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Tears Over Tibet Saturday 19 April 2008 The title may sound like a callous taunt, but it is not. It is not meant to mock everyone's tears about Tibet. I am talking only about tears induced by political glycerin, especially but not solely in India, with the Olympic torch rally inspiring overblown rhetoric on the subject all along the route. Far be it from me to hold any special brief for Beijing. I am not asking anyone to forget about what the Tibetan people have suffered, about the Cultural Revolution and its cruelties in the remote Himalayan region that lost treasures of heritage in mob attacks on 6,000 monasteries. And no Indian familiar with the country's majoritarian fascism can dismiss the Tibetans' fears as a minority. The torch had an almost trouble-free course through Pakistan despite the supposed terrorist threat to it. It was bound to have a more eventful journey in India. The country had given asylum to the Dalai Lama nearly half a century ago, and now has a Tibetan population of about 125,000, including many born and brought up here. The furious demonstrations of Tibetan activists against the torch and China may have really moved many fed on decades of propaganda, stressing their refugee status and their special bond with the land of Buddhism's origin, but silent on all other aspects of the issue. 500 Tibetans Protesting Near Chinese Embassy Detained, Nepalese Police Say
Thursday 17 April 2008
Katmandu, Nepal - Nepalese police detained more than 500 Tibetan exiles who protested near the Chinese Embassy in Katmandu on Thursday, police said.
It was the largest number of Tibetans detained in a single day in the capital since the exiles began almost daily protests last month against a Chinese crackdown on riots in Tibet.
Police in camouflage uniforms chased down red-robed Buddhist monks and nuns and other Tibetans, dragging some along the ground by their feet or hands as they resisted. Many were shoved into waiting vans and trucks.
Tibet and the Games Nations Play
Tuesday 15 April 2008
For people asking little more than the right to live their own lives in their own way, Tibetans once again find themselves in the morass of great power politics. They have been in this swamp before and know how quickly old friends can turn their backs, as President George W. Bush is now doing in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Beijing. These are the games nations play, and if we ever hope to change the rules, we need to join with younger Tibetans in learning from one of the most intriguing strings of events in their modern history.
The story reaches back to World War II, when Japanese troops blocked the Burma Road, the lifeline to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces in "Free China." In response, the US Office of Strategic Services sent Col. Ilia Tolstoy, grandson of the Russian novelist, to search for an alternative supply route through Tibet. Tolstoy never found anything suitable, but his visit to Lhasa won the good will of Tibetan officials, who were looking to break free from the nominal rule of Nationalist China.
The Chinese had claimed Tibet as part of China ever since the Manchu Emperor conquered the Tibetans in the early 18th Century. But, following Colonel Tolstoy's visit, Tibetan officials attempted to force Chiang Kai-shek's representative in Lhasa to work through a newly created Bureau of Foreign Affairs. The Nationalist Chinese were furious, just as are their Communist successors are today. As part of China, Tibet had no right to act as an independent country, the Nationalists insisted. Chiang Kai-shek's officials shut down the Bureau and accused their British and American allies of backing the would-be separatists. London and Washington backed down.
Olympic President Makes Rare Rebuke of China
Friday 11 April 2008
Beijing - The president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, offered a rare rebuke to the Chinese government on Thursday, calling on the authorities to respect its "moral engagement" to improve human rights and to provide the news media with greater access to the country ahead of the Beijing Games.
Mr. Rogge's comments on China, made at a news conference here during which he described the protests that have dogged the torch relay as a "crisis" for the organization, were a departure from his previous statements that strenuously avoided any mention of politics.
The Chinese government immediately rejected Mr. Rogge's remarks, saying they amounted to an unwelcome meddling in the country's domestic affairs. "I believe I.O.C. officials support the Beijing Olympics and adherence to the Olympic charter of not bringing in any irrelevant political factors," Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told reporters.
Olympic Torch Protests Overwhelm San Francisco
Thursday 10 April 2008
San Francisco, California - A day-long mass gathering intended to protest the running of the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch ended anticlimactically when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom decided to cancel the downtown closing ceremony and instead hold the ceremony at the airport.
Newsom told The Associated Press he decided to move the closing ceremony because of the protests.
Moving the ceremony away from the downtown area capped off a chaotic day and was seen as a victory by protesters who did not want the torch to pass through the city without resistance. Initially, the torch was supposed to travel along the waterfront and circle back to the downtown area for the closing ceremony. The route was altered because officials feared protesters might clash with police and disrupt the relay. The new route was kept secret until the runners were underway, leaving the protesters disorganized.
Protesters Press China on US Olympic Torch Run
Wednesday 09 April 2008
Protesters crossed the Golden Gate Bridge this morning, beginning a day of action to put pressure on China as the Olympic Torch makes its only North American stop in San Francisco.
The ceremonies opened on time at 1 p.m., even though the route of the torch run had been withheld by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in response to planned protests along the way.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and actor Richard Gere were among the speakers who addressed a crowd of thousands at a human rights rally and vigil last night, preceding the run of the Olympic torch.
Harrying the Torch
Tuesday 08 April 2008 San Francisco police expressed mounting concern about their ability to provide safe passage for the Olympic torch relay after swarms of activists protesting China's human rights record shut down the event in Paris on Monday, forcing officials to repeatedly snuff out the iconic flame.
Traditionally a celebratory show that whets the appetite for the Olympics, the torch relay this year has turned into a rolling - and intensifying - confrontation over the Chinese government's religious and political persecution. The superpower's recent actions in Tibet have been a particular focus.
Authorities in San Francisco, which on Wednesday will host the only North American leg of the relay, said they had closely watched events in London on Sunday and in Paris.
Protesters Scale Golden Gate Bridge
Monday 07 April 2008
San Francisco - Three people protesting China's human rights record and the impending arrival of the Olympic torch climbed up the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday and tied the Tibetan flag and two banners to its cables.
The banners read "One World One Dream. Free Tibet" and "Free Tibet 08."
The protesters wore helmets and harnesses as they made their way up the cables running next to the south tower of the famed span. The climb had the group suspended about 150 feet above traffic.
Olympic Torch Relay Descends Into Chaos
Monday 07 April 2008
Paris' Olympic torch relay descended into chaos Monday, with protesters scaling the Eiffel Tower, grabbing for the flame and forcing security officials to repeatedly snuff out the torch and transport it by bus past demonstrators yelling "Free Tibet!"
The relentless anti-Chinese demonstrations ignited across the capital with unexpected power and ingenuity, foiling 3,000 police officers deployed on motorcycles, in jogging gear and even inline skates.
Chinese organizers finally gave up on the relay, canceling the last third of what China had hoped would be a joyous jog by torch-bearing VIPs past some of Paris' most famous landmarks.
Protest Disrupts Torch Relay in Paris
Monday 07 April 2008
Paris - What was supposed to be a majestic procession for the Olympic torch through the French capital was disrupted Monday as thousands of people from around Europe, many with Tibetan flags, massed to protest the passage of the flame, forcing police officers to bring the torch onto a bus to try to protect it and causing the torch to be extinguished at least once.
A police spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with policy, said the torch went out "for technical reasons" unrelated to the protests. CNN reported that the torch was extinguished at least twice amid the melee, and The Associated Press said officials were forced to extinguish the flame three times amid security concerns.
Despite massive security, at least two activists got within almost an arm's length of the flame before they were grabbed by police officers, The A.P. reported. Officers tackled numerous protesters to the ground and carried some away.
It was yet another unscripted moment in the passage of the Olympic flame, and the second time in two days that the torch relay had been disrupted in a European capital.
Tibet Vows Trouble-Free Olympic Torch Relay
Saturday 05 April 2008
Beijing - Tibet's Communist Party chief promised a trouble-free Olympic torch relay through the region, even as security forces struggled to stamp out violence in a nearby ethnic Tibetan area.
Just 125 days before the Olympic Games begin in Beijing, the evening news featured Tibetans saying they were pleased with China's development policies.
State-run television also ran a long programme on the life of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader whom China accuses of "splittist" activities.
Chinese Police Kill Eight After Opening Fire on Monks and Tibetan Protesters
Friday 04 April 2008
Beijing - Chinese paramilitary police have killed eight people after opening fire on several hundred Tibetan monks and villagers in bloody violence that will fuel human rights protests as London prepares to host its leg of the Olympic torch relay this weekend.
Witnesses said the clash - in which dozens were wounded - erupted late last night after a government inspection team entered a monastery in the Chinese province of Sichuan trying to confiscate pictures of the Dalai Lama.
Officials searched the room of every monk in the Donggu monastery, a sprawling 15th century edifice in Ganzi, southwestern Sichuan, confiscating all mobile phones as well as the pictures.
Prominent Chinese Rights Activist Is Jailed
Friday 04 April 2008
Beijing - A Chinese court on Thursday sentenced an outspoken human rights advocate to three and a half years in prison after ruling that his critical essays and comments about Communist Party rule amounted to inciting subversion, his lawyer said.
The conviction of the advocate, Hu Jia, 34, one of the most prominent human rights activists in China, quickly brought outside criticism of China at a time when the government is already facing international concern over its handling of the Tibetan crisis.
Mr. Hu's case has been followed closely, especially in Europe, and critics say his conviction is part of a government crackdown to silence dissidents before Beijing plays host to the Olympic Games in August.
Pelosi Wants Bush to Weigh Skipping Olympic Ceremony
Wednesday 02 April 2008
Washington - Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, suggested Tuesday that President Bush consider skipping the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing to protest China's actions in Tibet, its overall human rights record and its trade policies.
The speaker, a California Democrat who has just returned from a meeting with the Dalai Lama in India, said a high-profile boycott of the opening festivities, which are typically a celebration of the host country, could send a strong message without interfering with the Games themselves.
"The president of the United States, if he is going to give credibility to the Chinese government, he should also take the time to say to them we are very concerned, not only about human rights, which are a very important value to us, but we are also concerned about our trade situation," Ms. Pelosi said in an interview.
IOC Tells Beijing: Don't Block Internet
Tuesday 01 April 2008
Beijing - The Internet must be open during the Beijing Olympics. That was the message a top-ranking International Olympic Committee official delivered Tuesday to Beijing organizers during the first of three days of meetings - the last official sessions between IOC inspectors and the Chinese hosts before the games begin in just over four months.
Beijing routinely blocks Chinese access to some foreign news Web sites and blogs, a practice it has stepped up since rioting broke out over two weeks ago in Tibet.
Kevan Gosper, vice chairman of the IOC coordinating commission, said restricting access to the Internet during the games "would reflect very poorly" on the host nation.
Tibet Protest at Olympic Ceremony
Monday 31 March 2008 Athens - Greek officials handed over the Olympic flame to organizers of the Beijing Summer Games on Sunday, but demonstrators angered by China's clampdown in Tibet sought to disrupt the ceremony, evading heavy security to unfurl protest banners. Shouting "Free Tibet" and flashing red banners blaring "Stop Genocie in Tibet," the demonstrators charged into a police cordon, trying to block the torch runner carrying the Olympic flame from making the final 100-meter run into an Athens stadium. Backed by riot squads, scores of police officers detained 10 of an estimated 15 demonstrators, taking them to Greece's national police headquarters minutes after the ceremony began. Unrest at Shuttered Gateway to Tibet
Wednesday 26 March 2008 Chengdu, China - In the back room of a Tibetan teahouse, three robed monks spoke in whispers. One monk said his home in Luhuo County had been littered with fliers calling on Tibetans to protest. A second monk said soldiers had surrounded his monastery in Aba County. The third dialed home. After folding shut his cellphone, he said the police had killed one Tibetan protester and injured nine others in Serta County. "Tibetans are dying for no reason," said the Luhuo monk, as the whine of a police siren drifted through an open window. "But this is happening in remote places, and nobody knows." The Truth About Tibet
Wednesday 19 March 2008 The last thing China wanted, in the year it is to host the Olympic Games, was the world watching its army brutally suppressing protesters. Things are not going as planned. The emblematic images of China in 2008 were supposed to be the magnificent "Bird's Nest" sports stadium, and millions of proud Chinese applauding their country's success in hosting the Olympic Games. Instead, the world is seeing gangs of angry Tibetan rioters attacking their Han Chinese neighbours, and Buddhist monks demonstrating against Chinese rule. Since the 1989 unrest, which centred on Tiananmen Square but spread to Tibet, any protest has been suppressed quickly and effectively. But this time, initially, the Chinese hesitated. The government knew that nothing could be worse for China's reputation in this Olympic year than Tiananmen-type images of the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army firing on Tibetan demonstrators. So it flooded the streets with armour, in the hope that intimidation would do the trick. By Monday, Beijing had moved troops and paramilitary riot police into all sensitive areas, hoping to quash protest with a show of strength. Free Countries Must Defy Chinese Blackmail and Greet the Dalai Lama
Tuesday 25 March 2008 Last week, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised to meet the Dalai Lama when he comes to Britain in May. So should all other leaders of free countries, whenever the opportunity arises. Anything less would shame us all. And it wouldn't help China either. We face at least three difficulties in reacting to the unfolding tragedy of the Tibetans. We don't know enough about what's really going on, because the Chinese authorities are determined to prevent us finding out by expelling journalists, ratcheting up their customary censorship of the Internet, and telling lies. We feel impotent to prevent the horror unfolding. And we have to balance our deep sympathy with the Tibetans against our interest in a benign evolution of China. Appeasement of Beijing for short-term political and commercial gains is contemptible; trying to ensure that anything we do to help the Tibetans won't hinder the evolution of China is not. It's statecraft - and moral, too. Here's the good reason for not reacting to the repression of Buddhist monks in Tibet as we did to the repression of Buddhist monks in Burma. No, we shouldn't impose economic sanctions on the whole of China, as we do on Burma. Nor should we boycott the Beijing Olympics. There is too much at stake. The French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner has suggested that if the repression in China worsens - not only in Tibet, but also with the persecution of Chinese dissidents such as Hu Jia - European leaders might not participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. A threat worth making, perhaps, though it won't get far with his fellow EU foreign ministers when they meet next week. Dalai Lama: "I Am Prepared to Face China. I Will Go to Beijing"
Friday 21 March 2008
Dharamsala - Almost half a century after he fled to India, the Dalai Lama has raised the extraordinary prospect of travelling to Beijing and holding face-to-talks with the Chinese regime in an effort to resolve Tibet's most serious crisis for two decades.
Having watched helplessly from exile as his Tibetan homeland has suffered under Chinese rule, the man regarded as a living god by millions of his followers said yesterday that he was ready to negotiate personally with the Chinese leadership. The Dalai Lama, 73, acknowledged the difficulty associated with a face-to-face summit, but said he was even ready to meet President Hu Jintao, notorious in Tibet for his hardline approach when he served as Tibet's local Communist leader. "I am always ready to meet the Chinese leaders, and particularly Hu Jintao. I am very happy to meet," he told a small group of journalists at his office in Dharamsala. "But as I mentioned earlier, to go to Beijing and meet leaders ... that would be big news. Many Tibetans would think ... may develop some unrealistic expectations. I have to think very carefully."
While a visit to Beijing would leave him open to criticism of appeasing the Chinese, the undertaking the Dalai Lama gave yesterday underlines his desperate wish to avoid further bloodshed in the country of his birth.
Seeking to put pressure on China, he said he was willing to travel to Beijing in a matter of weeks if there was a "concrete indication" that the Chinese authorities were prepared to negotiate and if the protests in Tibet had concluded. His spokesman later confirmed that while he did not wish to simply provide the Chinese with a photo-opportunity that could be used against him, he was ready to discuss a "mutually agreeable solution" to the issue of Tibet.
Germany Warns China Olympics at Risk
Friday 21 March 2008
Berlin - Germany's foreign minister has warned China that its response to the crisis in Tibet may jeopardize the Summer Olympics in Beijing, a newspaper reported on Friday.
Frank Walter Steinmeier criticized the Chinese government's lack of transparency in the ongoing conflict, according to an interview with the newspaper Bild that will appear in Saturday's edition.
"This much is clear: the Olympic games don't work like they did 80 years ago," Steinmeier said according to an advance copy of the article made available by Bild Friday.
"You can't just host glamorous events for television while things are going topsy-turvy in your own backyard. The host has to allow thousands of journalists into the country - you won't be able to sweep anything under the rug."
Tibetans Say Several Died in Latest Riots
Friday 21 March 2008
Kangding, China - Tibetans in China's tense southwestern province of Sichuan said on Friday they believed police had killed several people in anti-Chinese riots there this week, disputing official claims none died.
China's official Xinhua news agency reported overnight that police shot and wounded four protesters this week in a heavily ethnic Tibetan part of the province, where protests broke out after anti-Chinese riots in neighboring Tibet a week ago.
The unrest has alarmed China, keen to look its best in the run-up to the August 8-24 Olympic Games in Beijing when it hopes to show the world it has arrived as a world power.
China Might Bar Tiananmen Broadcasts
Friday 21 March 2008
Beijing - China might bar live television broadcasts from Tiananmen Square during the Beijing Olympics, apparently unnerved by the recent outburst of unrest among Tibetans and fearful of protests in the heart of the Chinese capital.
A ban on live broadcasts would wreck the plans of NBC and other major international networks, who have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to broadcast the Aug. 8-24 games and are counting on eye-pleasing live shots from the iconic square.
The rethinking of Beijing's earlier promise to broadcasters comes as the government has poured troops into Tibetan areas wracked by anti-government protests this month and stepped up security in cities, airports and entertainment venues far from the unrest.
Pelosi Leads Delegation to Meet With Dalai Lama
-----begin copy of Pelosi press release-----
Contact: Brendan Daly/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
Friday, March 21, 2008
Pelosi Leads Bipartisan Delegation to Meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India
Dharamsala, India - Today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a bipartisan delegation to express support for the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to discuss the current situation in Tibet.
The delegation was welcomed to the community by thousands of Tibetans in a ceremony led by Speaker Karma Choephel of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. The delegation then proceeded to an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama where they discussed issues relating to Tibet and the plight of Tibetan refugees in India.
In the afternoon, the delegation visited the Tibetan Children's Village, supported in part with U.S. assistance, that educates and looks after thousands of Tibetan children, most of whom are orphans and new refugees from Tibet. The delegation also met with Tibetan monks, nuns, and children who recently escaped Tibet over the perilous Himalayan mountain passes.
Pelosi Denounces Tibet Crackdown
Friday 21 March 2008
Dharmsala, India - House speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the world Friday to denounce China's crackdown of anti-government protests in Tibet, calling the crisis "a challenge to the conscience of the world."
Pelosi, one of the fiercest Congressional critics of China, was greeted by cheering Tibetans as she arrived to meet the Dalai Lama. She is the first major official to visit the leader of Tibet's exile community since peaceful protests turned violent last week in the Chinese-ruled region.
"If freedom loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world," Pelosi said before a crowd of thousands of Tibetans, including monks and schoolchildren.
China Blankets Tibetan Areas With Troops
Thursday 20 March 2008
Zhongdian, China - China blanketed restive Tibetan areas Thursday with a huge buildup of troops, turning small towns across a wide swath of western China into armed encampments.
Beijing acknowledged that last week's anti-government protests had spread far beyond Tibet's borders and that police opened fire on protesters. It warned foreign tourists and journalists to stay away from a huge expanse of territory across four provinces.
In an overture of peace, the Dalai Lama offered to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders, reiterating that he was not asking for Tibetan independence.
Simmering Resentments Led to Tibetan Backlash
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Beijing - Chinese leaders have blamed "splittists" led by the exiled Dalai Lama for spurring violent protests in Tibet and orchestrating a public relations sneak attack on the Communist Party, as they gear up to play host to the Olympics Games this summer.
But to many Tibetans and their sympathizers, the weeklong uprising against Chinese rule in Lhasa reflects years of simmering resentment over Beijing's interference in Buddhist religious rites, its tightened political control and the destruction of the environment across the Himalayan territory the Tibetans consider sacred. If there is a surprise, it may be that Beijing has managed to keep things stable for so long.
Since the last big anti-Chinese riots in Tibet two decades ago, Beijing has sought to smother Tibetan separatism by sparking economic development and by inserting itself into the metaphysics of Tibetan Buddhism. But an influx of Han Chinese to Tibet, and a growing sense among Tibetans that China is irreparably altering their way of life, produced a backlash when Communist Party leaders most needed stability there, analysts say.
China Tries to Thwart News Reports From Tibet
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Beijing - The Chinese government is restricting foreign journalists from entering Tibet and neighboring areas, and blocking some news, video and Internet reports about the protests there from appearing inside China, according to journalists working here.
For the past few days, CNN, the BBC, Google News, Yahoo and YouTube have been blocked or have faced temporary blackouts or service disruptions in some parts of China. Some foreign journalists also say their e-mail service has been disrupted.
Such measures are not unusual here. China strictly censors news that appears in the Chinese media and occasionally disrupts the activities of international news organizations and foreign Web sites operating in China, particularly if the content they are distributing is deemed politically offensive to the government.
Worldwide Protests Over Tibet Crackdown
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Sydney, Australia - Protesters in Australia burned Chinese flags Tuesday and police arrested 50 activists in Nepal during renewed demonstrations against Beijing's crackdown on Tibet.
In Sydney, about 100 Tibetan immigrants and supporters, many of them weeping, waved flags, photos of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, and signs calling for freedom for Tibet. They demanded that Chinese authorities stop killing their countrymen.
The protesters also burned Chinese flags while more than 20 police kept order outside the Chinese consulate in Australia's largest city.
Dalai Lama Says He Would Step Down if Tibet Violence Spirals Out of Control
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Dharmsala, India - The Dalai Lama threatened today to step down as leader of Tibet's government-in-exile if violence committed by Tibetans in his homeland spirals out of control.
The rioting prompted Premier Wen Jiabao to denounce the Dalai Lama's supporters as separatists and accuse them of instigating the violence in Tibet's capital of Lhasa. It was China's highest-level response to date to the unrest.
The Dalai Lama, speaking to reporters, urged his countrymen to show restraint.
Tibet and the Ghosts of Tiananmen
Monday 17 March 2008
It is still nearly five months before the Olympic torch is to be lit in Beijing, officially starting the 29th summer Olympics. But, diplomats in the Chinese capital believe that a high level game of chicken has already begun, one that has now turned deadly - first, in Lhasa, the capital of what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region, and now elsewhere, according to Tibetan exiles and human rights groups.
Yesterday, in China's Sichuan province, at least eight bodies were brought to a Buddhist monastery in Aba prefecture, allegedly shot dead by Chinese riot control police, according to an eyewitness account quoted by Radio Free Asia. The escalating confrontation in and around Tibet is a nightmare for China's top leadership, but one, some diplomats believe, that could not have taken anyone in the central government completely by surprise. It pits the leadership in Beijing against its domestic opponents - who include not only Tibetan dissidents, but also separatist groups in the heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang, as well as human rights and political activists throughout the country.
Each side understood that the months leading up to the Games would be "extremely sensitive," as one diplomat put it. The government knew "from day one," another diplomat told TIME, that "a successful bid for the games would bring an unprecedented - and in some cases very harsh - spotlight" on China and how it is governed. On the other side, everyone from human rights activists to independence seeking dissidents in Tibet and Xinjiang - "splittists" in the Chinese vernacular - knew they would have an opportunity to push their agendas while the world was watching. "Thought the specific trigger for this in Tibet is still unclear, that it intensified so quickly is probably not just an accident," the senior diplomat says.
Tibetan Refugees Brave Perilous Journey to Freedom
Monday 17 March 2008
Kunde, Nepal - As he slipped off a shoe to display a severely frostbitten foot, Pema Tsering acknowledged that he made a dire mistake at the beginning of an arduous trek over the Himalayas from Tibet to freedom in Nepal.
He forgot to bring plastic bags.
When he forded a stream with his younger brother early this year, he wasn't able to keep his feet dry in the icy water, and it seeped into his canvas shoes.
China "Holds Tibetan Dissidents"
Monday 17 March 2008
Security forces in the Tibetan city of Lhasa are rounding up dissidents, exiled Tibetans say, as a deadline approaches for protesters to surrender.
China has given demonstrators in the city until midnight (1600 GMT) to give themselves up or face punishment.
Dozens are feared dead after days of rioting in Lhasa, with each side accusing the other of excessive force.
China Blocks YouTube After Videos of Tibet Protests Are Posted
Monday 17 March 2008
Beijing - Internet users in China were blocked from seeing YouTube.com on Sunday after dozens of videos about protests in Tibet appeared on the popular American video Web site.
The blocking added to the Communist government's efforts to control what the public saw and heard about protests that erupted Friday in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, against Chinese rule.
Access to YouTube.com, usually readily available in China, was blocked after videos appeared on the site Saturday showing foreign news reports about the Lhasa demonstrations, montages of photos and scenes from Tibet-related protests abroad.
Several People Are Injured at Chinese Consulate Protest
Sunday 16 March 2008
A demonstration in front of the Chinese consulate in Midtown Manhattan briefly turned violent on Saturday morning, with protesters throwing rocks at the building as police officers tried to get them off the street, according to demonstrators and the police.
Several people, including three police officers, sustained minor injuries, according to the Fire Department.
The police said there were several arrests.
Nepal Puts Everest Off Limits During China's Olympic Torch Relay in May
Saturday 15 March 2008
New Delhi - There are two routes to the world's highest peak, and both are scheduled to be off limits to mountaineers this spring, as Beijing strives to inaugurate the Summer Olympics free of pro-Tibetan protests.
Chinese authorities confirmed this week that the route to the summit of Mount Everest along its north face, in Tibet, would be closed. Now, Nepal has decided that from May 1 to 10, when China has said the Olympic torch will be carried to the summit, no one will be allowed to climb up the south face, in Nepal, though apparently it has not yet clarified its new restrictions to tour operators planning expeditions.
Nepal's tourism minister, Prithvi Subba Gurung, said in a telephone interview on Thursday that the Chinese government had appealed to his administration to help prevent disruptions to the Olympic torch ceremony. "Expedition teams will not be allowed to ascend Mount Everest from the base camp" on the Nepal side, he said.
China's Contradiction in Tibet
Saturday 15 March 2008
With their violent crackdown on Buddhist monks and laypeople conducting peaceful protests this week in Tibet, Chinese authorities gave themselves just the sort of publicity they have been trying to avoid before their Summer Olympics. But when it comes to religious freedom, free speech or political autonomy for a conquered land, the government in Beijing is the leopard that cannot change its spots.
No doubt the regime was embarrassed by processions of monks chanting "Long live the Dalai Lama!" and "The Dalai Lama should return to Tibet!" Beijing pretends that the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate has become irrelevant to his compatriots; that Tibetans are grateful for the economic development that has accompanied a flood of Han Chinese into Tibet; and that Chinese officials have stamped out Tibetan yearnings for independence, or at least more autonomy.
The greater embarrassment, however, is that China can find no better way than brute force to cope with the peaceful expression of Tibetan grievances. Soldiers and armed paramilitary police were seen this week beating and arresting monks who left their monasteries in mournful commemoration of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, which Maoist China put down with ruthless military repression.
Tibet Governor Promises Harsh Consequences
Monday 17 March 2008
Beijing - Tibet's governor promised leniency to anti-Chinese protesters who turned themselves in before the end of Monday - and harsh consequences for those who don't - while troops fanned out to quell sympathy protests that have spread to three neighboring provinces.
Champa Phuntsok said last week's violent demonstrations in the regional capital of Lhasa left 16 dead and dozens injured. Unconfirmed reports from Tibetan exile groups put the death toll at 80, a claim he denied.
The uprising, the fiercest against Chinese rule in the region in almost two decades, has embarrassed China's communist government and undermined its efforts to have an unblemished run-up to the Beijing Olympics.
Curbs on Protest in Tibet Lashed by Dalai Lama
Monday 17 March 2008
Dharamsala, India - The Dalai Lama accused China on Sunday of waging "cultural genocide" against his followers in Tibet and called for an international inquiry into the suppression of protests there, his strongest defense to date of Tibetan Buddhists who have staged an uprising against Chinese rule.
Speaking at the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile, the Dalai Lama endorsed the right of his people to press grievances peacefully against the Chinese authorities, and said he would not ask Tibetans to surrender to Chinese military police by midnight on Monday, as Beijing has demanded. He said that he had no moral authority to do so and that Tibetans had beseeched him not to capitulate to that demand.
"Whether the Chinese government admits it or not, a nation with an ancient cultural heritage is actually facing serious dangers," the Dalai Lama told reporters during an emotionally charged news conference here. "Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place."
China Cracks Down in Tibet and Beyond as Protests Spread
Sunday 16 March 2008
Xiahe, China - The spread of protests from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, to neighboring communities and now Gansu province represents a crisis for a government eager to project an image of friendly confidence and cultural refinement in advance of the Beijing Olympics.
On Saturday, a massive police presence could be seen blanketing Xiahe, a holy city outside Tibet that houses the sprawling Labrang Monastery complex, one of the most revered in Tibetan Buddhism.
By early today, the cordon in Xiahe had tightened further as English-speaking police were stopping all vehicles for miles and forcing foreigners to turn around or, if they were on local transportation, to climb down. Heavy Presence of Chinese Police Quells Rioting in Tibet's Capital
Sunday 16 March 2008
Beijing - Chinese police flooded into the streets of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Saturday to smother riots that have destroyed scores of Chinese-owned businesses and left at least 10 people dead. Officials demanded that the rioters surrender by midnight Monday, and shopkeepers cowered in their stores as tourists fled the city.
Lhasa, a renowned tourist destination high on a Himalayan plateau, was generally quiet a day after the protests against Chinese rule became violent, according to official reports and tourists and residents contacted by telephone. Armed patrols tightly controlled traffic in the middle of town and sealed off the Buddhist monasteries that have traditionally been centers of anti-Chinese sentiment, they said.
"They have closed Lhasa down," said David McGhie, 49, a British tourist who arrived in the city by train at the height of the rioting Friday afternoon and planned to leave as soon as possible. "Clearly, we're not going to see Lhasa."
Exile Group Says 30 Killed in Tibet
Saturday 15 March 2008
Beijing - China ordered tourists out of Tibet's capital Saturday while troops on foot and in armored vehicles patrolled the streets and confined government workers to their offices, a day after riots that a Tibetan exile group said left at least 30 protesters dead.
The demonstrations against Chinese rule of Tibet are the largest and most violent in the region in nearly two decades. They have spread to other areas of China as well as neighboring Nepal and India.
In the western province of Gansu, police fired tear gas Saturday to disperse Buddhist monks and others staging a second day of protests in sympathy with anti-Chinese demonstrations in Lhasa, local residents said.
Chinese Forces Say They've Secured Tibet's Capital
Saturday 15 March 2008
Beijing - Thousands of Buddhist monks and other Tibetans clashed with the riot police in a second Chinese city on Saturday, while the authorities said they had regained control of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, a day after a rampaging mob ransacked shops and set fire to cars and storefronts in a deadly riot.
Conflicting reports emerged about the violence in Lhasa on Friday. The Chinese authorities denied that they had fired on protesters there, but Tibetan leaders in India told news agencies on Saturday that they had confirmed that 30 Tibetans had died and that they had unconfirmed reports that put the number at more than 100.
Demonstrations erupted for the second consecutive day in the city of Xiahe in Gansu Province, where an estimated 4,000 Tibetans gathered near the Labrang Monastery. Local monks had held a smaller protest on Friday, but the confrontation escalated Saturday afternoon, according to witnesses and Tibetans in India who spoke with protesters by telephone.
Monk Protests in Tibet Draw Chinese Security
Friday 14 March 2008
Beijing - Chinese security forces were reportedly surrounding three monasteries outside Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, on Thursday after hundreds of monks took to the streets this week in what are believed to be the largest Tibetan protests against Chinese rule in two decades.
The turmoil in Lhasa occurred at a politically delicate time for China, which is facing increasing criticism over its human rights record as it prepares to play host to the Olympic Games in August and is seeking to appear harmonious to the outside world.
Beijing has kept a tight lid on dissent before the Games. But people with grievances against the governing Communist Party have tried to promote their causes when top officials may be wary of cracking down by using force.
Shops on Fire Amid Tibet Protests
Friday 14 March 2008
Fires have broken out in the Tibetan city of Lhasa, Chinese state media reports say, as rare street protests in the province appear to gather pace.
Xinhua news agency said witnesses described shops being set on fire.
Rallies by monks have continued through the week, in what campaign groups say are the largest protests against Beijing's rule in 20 years.
Tibetan Exiles Go On Hunger Strike
Thursday 13 March 2008
Dehra, India - More than 100 Tibetan exiles began a hunger strike Thursday after police in northern India dragged them away from a six-month march to their homeland to protest China's hosting of the Olympic Games.
The demonstrators had vowed to march from India to Tibet to coincide with the start of the Aug. 8-24 Games. Indian officials - fearing the march would embarrass China - banned the exiles from leaving the Kangra district that surrounds the city of Dharmsala - the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India.
The exiles resisted arrest by sitting or lying down, but they were hauled into police buses here in the town of Dehra, about 12 miles from the district boundary. Some wept or shouted "Free Tibet!" and other slogans, but there was no violence, witnesses said.
Military, Police at Tibetan Monasteries
Thursday 13 March 2008
Beijing - Soldiers and police have been deployed around two Buddhist monasteries in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa where monks launched protests against Chinese rule earlier this week, witnesses and residents said Thursday.
A man who answered the phone at the Sera monastery said monks have been confined inside its walls, shut off from outside contact, and are relying on dwindling food supplies.
The monastery was "surrounded by many people," said the man, who refused to identify himself or say whether he was a monk.
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