Tue, Aug 19, 2008 page1

• Tibet activists accuse China of increased repression

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  China has stepped up repression in its ethnic Tibetan regions to prevent any protests during the Beijing Olympics, an activist group said yesterday.

  “To prevent potentially embarrassing protests inside Tibet, China has turned large parts of Tibet into a virtual prison for the duration of the Games,” Matt Whitticase, spokesman for the Free Tibet Campaign, said in a statement.

  China poured security forces into its Tibetan areas after riots in March to quell the unrest, and the Free Tibet Campaign said the military build-up was accompanied by policies aimed at punishing activist monks and monasteries.

  China’s Foreign Ministry did not have any immediate comment.

  But an editorial in the state-run China Daily said foreign countries had been unfairly critical of Beijing’s treatment of its ethnic minorities: “Many should feel ashamed of their groundless accusations once they know what the Chinese government has done for ethnic minorities.”

  China is planning to build six new railway lines in and around Tibet that will go into operation before 2020, the Ministry of Railways said in an announcement on its Web site on Saturday.

  It said two of the new lines would run from Lhasa to other areas in Tibet, while the other four would be built in other provinces on the Tibetan plateau.

  In other developments, the government received 77 applications from 149 people who wanted to hold protests during the Olympics, but all were withdrawn, suspended or rejected, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

  The complaints ranged from labor and medical disputes to inadequate welfare, it said.

  Citing a spokesman for the Public Security Bureau, Xinhua said 74 of the applications were withdrawn because the problems “were properly addressed by relevant authorities or departments through consultations.” Two other applications were suspended because they did not provide sufficient data and one was rejected because it violated laws against demonstrations and protests, the spokesman said.

  Human rights groups and families of people who have applied for permits to protest say some were taken away afterward by security agents, prompting critics to accuse officials of using the plan as a trap to draw potential protesters to their attention.

  Wang Wei (王偉), vice president of the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, yesterday defended the protest plan to journalists.

  “Many problems have not been solved, not even by the United Nations, and some want them to be solved during the Olympic Games, putting pressure on the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing Olympic Committee,” Wang said. “This is not realistic ... We think that you do not really understand China’s reality.”

  A

  China has stepped up repression in its ethnic Tibetan regions to prevent any protests during the Beijing Olympics, an activist group said yesterday.

  “To prevent potentially embarrassing protests inside Tibet, China has turned large parts of Tibet into a virtual prison for the duration of the Games,” Matt Whitticase, spokesman for the Free Tibet Campaign, said in a statement.

  China poured security forces into its Tibetan areas after riots in March to quell the unrest, and the Free Tibet Campaign said the military build-up was accompanied by policies aimed at punishing activist monks and monasteries.

  China’s Foreign Ministry did not have any immediate comment.

  But an editorial in the state-run China Daily said foreign countries had been unfairly critical of Beijing’s treatment of its ethnic minorities: “Many should feel ashamed of their groundless accusations once they know what the Chinese government has done for ethnic minorities.”

  China is planning to build six new railway lines in and around Tibet that will go into operation before 2020, the Ministry of Railways said in an announcement on its Web site on Saturday.

  It said two of the new lines would run from Lhasa to other areas in Tibet, while the other four would be built in other provinces on the Tibetan plateau.

  In other developments, the government received 77 applications from 149 people who wanted to hold protests during the Olympics, but all were withdrawn, suspended or rejected, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

  The complaints ranged from labor and medical disputes to inadequate welfare, it said.

  Citing a spokesman for the Public Security Bureau, Xinhua said 74 of the applications were withdrawn because the problems “were properly addressed by relevant authorities or departments through consultations.” Two other applications were suspended because they did not provide sufficient data and one was rejected because it violated laws against demonstrations and protests, the spokesman said.

  Human rights groups and families of people who have applied for permits to protest say some were taken away afterward by security agents, prompting critics to accuse officials of using the plan as a trap to draw potential protesters to their attention.

  Wang Wei (王偉), vice president of the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, yesterday defended the protest plan to journalists.

  “Many problems have not been solved, not even by the United Nations, and some want them to be solved during the Olympic Games, putting pressure on the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing Olympic Committee,” Wang said. “This is not realistic ... We think that you do not really understand China’s reality.”

  Also See: China confiscates Bibles from US Christians
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