai Lama clique, not a disagreement among the people, caused by various economic interests.
To win over hearts and minds, the Party and the government carried out a series of preferential policies for Tibetan people in the Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan autonomous prefectures in other provinces, Ba Deng, Party chief of the Sela county in Ganzi, told the Global Times earlier.
"When Tibetans want to build a house, they receive 20,000 to 30,000 yuan from the local government as subsidies, which amounts to one third of the whole construction cost," Ba said. The Tibetan Autonomous Regions in Sichuan Province also launched the "9 years + 3 years" mandatory free education project in 2009, which enables many Tibetan children to finish junior high school, he noted.