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Too early to celebrate departure of hardliner on Xinjiang
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Benjamin Lim Kang Global Affairs Correspondent In Beijing, Benjamin Kang Lim
When news broke last week that Xinjiang's Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo was stepping down after five years of iron-fisted rule in the once-restive region, some China watchers thought Beijing was finally softening its stance.
After all, it had moved Mr Chen from Tibet - where he, too, governed with a strong hand - to Xinjiang in 2016 to be equally tough, if not tougher, after terrorist attacks in the western region.
