View source for Doje Cezhug

'''Doje Cezhug''' ({{bo|t=རྡོ་རྗེ་ཚེས་དྲུག}}; {{zh|c=多吉次珠}}; born December 1962) is an ethnic Tibetan politician in the People's Republic of China. He was the mayor of [[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]] between 2007 and 2013 and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]].<ref name="ZimbioDojeCezhug">{{cite web
  | last = Staff
  | title = Doje Cezhug Pictures - NPC Fifth Plenary Session
  | publisher = Zimbio
  | date = 16 March 2008
  | url = http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/FKaxnQeTVtg/NPC+Fifth+Plenary+Session/rkFUooWv6Ir/Doje+Cezhug
  | accessdate = 2010-02-03}}</ref> He is an outspoken critic of the [[Tenzin Gyatso|Dalai Lama]] for his alleged role in instigating the [[2008 Lhasa violence]] and pursues a growth-based economic policy in Lhasa anchored in [[tourism]].

==2008 violence==
Cezhug rose to prominence as a critic of the [[2008 Lhasa violence]], and its alleged instigators, the advisors of the [[Tenzin Gyatso|Dalai Lama]]. He published an article in [[China Daily]] 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]] and [[nonviolence]]. 18 civilians have died and 250 million [[renminbi|yuan]] were lost in the violence.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng//zt/zgxz/t420158.htm|title=Special report: Dalai clique's separatist activities condemned|date=2008-04-01|accessdate=2010-07-12|work=Xinhua}}</ref> Soon after, though, Cezhug was safely able to attend the [[Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference|national PCC conference]], where he announced that Lhasa was calm and that he did not have to impose [[martial law]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/17/stories/2008031757230100.htm|title=Lhasa returns to normality|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320205308/http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/17/stories/2008031757230100.htm|archive-date=2008-03-20|accessdate=2010-07-12|url-status=dead|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=2008-03-17}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010npc/2010-03/11/content_9570342.htm|title='Tibet's development on course'|first=Cui|last=Jia|date=2010-03-11|accessdate=2010-07-12|publisher=[[China Daily]]}}</ref>

==Economic policy==
Cezhug has said that "sabotage from the Dalai Lama group remains the biggest obstacle in the way of [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]]'s development". He believes that [[Lhasa#Economy|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]]s and reinforcement of public security.<ref name="challenge">{{Cite news|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90785/6608265.html|title=Dalai Lama group's sabotage biggest obstacle to Tibet's development|publisher=[[People's Daily]]|work=Xinhua|date=2009-03-06|accessdate=2010-07-12}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/worldviews/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=25015|title=Tibet today: "Cultural genocide" or prosperous "modern life"?|date=2008-03-18|accessdate=2010-07-12|publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|author=Gomez, Edward M.}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Norbu Dongrub]] (罗布顿珠)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Lhasa Municipal People's Government|Mayor of Lhasa]]|years=2007 &ndash; 2013}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Zhang Yanqing (politician, born 1964)|Zhang Yanqing]] (张延清)}}
{{s-end}}

{{Lhasa Prefecture}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cezhug, Doje}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Mayors of places in China]]
[[Category:Political office-holders in Lhasa]]
[[Category:Mayor of Lhasa]]