On July 22, the Los Angeles Times reported that the demolition was being carried out after ""two major government meetings during which the Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping stressed 'national unity' and the necessity for religious groups to support the Communist Party and 'merge their religious doctrines with Chinese culture'."" Also quoted was Robert Barnett, a Tibet scholar at Columbia University. He said this was indicative of the social unrest in Tibet, ""We’ve had – what is it? – five years of self-immolations, massive protests in 2008 and so on. The language of resistance is rife throughout China and Tibet.""