TIBETAN LOCAL PARTY SECRETARY SACKED AFTER OUTBREAK OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L CHENGDU 000195 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND G/STC E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/24/2017 TAGS: PGOV ECON SOCI CH SUBJECT: TIBETAN LOCAL PARTY SECRETARY SACKED AFTER OUTBREAK OF VIOLENCE OVER CATERPILLAR FUNGUS REF: CHENGDU 152 CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General , Chengdu. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) According to Consulate contacts, west Sichuan Ganzi Prefecture Party Secretary Dorje Rabten was removed from his post following a violent clash on July 13 between two neighboring Tibetan townships (Sumdo and Danba) over caterpillar fungus harvesting rights. The contacts confirmed a July 18 Associated Press report that the dispute degenerated into a fierce battle between several hundred ethnic Tibetans from the different townships armed with rifles and hand grenades. Casualties were higher, however, than reported in the press with at least eight people killed and 150 injured. ¶2. (C) Following the intervention of local security forces, our contacts indicated, the fighting ceased and mediation efforts are currently underway to decide how best to demarcate harvesting territory between the townships. Dorje Rabten is to be replaced by Liu Daoping, a Han Chinese and former Ganzi party secretary with a reputation for being "hawkish" on issues SIPDIS related to law and order. In fact, his most recent job was as deputy director of the Sichuan Justice Bureau. Dorje Rabten himself will likely be shifted to the provincial-level United Front Work Department as a deputy party secretary. ¶3. (C) Comments: While it is not unknown for arguments over caterpillar fungus ("chong zao" -- literally translated as "bug grass") to turn ugly in Tibetan areas, this incident appears to have been particularly deadly. Some previous disputes involved ethnic Tibetans fighting with migrant Hui (Muslim) or Han Chinese attracted by the high price of "chong zao" to move into western Sichuan -- home of the fierce Khampa Tibetans who led the 1959 rebellion against the central government -- or other areas of the Tibetan plateau. In an attempt to minimize potential unrest, harvesting licenses are supposed to be issued only to local residents and government officials and their relatives are prohibited from taking part. ¶4. (SBU) Used in traditional Chinese medicinal tonics, "chong zao" is derived from the decayed husks of caterpillars, is only found in some high-altitude Tibetan areas, and can not be reproduced artificially. Pound for pound it is literally more valuable than gold and has become the economic mainstay for remote Tibetan communities with little else to rely on other than subsistence herding or farming. The market price for "chong zao," the annual harvest season for which is between early May and late July, has gone up approximately 26 percent during 2007. One "chong zao" husk can be sold locally for up to 20 Renminbi (RMB),or over 2.5 USD, and it is not unusual when driving through mountainous areas in the west of our district to see young Tibetan men waiting at the side of the road with just one husk to sell. The current export price for high-quality "chong zao" is approximately USD 4,600 per jin (about one half kilogram). BOUGHNER