VZCZCXRO5572
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHCN #0159/01 1770346
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 260346Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2548
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1318
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0696
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0706
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0674
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0731
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0603
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0429
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0135
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0153
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3078

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000159 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND G/STC 
DEPT ALSO FOR DRL/IRL AND TIBET COORDINATOR 
BANGKOK FOR USAID/MSTIEVATER AND SWALTER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  6/26/2032 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL CH
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES OF TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION FOREIGN 
AFFAIRS OFFICE STAFF 
 
REF: CHENGDU 157 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: John Hill, Acting Consul General, United States 
Consulate, Chengdu. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1.  (C) During a recent seven-day road trip through Nagchu 
Prefecture in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), Consulate had 
over 40 hours of "quality" time to dialogue with the TAR Foreign 
Affairs Office (FAO) official assigned to accompany us to remote 
field sites.  In the course of our trip, in multiple 
conversations, our contact described in Tibetan to Consulate's 
ethnic Tibetan Political Assistant the structure and personnel 
of the TAR FAO. 
 
¶2.  (C) The TAR FAO is made up of Consular, Protocol, 
Comprehensive, Overseas Trips, Border, and Foreign Projects 
Sections.  The office has four "Helping Tibet Cadres" (yuan zang 
ganbu).  These four cadres will depart in July and be replaced 
with four new cadres from inland China. 
 
The FAO "Front Office" 
---------------------- 
¶3.  (C) Sonam, an ethnic Tibetan, is the FAO Party Secretary. 
She was previously the General Director of the FAO.  She was 
replaced in 2006 by Ju Jianhua, the FAO General Director.  Ju is 
Han Chinese and was born and raised in the TAR.  He speaks 
Nepali, English and good Tibetan.  Liu Yaohua, Vice Director of 
the FAO, used to be the General Director of the TAR Public 
Security Exit/Entry Office, concurrent with his position as 
General Director of the International Cooperation Office of the 
PSB.  He is a native of Gansu Province and does not speak 
Tibetan.  Song Bingling is another Vice Director of the FAO. 
 
Consular Section 
---------------- 
¶4.  (C) The Consular Section Director is Ma Qingshen, an ethnic 
Hui.  He speaks some English.  Ma's wife is the Room Manager of 
the Lhasa International Hotel.  Ms. Choekyi Drolma is Vice 
Director of the Consular Section.  She is a graduate of China's 
Diplomatic Institute.  Choekyi Dromla received a Master's Degree 
in International Relations from (funded by the Ford Foundation 
or the Trace Foundation).  She is single.  Her father is from 
Aba Prefecture in Sichuan Province and her mother is from the 
Chamdo region of the TAR.  Choekyi Drolma's mother works at the 
TAR Party School. 
 
¶4. (C) Norbu, the official assigned to accompany us on our trip, 
is a Consular Staff member.  He studied Nepali in Kathmandu and 
he also speaks some English.  He is originally from Zhomba 
County in Shigatse, close to Ngari Prefecture in the TAR.  He 
studied in Shangdong Province for middle school and attended the 
Southwest University for Nationalities in Chengdu, majoring in 
Economic Management.  Norbu's parents were both government 
officials.  He is married to a Han Chinese woman who lives in 
Chengdu.  They have one child.  Norbu told us that most young 
TAR FAO officials are employed by the FAO due to their families' 
job and political connections to officials in the TAR.  Ms. 
Baizheng is a young, single Consular Section staff member.  She 
also studied in inland China.  Baizheng's father is the General 
Director of the TAR Construction Bureau and has a close 
relationship with FAO Director Ju Jianhua.  Mr. Wang Pingan, 
former Vice Director of the Consular Section is now a Vice 
Governor in Dangxiong (Tibetan:  Damshung) County.  He speaks 
good Tibetan. 
 
Protocol Section 
---------------- 
¶5.  (C) The Protocol Section Director is Ms. Ba Sang.  She 
completed her studies in the United Kingdom and speaks good 
English.  Ms. Gesang Bekyi is a Protocol Section Vice Director. 
She is single and speaks good English -- the best in the FAO -- 
according to Norbu from the Consular Section.   Gesang Bekyi 
completed a Master's Degree at Columbia University supported by 
the Ford Foundation.  Her father used to be the General Director 
of the TAR Cultural Bureau. 
 
 
CHENGDU 00000159  002 OF 002 
 
 
Comprehensive Section 
---------------------- 
¶6.  (C) The Comprehensive Section provides logistical support 
and financial management to the FAO.  Targa, an ethnic Tibetan 
from Bangge County in Nagchu Prefecture, is director of the 
section.  Targa was previously the Director of the Consular 
Section.  He studied in Germany.  His wife is a teacher at the 
Lhasa Middle School, the best middle school in the TAR.  She was 
recently promoted to "senior teacher" (gaoji jiangshi) and 
received a handsome promotion. 
 
Foreign Projects Section 
----------------------- 
¶7.  (C) Ma Zhijian, a Han Chinese, is Director of the Foreign 
Projects Section.  He speaks good Tibetan and some English.  He 
has dark skin and many monks and Tibetans believe him to be 
Tibetan.  According to Norbu from the Consular Section, he 
pretends to be Tibetan. 
 
Border Section 
-------------- 
¶8.  (C) Dawa Tsering is the Vice Director of the Consular 
Section.  He is married and speaks good English.  He is half 
Tibetan and half Manchu.  Dawa Tsering used to work in the 
Consular Section.  Prior to that time, he worked for the Chinese 
Embassy in Pakistan.  His sister, Drolma, works for the U.S. 
NGO, Heifer Project International, and is based in Lhasa. 
 
Overseas Trips Section 
---------------------- 
¶9.  (C) Ms. Dong Yu is the Vice Director of the Overseas Trips 
Section, which is in charge of issuing passports and arranging 
for officials' visits overseas.  She formerly worked in the 
Consular Section.  Dong Yu's father is Mongolian and her mother 
is Tibetan.  Her husband is Han Chinese.  He is the Party 
Secretary of the TAR Statistics Bureau.  Dong Yu has a house in 
 
SIPDIS 
Chengdu and frequently comes to Chengdu on vacation.  She speaks 
good Tibetan and English, and has been to Nepal many times. 
HILL