He is going to replace the current party secretary in Tibet who is retiring in two months time.

The party secretary, as I understand it, is equivalent to a governor and he was the one mostly responsible for putting a stop to terrorist attacks in Xinjiang (none in five years) and reinforcing the province’s economy while eradicating poverty, all while under sanctions – in fact, Wang himself is under sanctions by the west, as is the province.

I’ve written about Tibet before and the poverty that still exists in some more remote regions. The topography of the whole province starts at 2000m above sea level and goes up to 6000, though I suspect people don’t live above 4000m at most. Many homes in Tibet still look like this:

(Though this was taken in 2013 and it’s probable the house has been renovated since then). They are not entirely “poor” homes because all Tibetans get electricity and have access to stores. But many also don’t have plumbing – latrines are a danger by themselves and Tibet can get very cold in winter. Some also don’t have efficient central heating and burn yak dung as well as wood to heat their houses. This brings other sorts of dangers to a home (fire hazard, pollution, disease, and possibility of being unable to heat your home if you lack the material).

I’m using very relative terms because truthfully, I don’t know how widespread poverty like this still is – the CPC didn’t wait for Wang to start developing the province.

But he’s done great things in Xinjiang while under sanctions and I can’t wait to see what the CPC will do in Tibet.