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Sarkozy not welcome at Olympics, say China media Thu Jul 3, 2008 6:35am EDT By Chris Buckley BEIJING (Reuters) - China made a barely veiled swipe at French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday and state media warned he can expect a cold public shoulder if he attends the Beijing Olympics after he threatened not to go over Tibet. Sarkozy has said he will decide next week whether to attend the opening of the Games in August, with his choice depending on how talks go between Beijing and the Dalai Lama's envoys. China often lashes out at foreign leaders for meeting...

Tibet and China by: Melinda Zosh, July 03, 2008 Dr. Warren Smith Jr., author of China’s Tibet?, recently said that the March 14 riots in Tibet were the largest since 1989 and the bloodiest since 1959. With the Olympic games quickly approaching, China is trying to cover up its acts of violence. Smith, a New Age thinker, spoke at the Heritage Foundation on June 17 about Chinese-Tibetan relations, Tibet’s bloody past, and the country’s uncertain future. “….The popular Tibetan reaction has had an air of finality, even desperation, about it, as though 2008 is the last chance Tibetans may have...

It is interesting to see the world’s worst human rights abuser call for a wall to stop people fleeing from their human rights abuse. "Tibetans fleeing from China come to Nepal on way to India through this open border," officials in Beijing were quoted as saying by ''Nepal'' weekly. They want Nepal to stop the common people flee Tibet and take refuge under Dalai Lama in India. But how about treating Tibetans like human beings? How about stopping illegal occupation of Tibet? How about allowing Tibetans worship their God and choose their leaders? The Chinese occupation of Tibet must come...

PLA's rapid reaction capability in Tibet By Andrei Chang Published: June 27, 2008 Hong Kong, China — The eruption of riots in Tibet in March reflected an increasingly complicated political situation there, involving both internal and external factors. Internally, the peaceful and nonviolent approach of the Dalai Lama toward China has encountered greater resistance from the young generation of Tibetans, and the Dalai Lama’s political relevance has been gradually marginalized as a result. Externally, India’s China policy is now at a critical point, and India-China relations are likely to slip backward if they fail to quickly progress. India is adjusting...

China has always been very quick to demand apologies from countries that say or do things that “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.” This year, companies like Carrefour and CNN, and people like Nancy Pelosi and Sharon Stone have experienced the wrath of the Chinese public when their actions or words were perceived to be inflammatory or damaging to China’s reputation. Is it now not time for China to issue an apology of its own for hurting the feelings of the world with the statements that were made by Comrade Zhang in Tibet? After all, the 2008 Olympic Games,...

More Tibetan Protests 2008-06-12 Five Tibetans are arrested for protesting in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, amid sporadic demonstrations against Chinese rule. RFA HONG KONG—Small groups of Tibetans in the southwestern province of Sichuan have staged more protests against Chinese rule despite a major security clampdown after protests and rioting by anti-Chinese protesters this year. "There were about four or five protesters [Wednesday]," a resident of Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan said. "They are at the intersection of two roads downtown. There were no such protests during the past few days, but there are...

Hollywood, CA (BANG) - Sharon Stone has been dropped from Christian Dior's Chinese adverts. The 'Basic Instinct' star - who suggested the devastating natural disaster in the Sichuan province on May 12 was "karma" for their government's treatment of Tibet - will no longer appear in the French fashion house's campaign in the Far East country even though she has now apologized. Stone said in a statement released by Dior: "Due to my inappropriate words and acts during the interview, I feel deeply sorry and sad about hurting the Chinese people.""I am willing to take part in the relief work...

Christian Dior, the French fashion brand, has become the latest global company to learn a hard lesson about the danger of offending Chinese sensitivities. Facing the possibility of a boycott of its products, the luxury company said Thursday that it had dropped the American actress Sharon Stone from its advertising in China after she suggested last week that the recent earthquakes in Sichuan Province were karmic retribution for Beijing’s treatment of Tibet.

Hollywood star Sharon Stone has apologised for suggesting China's earthquake was bad "karma" for its handling of Tibet, but Christian Dior on Thursday dropped her from its local ads amid a public uproar. The 50-year-old US actress offered to help with relief efforts after the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 people, in an effort to smooth over tensions sparked by her controversial comments at the Cannes Film Festival last week. "My erroneous words and deeds angered and saddened the Chinese people, and I sincerely apologise for this," she said in a statement issued by Dior China and sent...

It was back to 'business as usual' for the Chinese government on Saturday when it condemned Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown and members of the British Parliament for meeting with the Dalai Lama. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing was quoted as saying that the meeting in Britain "interferes in China's internal affairs and hurts the Chinese people's feelings as well." Britain is just one country in a list of countries that China has criticized for meeting with the Dalai Lama.

In an effort to publicize the plight of Tibet, the Dalai Lama protests the Beijing Olympics by wearing a hat imported from China.

So why else might the CCP be more willing this time to share information with its citizens and the world? One word says it all. Tibet. Does anyone remember Tibet? It is a province in South Western China that up until last Monday was basking in the world spotlight as Tibetans and their supporters attempted to portray what they view as ‘cultural genocide’ and ‘religious opression.’ No one that I know of is suggesting that the Chinese government somehow artifically created the earthquake to take the world’s attention off Tibet and human rights or that they are happy with event....

I do not know if this article suit to be posted here, but I just want to speak something. Today when I went to NYT and an review attracted my attention, title "fed up with peace" (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/opinion/18kristof.html). This article frightens me. There it covered a monk who claimed that he( Dalai Lama) has been too peaceful over the China, and they should take some actions more violent, especially when he is gone. It depicts that this impatience seems widespread among young Tibetans , and remarks that the Dalai Lama should return Tibet as a spiritual leader and own more rights....

A soldier holds back relatives trying to enter a collapsed school building The parents of an earthquake victim mourn near their child's body at the site of a collapsed school building in Dujiangyan A boy is rescued from the debris of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Dujiangyan, Sichuan province May 13, 2008. A student helps a schoolmate trapped in the ruins of a collapsed school building in the earthquake-affected Beichuan county, Sichuan province Soldiers carry a wounded person out of the debris of a collapsed building in the earthquake-affected Beichuan county DUJIANGYAN, China — The children who...

Nepalese police have arrested some 560 Tibetan women, including many Buddhist nuns, after breaking up demonstrations against China's crackdown in Tibet. In the first example of all-women protests, three rallies in Kathmandu were quickly stopped by police. It was the biggest round-up since Tibetan exiles began near daily demonstrations in March. Protestors wearing black armbands wept and shouted "We want free Tibet" as they were dragged to police vans. Police said those detained were being held in detention centres around the capital, and would be freed later.

Japanese officials have said that the Tokyo’s zoo has been flooded with calls to refuse a pair of pandas offered by Chinese President Hu Jintao, fearing that the money from the lease would fund Beijing's clampdown in Tibet. "We have received many calls from ordinary citizens who sometimes hysterically condemn" the proposal, said Hidemasa Hori, an Ueno Zoo official. "There are others who call and say that Japan doesn't need to bow its head and pay money just to rent the pandas," he added. Many callers cited China's crackdown on protests in Tibet, saying that the issue "is not really...

Demonised in the West as goons guarding the Olympic torch along its chaotic world tour, these pictures show how China's paramilitary police learn their unwavering discipline. Officers of the People Paramilitary Police preparing for the Olympics are drilled on the parade ground with pins in their collars and crosses on their backs to ensure perfect posture. But instead of the blue tracksuits members wore while escorting the flame, they are kitted out in full dress uniform during the exercise at their base in Shenyang, Liaoning province.

BEIJING - A Chinese mountaineering team took the Olympic flame to the top of the world Thursday, a spectacular feat dreamed up to underscore China’s ambitions for the Beijing games. The climbers could be heard struggling for breath in a live television broadcast as five torchbearers each shuffled a few feet before passing on the flame to the next person. A colorful Tibetan prayer flag lined the path and fluttered in the wind. The final torchbearer, a Tibetan woman named Cering Wangmo, stood silently on the peak with her torch while other team members unfurled small Chinese and Olympic flags....

BEIJING: Beijing came out with a fresh assessment of the Tibet situation on Monday, one in which it accused the Tibetan Young Congress (TYC) of links with the al-Qaida and terrorist organisations involved in the East Turkmenistan movement in west China's Xinjiang province. The analysis, released by the official Xinhua news agency, said that Dalai Lama's government-in-exile in India consists of several TYC leaders and cadre. "The TYC has become a terrorist organization as concepts of violence have taken root within it," Xinhua quoted official Tibetologist Liu Hongji as saying in an interview. "The group's shadow was evident when the...

SANYA, China (AP) -- After a much-protested journey, the Olympic torch reached this southern Chinese seaside resort Saturday night, beginning what organizers and Chinese citizens promised would be a trouble-free national tour.

POLICE in China have shot dead an alleged Tibetan independence "insurgent" in northwestern China, state press reports. It is the first official admission that authorities have killed anyone during recent unrest. A police oficer was also killed in the gunfight between the suspected insurgents and security officials. Xinhua said there had been a riot in Qinghai's Dari County incited by "a handful of people alleged to be insurgents seeking Tibetan independence, following anti-Chinese protests in Lhasa in March. "After a month-long investigation, the police moved on Monday to arrest the suspected leader. The suspect resisted arrest and gunfire broke out,"...

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say. The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning. But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper. Tibet independence The factory owner reportedly told police the emblems had been ordered from outside China, and he did not know that they stood for an independent Tibet....

My name is Jessie from the United States; I am 30-years-old,i`m a career woman. I work in an insurance company, learning Chinese almost a year. China's Tibet after the incident, I have read many Chinese sites, though not all understand, but a year of learning is not wasted. I found that our own media reports in China and Tibet there are many things inconsistent, in some cases are completely reversed the facts, when I heard C-N-N's Jack Cafferty with the insulting remarks at a shame, I do not know Whether they live in a stress on democracy and freedom, speaking...

China has been in the news of late over the Tibetan issue, which also impacts India in a major way. To put Sino-Indian relations into perspective, it is necessary to look at from a historical as well as a strategic context. Let me begin from the Second Opium War in1860 in which Indian troops took part. Four brigades of British and Indian infantry (Sikh Regiment, Madras Regiment, Bombay Native Infantry and the Ludhiana Rifles) and one cavalry brigade, which included Probyn’s Horse, took part in these operations, in which the Summer Palace in Peking was sacked and looted. I recall...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean defectors vowed Saturday to disrupt the South Korean leg of the Olympic torch relay in protest of China's repatriation of refugees to the North where they could face execution. The demonstration would add to the chorus of protests that has dogged the torch's global tour, focusing attention on unrest in Tibetan areas of China and Beijing's human rights record. Han Chang Kwon, head of a coalition of groups representing North Korean defectors in South Korea, told The Associated Press that the protest at the Seoul relay on Sunday could become violent. He did...

Officials from the Chinese Government are to hold a meeting "in the coming days" with a representative of the Dalai Lama, the state-controlled Xinhua news agency reported today. “In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days,” Xinhua said, quoting an unidentified Chinese official. The rare, but not unprecedented contact, follows a recent crackdown in Tibet and global protests against the Beijing Olympic torch relay.

A Chinese primary school teacher and a beautician have filed a suit against CNN in New York over remarks they say insulted the Chinese people and are seeking $1.3 billion in compensation -- $1 per person in China, a Hong Kong newspaper reported. The case against the Atlanta-based cable channel, its parent company Turner Broadcasting and Jack Cafferty, the offending commentator, comes after 14 lawyers launched a similar suit in Beijing alleging that Cafferty's remarks earlier this month violated the dignity and reputation of the Chinese people. Cafferty said the United States imported Chinese-made "junk with the lead paint on...

April 24, 2008 Chinese spectators 'attacked Tibet protesters at Canberra torch relay' Paul Larter, in Brisbane Mobs of Chinese supporters were accused of assaulting pro-Tibet campaigners on the sidelines of the Olympic torch relay in Australia today as scuffles broke out and at least seven protesters were arrested. There was none of the violence or disruption that marred the torch relay in London or Paris, and the Olympic flame travelled uninterrupted through Canberra, the capital. But observers said that behind the barricades Chinese nationals assaulted Tibetan activists and tore down their flags. Confrontations between an estimated 15,000 China supporters and...

BEIJING -- European business officials warned Wednesday that anti-French protests in China could spark a backlash against Chinese exports, while reports surfaced that protesters had confronted an American outside an outlet of French retailer Carrefour. The incident with the American occurred when dozens of protesters confronted 22-year-old James Galvin, an English teacher working in the southern city of Zhuzhou, mistakenly thinking he might have been French. Galvin was quickly whisked away by police and was not hurt in the Sunday incident, said Helen Claire Sievers, executive director of the WorldTeach program based in Cambridge, Mass. "It was frightening for him...

China visa curbs criticised by foreigners Reuters - Friday, April 18 12:21 pm HONG KONG (Reuters) - Foreigners travelling to China from Hong Kong are being subjected to new visa restrictions ahead of the Beijing Olympics, which one foreign business chamber has criticised as inflexible, costly and lacking transparency. (Advertisement) Hong Kong, a gateway to China for foreign businessmen given the convenience of shuttling across the border on swiftly obtained China visas, was hit this week by tightened rules amid increased security just months before the Games begin. Citizens of 33 countries, including India, Pakistan, Iraq and Nepal, have been...

Not shopping at Wal-Mart is inconvenient and costly, but just as I was weaning myself off Sam’s Choice animal crackers, it turns out that avoiding the only place that will sell you The Breakfast Club for $5 is not enough. The liberal yuppie peer pressure has moved on to boycotting all products made in China. Would you like me to stop breathing to not pollute the environment while I’m at it too? Actually, don’t answer that. The new pet project of the J.Crew-clad Inquisition has the right foundation – China’s record of human rights abuses in prisons and in the...

For days, Lobsang Gendun has been staying in a hotel, avoiding his telephone and trying to duck an Olympic firestorm that he had no part in creating. Since last week, when his name was mistakenly linked to a protester in Paris who tried to snatch the Olympic torch from an athlete in a wheelchair, Gendun has been inundated with blistering and sometimes threatening phone calls and e-mails. Internet sites posted his name, address, phone number and even a map of his neighborhood along with inflammatory comments. His employer has been accused of keeping a "terrorist" on the payroll. It's true...

China on Thursday snubbed an apology from CNN over remarks by one of its commentators as a wave of verbal assaults on foreign media raised concerns over coverage at this summer's Beijing Olympics. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu rejected CNN's explanation that commentator Jack Cafferty was referring to China's leaders - not the Chinese people - when he described them as "goons and thugs." CNN said it apologized to anyone who thought otherwise. But Jiang said at a regularly scheduled news conference that the CNN statement lacked sincerity and instead "turned its attack on the Chinese government to try to...

Global Warming: A new study will confirm China is the world's No. 1 polluter, not including the carbon emitted by carrying around the Olympic flame. So why does the U.N. want it exempted from carbon restrictions?In a report to be published next month in the Journal of Environment Economics and Management, a University of California, Berkeley, research team will say China has overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest polluter and that current computer models substantially underestimate future emissions growth in China. The report, based on provincial-level data from the Chinese Environmental Protection Agency, says China probably passed the U.S....

European business officials warn China over consequences of boycott BEIJING - EUROPEAN business officials warned on Wednesday that calls in China for a boycott of French products since the raucous Olympic torch relay in Paris could spark a backlash against Chinese exports. France and high-profile French retailer Carrefour have been singled out by Chinese nationalists who saw the April 7 protests against the torch relay by pro-Tibetan groups and others as an insult to their national pride. Anger climaxed this past weekend with protests at the French Embassy in Beijing and at Carrefour outlets in at least nine Chinese cities....

BEIJING — Armed with her laptop and her indignation, Zhu Xiaomeng sits in her dorm room here, stoking a popular backlash against Western support for Tibet that has unnerved foreign investors and Western diplomats and, increasingly, the ruling Communist Party Over the last week, Ms. Zhu and her classmates have been channeling anger over anti-China protests during the tumultuous Olympic torch relay into a boycott campaign against French companies, blamed for their country’s support of pro-Tibetan agitators. Some have also called for a boycott against American chains like McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

BEIJING - Demonstrations against French supermarket chain Carrefour erupted in cities across China on Saturday, fueled by anger over the disruption of the Olympic torch relay when it went through Paris nearly two weeks ago. Other protesters gathered outside the French Embassy and the Beijing French School. The recent unrest in Tibet and protests during the worldwide Olympic torch relay have created a backlash of anger inside China against those viewed as supporting independence for Tibet. The nationalist outburst comes as Chinese state media has launched a sustained attack against foreign critics of China's Tibet policy and on the Dalai...

Many French Oppose Sarkozy's China Overtures WSJ[Wednesday, April 23, 2008 10:30] By STACY MEICHTRY PARIS -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign to calm Chinese anger over the Olympic torch's rough-and-tumble journey through the French capital faces one big obstacle: the French. Mr. Sarkozy has tapped three top French officials, including a former prime minister, to travel to China this week to mend relations. He has sent letters to President Hu Jintao of China and athlete Jin Jing, known as "angel in a wheelchair" in China for shielding the Olympic torch from pro-Tibetan protesters as she carried it through the streets...

Paris Draws China’s Wrath Even as France Tries to Smooth Things Over By STEVEN ERLANGER PARIS — China stepped into an internal French political spat on Tuesday, fiercely condemning a decision by the Socialist city council of Paris to make the Dalai Lama an honorary citizen of Paris. “China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition” to the honor, said the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu. “This act of crude interference in China’s domestic affairs has seriously damaged the Sino-French relationship, and in particular the existing friendly ties between Paris and Beijing.” Not only that, Ms. Jiang said, “To make...

Here's an email we received from a volunteer teacher from an Ivy League university volunteer programme in Hunan Province (who shall remain unnamed to protect the identities of everyone involved) — a chilling account of an attack on his colleague by an anti-Carrefour mob in Zhuzhou. The matter has been brought to the attention of the US Embassy in Beijing and should serve as a warning to all Caucasian readers, particularly those living in second-tier cities, to avoid large crowd gatherings at all costs during these crazy, crazy times. Our foreign correspondent friends in Shanghai and Beijing have been receiving...

NEW DELHI, APRIL 20: In trying to put up a strong defence on behalf of its ideological allies in China, the CPM has needlessly sought to drag the Kashmir issue into the debate over Tibetan protests. The latest effort comes from Nilotpal Basu, a key party central committee member, who feels that China is today a “victim of western moralising” just like India was on the issue of Kashmir. “It is a rehash of the same old thing... just as India has been a victim on the Kashmir issue, China is on Tibet,” Basu remarked when asked to explain his...

China has launched an "education" campaign in Tibet it says is designed to undermine support for the Dalai Lama and any separatist sentiment. The Tibet Daily newspaper said the campaign was to "unify the thinking... of officials and the masses". The initiative follows violent clashes last month between police and monks in Tibet, and pro-Tibetan demonstrations around the world. Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of inciting unrest - claims he has denied. The Tibetan spiritual leader, who lives in exile in India, insists he has no political role and played no part in the protests by Tibetan Buddhist monks...

A special team of Nepalese police and army personnel has been given orders to use force if necessary to stop anti-China protests on Everest. Liam Cochrane reports from Kathmandu. Thai actor Christopher Benjakul runs with the torch during the Beijing Olympic Torch relay in Bangkok, Thailand, 19 Apr 2008 Expeditions heading towards Mount Everest will face tight security checks this climbing season, as Nepal tries to prevent anti-China demonstrations on its side of the mountain.The army has sent 15 soldiers trained in mountaineering to set up a checkpoint at Camp One, the first stopping point above Everest Base Camp.There will...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - The Dalai Lama on Sunday offered his trademark humor and humility in answering questions submitted from a crowd of more than 7,000 at the University of Michigan that gathered for a teaching session. "We have to deal with the causes and conditions of that anger," he said in response to a question about living with someone who is angry and argumentative. He elicited large laughs for his long, contemplative pause before answering. "The best thing - try to remain a bit (of) distance. If it's a husband and wife, then I don't know. Worst case?...

.... And so it was sadly that I listened to the Dalai Lama pronounce last week that if the violence didn't cease he would have no option but to quit being Tibet's spiritual leader in exile. Whoa! I'll bet that really gave those Chinese generals a couple of sleepless nights! To all those out there with the "Free Tibet!" stickers, here are a few facts that will help the world make sense: 1. There will always be bad people. 2. Bad people don't care about hurting good people. Appeals to shame, empathy and guilt don't work on them. That's why...

China salaries overseas Chinese for anti-Tibetan protests Phayul[Saturday, April 19, 2008 21:25] By Phurbu Thinley The Global Human Rights Torch Relay, scheduled to pass through 37 countries, arrived in Minnesota (MN) State on April 16 on its America leg of the ongoing relay. The torch arrived after passing through New York earlier on Sunday. The organisers of the torch relay hope to draw attention to human rights concerns in Tibet, as well as the Chinese government's persecution of the Falun Gong, Buddhists, rights advocates and others. In Minnesota, the relay kicked off from the State Capitol and arrived at the...

Now look at Tibet on the population density and terrain maps. On the terrain map one sees the high mountain passes of the Himalayas. Running from the Hindu Kush on the border with Pakistan to the Myanmar border, small groups can traverse this terrain, but no major army is going to thrust across this border in either direction. Supplying a major force through these mountains is impossible. From a military point of view, it is a solid wall. Note that running along the frontier directly south of this border is one of the largest population concentrations in the world. If...

Anti-French protests erupt in central China and Beijing AFP[Saturday, April 19, 2008 12:25] Locals burn a French national flag outside a Carrefour supermarket in Qingdao, Shandong province April 18, 2008. Chinese official media have sought to temper nationalist calls to boycott foreign businesses accused of backing Tibetan independence, urging angry citizens to focus on economic development. (Stringer/Reuters) BEIJING, April 19 - Hundreds of Chinese citizens protested on Saturday in the central city of Wuhan and in Beijing against France's attitude towards Tibet and the Olympic Games, according to police and witnesses. Many of the demonstrators congregated in front of Carrefour,...

Tibet an 'international issue,' Japan PM tells China AFP[Saturday, April 19, 2008 12:50] Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (L) talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda during a meeting held at the premier's office in Tokyo. Fukuda bluntly told China Friday that Tibetan unrest had become an international issue, contradicting Beijing's official line, and hinted it could hit the Olympics. (AFP/POOL/Dai Kurokawa) TOKYO, April 18 - Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda bluntly told China Friday that Tibetan unrest had become an international issue, contradicting Beijing's official line, and hinted it could hit the Olympics. Yasuo Fukuda made the remarks to...

(TOKYO) — A major Japanese Buddhist temple withdrew Friday from a plan to host the Beijing Olympics torch relay, citing safety concerns and sympathy among its monks and worshippers for Tibetan protesters facing a Chinese crackdown. Zenkoji Temple has refused to serve as the starting point for the April 26 relay, said Kunihiko Shinohara, secretary-general of the Nagano city organizing committee for the event. The relay has drawn protests around the world against China's crackdown on Tibetan demonstrators. "We respect the temple's decision. This means the starting point will change," he said after he met with Zenkoji monks. Another city...