US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi had harsh words for China as she met the Dalai Lama in India.
"The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world," said Pelosi, who was greeted by thousands of flag-waving Tibetan exiles as she arrived in Dharamsala yesterday for talks with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.
"What is happening, the world needs to know," she said.
China stepped up its pressure on Tibetan protesters yesterday, releasing photos of wanted suspects who were captured on film in the worst rioting against Chinese rule in Tibet in nearly 20 years.
But with security forces pouring into Tibet and other Tibetan-populated areas of China, rights groups and activists warned of mass arrests and the possible torture of those taken into custody.
Faced with international concern over its handling of the unrest that erupted last week against Chinese rule in Tibet, state media acknowledged for the first time that police had fired on protesters.
After days of official statements that no lethal force had been used to quash the unrest, which has left an unknown number dead, state news agency Xinhua reported late on Thursday that four people had been shot and wounded.
It said police shot the four in Sichuan Province in "self-defense."
Pro-Tibet groups poured scorn on the report.
"At this point any statement the Chinese government puts out has virtually no credibility," said Lhadon Tethong from Students for a Free Tibet.
Officially, China has indicated that 13 people were killed in the rioting that broke out in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, and spread to other areas. The victims, it said, were all innocent civilians killed by Tibetan "mobs."
But the Tibetan exile government of the Dalai Lama based in Dharamsala said it has confirmed 99 people were killed in the Chinese crackdown.
China yesterday released a most-wanted list of 19 people caught on film taking part in the Lhasa riots, amid warnings by activist groups of harsh reprisals.
The photos, which appeared on top Web sites such as yahoo.com and sina.com, were from grainy footage taken during the unrest.
The state-controlled Tibet Daily later said two of the 19 alleged perpetrators had already been taken into custody.
The unrest has come at a sensitive time for China's rulers, with the Beijing Olympics fewer than five months away.
The US State Department is advising Americans planning to attend the Olympic Games in China to be mindful that they could be under surveillance.
"All hotel rooms and offices are considered to be subject to onsite or remote technical monitoring at all times," the department's Bureau of Consular Affairs advised on Thursday. "Hotel rooms, residences and offices may be accessed at any time without the occupant's consent or knowledge."
Americans with dual Chinese citizenship were counseled to travel on their US passport so that the US consular affairs office can help them if they are arrested or detained by local authorities for any reason.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
RSS