Vanishing Quotas: Tibetan Political Disenfranchisement in Xi Jinping’s New Era of Han-Centrism

Originally published as James Leibold and Devendra Kumar. 2025.  ‘Vanishing Quotas: Tibetan Political Disenfranchisement in Xi Jinping’s New Era of Han-Centrism’. University of Chicago Press. The China Journal. 27 May.

Abstract

This article examines recent shifts in Tibetan political representation in the context of the CCP’s new nation/empire-building policies under Party secretary Xi Jinping. It highlights how, despite the CCP’s initial promise of regional autonomy and preferential political opportunities for minorities, real power has increasingly shifted away from Tibetan officials to Han Chinese cadres. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, including a dataset of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) cadres from 2010–24, the authors empirically document the decline in Tibetan political representation across the administrative hierarchy. The study reveals that while Tibetan officials comprise a majority on powerless consultative bodies, their role in influential Party and state organs has diminished substantially. The analysis also considers the broader implications of these shifts, including the impact of the Tibet-Aid Project and assimilative policies since 2012, which have intensified Han colonial dominance across the region’s political and economic landscape.

Click here to continue reading the Occasional Paper…