The newly elected 16-member legislature of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) now has only two people of Han nationality. Ethnic Tibetans account for 13 members of the body, including the chairman. One ethnic Hui member makes up the rest of the leading body of government in the region. The two Han members had their ethnicity marked in brackets on the list of the new chairman and vice-chairman, in a reversal of procedure from China’s National People’s Congress as well as legislatures in other Chinese provinces, where minority ethnic groups are usually marked out. The Tibetan deputy from the Xigaze prefecture, Dawa Cering, commented that this change “indicated that Tibetans have become the real masters of the autonomous region. And the policy of regional national autonomy has been fully implemented.” It’s not clear whether this is just a savvy public relations move, or will translate into more real autonomy and control for Tibetans in the TAR.
