Chen Quanguo

There was a sharp rise in the number of self-immolations by Tibetan monks and nuns after Chen took office,[19] which began and continued at Kirti Monastery. Within Tibet, 156 monks, nuns, and laypeople self-immolated as of December 2019.[20] According to the International Campaign for Tibet's (ICT) Fact Sheet information,[21] reviewed by Outside, "Chinese police have beaten, shot, isolated, and disappeared self-immolators who survived."[22] The families are often arrested or detained, which led in 2014 to a rise in walking or solo protests.

Often, the self-immolators, and solo protestors, carry illegal pictures of the 14th Dalai Lama,[23] and/or make long life prayers for the Dalai Lama,[22][21] as well as shout for independence from China. The immolations were seen to be a form of extreme protest against the Chinese government's crackdown on Buddhists from the region,[24] and described in Outside as offerings by the self-immolators of their bodies to show the world how badly Tibet is suffering.[22] The Dalai Lama blames the self-immolations on Chinese policies, and said, "Some kind of policy, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place".[25][26] Before Chen's tenure began and in March 2011, the Dalai Lama had resigned from his political role to continue in his role as Tibet's spiritual leader.

Tibet government-in-exile's Central Tibetan Administration leader Lobsang Sangay states, "If you protest in Tibet, more often than not you get arrested, or beaten up, sometimes tortured, sometimes you disappear, sometimes you die".[27] Mysterious deaths are reported during Chen's tenure.[28][29] The earlier mass arbitrary arrests of monks and nuns at Kirti Monastery in March-April 2011 were followed by reports of disappearances into custody, which continued through Chen's tenure.

In December 2013, Chen described his policy as a "Stability Maintenance Campaign" in a statement, included in a Human Rights Watch report: "We have followed the law in striking out and relentlessly pounding at illegal organizations and key figures, and resolutely followed the law in striking at the illegal organizations and key figures who follow the 14th Dalai Lama clique in carrying out separatist, infiltration, and sabotage activities, knocking out the hidden dangers and soil for undermining Tibet’s stability, and effectively safeguarding the state’s utmost interests [and] society’s overall interests."[29]

During Chen's tenure, forced evictions of at least 5,000 nuns and monks studying at Larung Gar Buddhist Academy and residing in Larung Gar, began in 2013 and continued past August 2016, with a major demolitions order for 4,600 residences dated from June 2016.

After residences were demolished, the nuns and monks were bussed away and reports by Tibetan Review,[30] Radio France International,[31] and Human Rights Watch (HRW)[32] state 600 people were sent directly to re-education camps and centers located in Nyingtri, while a detention center in Sertar was being prepared for an additional 800 nuns.[33] Other reported re-education centers and camps for the monastic community of Yarchen Gar are reported as located in and around Chamdo City and Jomda County.

More nuns than monks were forcibly evicted and detained. The HRW report also details persecution and abuses to which the nuns are subjected in Nyingtri, and refers to a video[34] in which nuns are forced to sing and dance on a stage. Another 300 of Larung Gar's monastic Tibetan Buddhist practitioners, which were not directly detained in re-education camps, were to register for forced re-education programs with prefectures in their home towns. Reports also state the nuns and monks are banned from re-entering other monastic institutions.

In 2015 during Chen's tenure, a transfer of 280,000 Han Chinese settlers to Tibet's capital Lhasa was authorized, as part of China's urbanization plans. The Central Tibetan Administration states 7.5 million Han Chinese and 6 million Tibetans live in the region, as of 2015, and adds, "Under the guise of the economic and social development, Beijing encourages its population to migrate to Tibet with the clear aim to marginalize Tibetans from the economic, educational, political and social life of the region".[35] During Chen's tenure, Tibet's ethnic majority has been "swamped" by promoting economic development that encourages migration from elsewhere in China.[17] In September 2011, at least 226 "key projects" for the development of Tibet were awarded to Han Chinese owned companies.[35] Only Han Chinese college graduates in Tibet or Tibetans that speak fluent Mandrarin secure well-paid private sector jobs.[36] Chinese data shows that Tibet's GDP grew by 11.8% in 2012. The growth rate in 2013 was 12.1%. The growth rate in 2014 was 12%, ranking first in the country. The growth rate in 2015 was 11%, and the region's GDP exceeded 100 billion CNY for the first time. In the first half of 2016, Tibet led other provinces and cities in China at a growth rate of 10.6%.[37]

After Chen took office, he issued a written military order[41] to Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and put forward the slogan: "In Xinjiang, if there is no stability then all our efforts are for nothing." (在新疆，没有稳定一切皆为零)[42] He has expanded counter-terrorism and anti-separatist efforts under orders from Xi.[43][44] There have been no reported terrorist attacks in Xinjiang since 2017. According to Ming Pao, Chen's measures to maintain stability in Xinjiang have been affirmed by the top level of the Communist Party of China.[45]

Chen has overseen the construction of a network of re-education camps.[46] Chen expanded the detention camps in Xinjiang holding Muslim ethnic minorities. As a party boss for the region, Chen exhorted local officials to "round up everyone who should be rounded up." When the local officials who feared it would exacerbate ethnic tensions and stifle economic growth pushed back, Chen responded by purging them including one county leader who was jailed after quietly releasing thousands of inmates from the camps.[47]

The recent US Customs seize which included alleged human hair is said to be linked back to the forced labor and atrocities at the Uighur detention camps. This seize is said to have hurt Quanguo both financially and emotionally as the Uighur projects were his brainchild.[48]

Aside from camps, Chen has also increased surveillance of residents by using advanced technology as well as increasing police presence.[49][50] Under Chen, a policy of "Pair-up and become family" is used to surveil households, many of which include men detained at the re-education camps. The wives of camp detainees must share a bed with the officials during an average 6-day stay.[51] As Xinjiang Party Secretary, Chen promoted the recruitment of the local population into the police force.[52]

The Uighurs have been put under a surveillance system that is able to detect facial features and clothing and accessories to distinguish them from the other ethnic and religious groups in the region. This information is pooled into a central database and aides the government to crackdown on any escapees from the detainment centres.[53]

Chen Quanguo continued to introduce policies such as economic development, employment protection, housing projects, infrastructure improvement, and ecological protection, increasing the GDP of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from 752.9 billion CNY in 2012 to 1.09 trillion CNY in 2017, with an average annual growth of 9%. Infrastructure investment totaled 1.94 trillion CNY, with an average annual growth rate of 27.5%, forest coverage rate increased from 4.24% to 4.87%, and oasis forest coverage rate increased from 23% to 28%.[37]

Chen has a daughter who attended a school in U.K. while he was the governor of Hebei.[7]

The South China Morning Post has said that Chen is known for not putting jokes, slogans or personal anecdotes in official speeches. It also noted that he preferred to stay in the background during press meetings.[7]