Qiangba Puncog, also spelled Champa Phuntsok (Tibetan: བྱམས་པ་ཕུན་ཚོགས་, Wylie: byams pa phun tshogs; Chinese: 向巴平措; pinyin: Xiàngbā Píngcuò; born in May 1947) was the chairman of the government of Tibet Autonomous Region of China from 2003 until January 2010. He is of Tibetan ethnicity.[1][2] He was most visible in public during the 2008 Tibetan unrest, receiving diplomats and journalists.[1] Qiangba Puncog resigned as chairman on January 12, 2010,[3] and subsequently began serving as chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region.[citation needed]