BEIJING (AFP) — The deputy chairman of Tibet and the police chief of the Himalayan region have been sacked, an official at the regional government said Saturday, over six months after riots hit the capital Lhasa.
The decision to remove deputy chairman Qin Yizhi and police chief Wang Binyi from their positions was taken on Friday at the Tibet People's Congress, the semi-official China News Service reported.
An official at the Tibet regional government, who refused to be named, said they were sacked as part of a routine appointment and dismissal procedure.
Qin would remain in his position as communist party chief of Lhasa, he said.
The two were replaced by just one person -- Li Zhao.
Lhasa was hit by violent riots against Chinese rule in March, which subsequently spread to neighbouring Tibetan inhabited areas of China.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say 203 people died in the riots and subsequent government clampdown, but China has accused "rioters" of being responsible for 21 deaths.
Tibet, known as the "rooftop of the world," has been under Chinese rule since 1951.
Tibetans complain of ongoing political and religious repression by Chinese authorities, while China maintains it has helped the region to develop.
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