RemovalHanlder will only remove a content control if it has a tag containing 'od' stuff, as shown in the following xsl:when
Using xml Syntax Highlighting
                        <xsl:when
                                test="$xpath and contains(w:sdtPr/w:tag/@w:val, 'od:xpath=') or $repeat and contains(w:sdtPr/w:tag/@w:val, 'od:repeat=') or $condition and contains(w:sdtPr/w:tag/@w:val, 'od:condition=')">
 Parsed in 0.000 seconds,  using 
GeSHi 1.0.8.4
 The SDT in the example you mention just uses plain old bindings, and doesn't have the 'od' (OpenDoPE) stuff:
Using xml Syntax Highlighting
        <w:sdtPr>
          <w:rPr>
            <w:lang w:val="x-none"/>
          </w:rPr>
          <w:alias w:val="Data value: element"/>
          <w:id w:val="-1309316605"/>
          <w:dataBinding w:storeItemID="{5448916C-134B-45E6-B8FE-88CC1FFC17C3}" w:xpath="/myxml[1]/element1[1]" w:prefixMappings=""/>
          <w:text w:multiLine="true"/>
        </w:sdtPr>
 Parsed in 0.001 seconds,  using 
GeSHi 1.0.8.4
 
  and so it is retained.