The week-long (October 18 to 24, 2017) 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which was held in Beijing, concluded as anticipated with Xi Jinping emerging considerably stronger.
For those watching the congress for clues as to Xi’s policies towards China’s ethnic minorities and especially Tibet and Xinjiang, there appears little prospect of any relaxation of controls.
In fact, the emphatic assertions during the congress that China will safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity were reinforced by a letter publicised a couple of days ago and ostensibly written by two Tibetan village girls to Xi during the congress.
The girls, Zhoigar and Yangzom, had written describing life in Yumai, Lhunze county, China’s smallest town.
Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reported that Xi replied, asking them ‘to set down roots in the border area, safeguard Chinese territory and develop their hometown’.
Saying ‘Without peace in the territory, there will be no peaceful lives for the millions of families,’ Xi expressed the hope that ‘the family would motivate more herders to set down roots in the border area’ and become ‘guardians of Chinese territory and constructors of a happy hometown’.[Source]