Doje Cezhug

Doje Cezhug (born December 1962; ) is an ethnic Tibetan politician in the People's Republic of China. He was the mayor of

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...

between 2007 and 2013 and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

. He is an outspoken critic of the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

for his alleged role in instigating the

2008 Lhasa violence The 2008 Lhasa riots, also referred to as the March 14 riots or March 14 incident ( zh, c=三·一四事件) in Chinese media,

and pursues a growth-based economic policy in Lhasa anchored in
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
.

2008 violence
Cezhug rose to prominence as a critic of the
2008 Lhasa violence The 2008 Lhasa riots, also referred to as the March 14 riots or March 14 incident ( zh, c=三·一四事件) in Chinese media,
, and its alleged instigators, the advisors of the
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
. He published an article in
China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
on April 1 of that year, titled "Do you call this peaceful?" In it, he rejects characterizations of the riots as "peaceful demonstrations", and mocks the "hypocrisy" of the Dalai Lama claiming to represent
peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
and nonviolence. 18 civilians have died and 250 million yuan were lost in the violence. Soon after, though, Cezhug was safely able to attend the national PCC conference, where he announced that Lhasa was calm and that he did not have to impose
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
. The mayor accepted some criticism of his policies, saying "The March 14 riot exposed some problems and they have now all been solved". In the two years since the riot, the "floating population" has been more strictly controlled, and living standards have increased, says the mayor.

Economic policy
Cezhug has said that "sabotage from the Dalai Lama group remains the biggest obstacle in the way of
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
's development". He believes that Lhasa's economy is driven by tourism, and riots instigated by the group can deter tourists. Cezhug aims to revitalize the city with more aggressive
tax cut A tax cut represents a decrease in the amount of money taken from taxpayers to go towards government revenue. Tax cuts decrease the revenue of the government and increase the disposable income of taxpayers. Tax cuts usually refer to reductions i ...
s and reinforcement of public security. The mayor defends his campaign of modernization, saying "Nowadays, Tibetan people have been living a modern life while enjoying the development of traditional Tibetan culture."

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cezhug, Doje 1962 births Living people Mayors of places in China Political office-holders in Lhasa