The Dalai Lama has high-ish hopes for Comrade Xi and his forthcoming administration. I think the gravamen here is the fact that Hu Jintao was first talent spotted by Deng Xiaoping putting down an uprising in Tibet in 1989, while serving as Party Secretary and wearing a becoming tin hat. Leaving aside other aspects of Chinese policy, Hu's success seems to have embeded the notion among ambitious cadres, at least among his own CYL-populist faction, that kicking around the Tibetans and other disgruntled minorities is a good way to get ahead.
By contrast, Xi isn't a CYL man. And he's spent his entire career at the opposite end of China. So perhaps the anticipation here is that conspicuous displays of stability management in Tibet will cease to be a career builder for those who hope to rise with his administration.
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