Subject: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:17 am
ANCAPS support a boycott of China's Olympics! So do some others...
Taiwan's Ma won't rule out Olympic boycott over Tibet
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday reiterated his call for China to end its suppression of Tibet, and said that, if elected, he would not rule out boycotting the Beijing Olympics if the situation in Tibet deteriorated.
"If the Chinese government continued its suppression of Tibetans, and the situation in Tibet worsens, I would not rule out stopping athletes from attending the 2008 Beijing Olympics," Ma said in Miaoli County.
In a six-point statement issued to protest China's violent crackdown on Tibetans, Ma condemned Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) for opposing the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) UN referendum bid and any attempts to change the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait.
"The Republic of China [ROC] is a democratic country that enjoys sovereignty. The future of Taiwan will be decided by 23 million Taiwanese people, and we won't allow China's interference," Ma said. "Wen's remarks are outrageous and unreasonable, arrogant, dumb and pretentious. We strongly protest his ignoring the mainstream opinion of the 23 million Taiwanese people."
Wen told a press conference in Beijing yesterday that Saturday's referendums in Taiwan would change the fact that Taiwan belonged to China.
"We are opposed to the so-called referendum schemes for Taiwan's membership in the United Nations," Wen said. "That would deal a serious blow to cross-strait relations, that would harm the fundamental interests of the people on both sides, cause tensions in the Taiwan Strait and threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region at large."
Matters that involved the territory and sovereignty of China should be decided by Chinese people, including the Taiwanese, and any attempts to separate Taiwan from China will not succeed, Wen said.
Ma said yesterday that he would spare no effort to apply for UN membership if elected, as entering the UN was the collective wish of Taiwanese people.
The KMT referendum calls for rejoining the UN under the formal title of the ROC, or any other "practical" title.
The DPP's UN referendum calls for joining the UN under the name "Taiwan." The KMT has called for a boycott of the DPP's referendum.
Ma yesterday also reiterated his "three noes" policy on cross-strait relations -- no unification, no independence and no use of force -- and said his policy would help maintain the cross-strait "status quo," which was supported by the majority of Taiwanese.
Ma also pledged to invite diplomatic allies to join him and extend their support for the Tibetans and the Dalai Lama, and urged Beijing to initiate talks with the Dalai Lama.
Ma's camp held a candlelight vigil last night at Ketagalan Boulevard to protest Beijing's use of force in Lhasa.
After addressing the vigil, Ma and camp members carried candles as they walked to Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall to pay their respects to a group of Tibetan exiles who began a sit-in on Monday night.
Earlier yesterday, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) criticized Ma for making "immoral" and "cruel" comments about Beijing's crackdown in Tibet.
While the rest of the world condemned Beijing's violence, Hsieh said that Ma had claimed it was unclear who should be held responsible for the crackdown and had urged the DPP to refrain from taking advantage of the incident.
"It is like rubbing salt in the wounds of the Tibetans," Hsieh said. "It is unethical and cruel to isolate the Tibetans and vilify those showing them concern."
Hsieh said he wanted to know when Ma believed would be a good time for China to crack down on Tibet -- after the presidential election or after the Olympics?
"No government should suppress people demanding to decide their own future," he said. "Those who speak for the perpetrator or for the oppressor are the friends of dictatorship."
As for Ma's threat to boycott the Games if the situation in Tibet worsened, Hsieh said Ma was constantly shifting his position.
Ma's comment was made in haste and might sacrifice the country's interest, Hsieh said.
"It would exert tremendous pressure on China if Ma were to relinquish unification with China and abandon the `one China common market' to protest Beijing's bloody crackdown," he said.
Hsieh said that he had long suspected Ma is a "cold-hearted" person and that his remarks about Tibet only proved that Ma was indeed ruthless.
Internationalizing China's abuse of human rights is a way to protect Taiwan, Hsieh said, because only if Taiwan cares about Tibet will the world care about Taiwan.
Hsieh's campaign office also issued a statement opposing China's crackdown on Tibet, opposing China's intimidation of Taiwan and opposing Ma's ultimate desire for unification with China.
Hsieh said that Wen's attempt to blame the Dalai Lama for the unrest reminded him "that the remarks by totalitarian regimes are all the same, as the KMT blamed [my] campaign team for plotting the skirmish caused by four KMT legislators who barged into our campaign office [last week]."
Hsieh said both Ma and Wen promoted unification.
"I would like to know whether Ma will accept the `one China' principle since he has promised to negotiate with Beijing one year after taking office," Hsieh said. "I would also like to know how he plans to complete the negotiations if he does not accept Beijing's terms."
Hsieh urged Ma to abandon the idea of unification and a "one China common market."
Meanwhile, Government Information Office Minister Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) rebuffed Wen's comment that China "hoped to resume peace talks across the Strait as soon as possible."
"If China wanted to convince Taiwan of its sincerity in cross-strait peace talks, it should first permit Tibetans to declare independence and give Tibetans their religious freedom," Shieh said.
"It is ironic that China is preaching the spirit of peace while staging a crackdown in Tibet," he said, adding that China's offer of talks while targeting its missiles at Taiwan seemed more like a threat.
Shieh said the manner in which China has handled Tibet reflected what Beijing's "one China" principle is all about, adding that Taiwan was "lucky" to be able to enjoy democracy, human rights and freedom in the face of Beijing's actions.
"Holding the UN referendums and moving toward independence are two different things. We want to join the UN because we want to share democracy, human right and freedom with the international community and help promote these values," Shieh said.
The Mainland Affairs Council also issued a statement yesterday condemning Wen's claim that Taiwan has no right to proceed with the UN referendums on Saturday because it is part of China.
"The Republic of China is a democratic, free, independent country. Self-determination is a right of the 23 million Taiwanese," the council said.
The council also reproached China for using brutal measures against Tibetans and urged Beijing to stop smearing the Dalai Lama.
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:23 am
Debate Intensifies on Boycott of Beijing Olympics Over Tibet Crackdown
A proposal to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics has gained support following reports of China's response to Tibetan protests.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Tuesday that the proposal is "interesting" and could be discussed by a meeting of European Union foreign ministers next week.
But China's ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya, said Kouchner's views are "not shared by most people in the world."
Earlier Tuesday, president of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering encouraged political leaders to consider boycotting the opening ceremonies if the violence in Tibet continues.
An international media rights group, Reporters Without Borders, also is urging political officials to boycott the ceremony. The Paris-based group accused China of breaking the promises it made when it was chosen to host the Summer Games.
In Washington, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Christensen told lawmakers the United States is not threatening a boycott. The official said the Olympics are an opportunity for China to show progress on human rights and other matters.
Protesters demonstrate against the Olympic Games in Beijing in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, 18 Mar 2008
Hundreds of pro-Tibet demonstrators gathered Tuesday at the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, where they appealed to the committee to halt the Tibet leg of the Olympic torch relay.
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:28 am
Rights Groups Release Photos of Tibetans Killed by Chinese Police
Human rights groups have released photographs that show Tibetans allegedly shot and killed by security forces in China's western province of Sichuan.
The Indian-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy and other activist groups Tuesday said at least 15 people were killed when police cracked down on Sunday's monk-led protests in Ngaba prefecture.
One of the photos released by Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy
The Center and the exiled Tibetan government based in India have reported further pro-independence protests in Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan Tuesday and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Reports of those incidents do not appear to have been published in Chinese media and Chinese authorities have not allowed foreign journalists to confirm details of the protests.
The exile government says at least 99 people have been killed in unrest over the past week, including 19 Tibetans who were shot dead by security forces Tuesday in new protests in Gansu province.
Witnesses in the Gansu county of Machu say police blocked off the streets after Buddhist monks and other Tibetans held a rally there. Witnesses told VOA's Tibetan service that they could confirm that at least 12 people were killed.
Chinese state media reports that the Tibetan capital Lhasa is returning to normal after riots that the government claims killed 13 people. The official Xinhua news agency says 105 people involved in Friday's riots have surrendered to police.
Foreign reporters asked Premier Wen Jiabao about the Tibetan protests during Tuesday's annual press conference. Mr. Wen repeated the government's claim that the Dalai Lama has orchestrated the protests, which the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has denied.
China has controlled Tibet since 1951. The Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled from Tibet to India in 1959, during a failed revolt against Chinese rule. China denounces the Dalai Lama as a crusader for independence, but he says he has campaigned for nothing more than true autonomy for his homeland.
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:37 am
Jonathan Kay: At the very least, let's boycott the opening ceremonies in Beijing
Here's a good idea for punishing China: Send our athletes to the Olympics, but boycott the opening ceremonies.
Obviously, this would be a purely symbolic move. (Then again, even a full withdrawal from the Olympics would be "symbolic" in some sense, because, on a geopolitical level, the Olympics don't actually mean anything except barroom bragging rights.) But at least it would be a symbolic move that devastates Beijing's propaganda effort to turn the Olympics into a full-scale chest-thumping jamboree of Sino-nationalism. The message to the world that is supposed to come out of Beijing 2008 is that China is a respected and come-of-age member of the civilized world community. The message that would actually come out of the Olympics if we all boycotted the opening ceremonies would be: "You're still a brutal police state, and we're attending this thing with our noses pinched."
Of course, not all countries would boycott the opening ceremonies. Zambia and Iran would still be in the parade. But that would only make the gesture more effective: China's pals would be all lined up for the world to see — a motley assortment of rogue states and African basket cases reliant on Chinese aid.
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:40 am
Chinese Censorship of YouTube: Boycott the Olympics in China
China is blinding its own citizens the world from its affairs in Tibet. After a protest broke out in Lhasa, the Tibetian capital, it has shut off access to foreign media and blocked sites like YouTube.com where dozens of videos of the protests showed up. Videos and photos on YouTube show footage of local Tibetians and monks protesting peacefully, some show them marching on the streets, some show students carrying flags and shouting for a 'Free Tibet', some show men dead from Chinese attacks. China is also blocking access to CNN and BBC and Google News.
Officially, Tibet is an autonomous part of China. But for decades the Tibetians have been struggling against the Chinese regime that they claim is gradually annihilating them. Tibet has long been voicing to the world the second-class treatment meted out to its citizens by the Chinese authorities. The Chinese government also has a long history of gross human rights violation. In 1989 there was a widespread movement to liberate Tibet and China brutally suppressed it.
The recent string of protests and demonstrations began in the eastern Tibetian province of Amdo late last month and has escalated into a large scale problem in Lhasa and has caught the international attention with the Chinese government curbing the media. Dalai Lama, the Tibetian movement's leader called the Chinese policy to wards Tibet one of cultural genocide and urged the protesters to continue on a peaceful protest. China has used violence, tear gas and mass arrests to control the protest. While Tibet claims that nearly 100 people have died and many have been arrested by China, the Chinese government denies this report.
In a high-handed approach, China is censoring news pertaining to the protests - this censorship has crossed all limits of tolerance. While keeping the international media in the dark is an injustice to Tibet, distorting the news and what their own citizens hear is a grave injustice to their own country. Wonder what is next in China's tactics? Maybe China will ask Google to strip out all news items and all YouTube video pertaining to Tibet from the web!
Russia is overtly supportive of China while the response of the West is muted in its criticism of China. It is of concern that no one is stepping forward to check the atrocities of the rising superpower.
Surprisingly the unrest and imposition of martial law in Tibet and attempts to suppress information flow comes just prior to the upcoming Olympic Games to be hosted by China in August 2008. In bidding for the Olympic Games, China had assured the Olympics committee of better human rights policies and media freedom. But we can see it is a big lie and a farce. While the Olympics charter advocates a peaceful society and moral qualities of chivalry and world truce, China adopts a diametrically opposite policy of censorship and human rights violation. This speaks volumes about China's spirit behind hosting the games - the spirit of commercializing and aggrandizing wealth.
In 1980, denouncing the the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, many countries including the USA boycotted the games in Moscow. Let us get together and boycott Olympics in China now.
Subject: Boycott 2008 Communist Olympics Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:20 am
More...
Boycott 2008 Communist Olympics
...China’s Genocide Olympics...
The Beijing Olympics this summer were supposed to be China’s coming-out party, celebrating the end of nearly two centuries of weakness, poverty and humiliation.
Instead, China’s leaders are tarnishing their own Olympiad by abetting genocide in Darfur and in effect undermining the U.N. military deployment there. The result is a growing international campaign to brand these “The Genocide Olympics.”
This is not a boycott of the Olympics. But expect Darfur-related protests at Chinese Embassies, as well as banners and armbands among both athletes and spectators. There’s a growing recognition that perhaps the best way of averting hundreds of thousands more deaths in Sudan is to use the leverage of the Olympics to shame China into more responsible behavior.
The central problem is that in exchange for access to Sudanese oil, Beijing is financing, diplomatically protecting and supplying the arms for the first genocide of the 21st century. China is the largest arms supplier to Sudan, officially selling $83 million in weapons, aircraft and spare parts to Sudan in 2005, according to Amnesty International USA. That is the latest year for which figures are available.
China provided Sudan with A-5 Fantan bomber aircraft, helicopter gunships, K-8 military training/attack aircraft and light weapons used in Sudan’s proxy invasion of Chad last year. China also uses the threat of its veto on the Security Council to block U.N. action against Sudan so that there is a growing risk of a catastrophic humiliation for the U.N. itself.
Sudan feels confident enough with Chinese backing that on Jan. 7, the Sudanese military ambushed a clearly marked U.N. convoy of peacekeepers in Darfur. Sudan claimed the attack was a mistake, but diplomats and U.N. professionals are confident that this was a deliberate attack ordered by the Sudanese leaders to put the U.N. in its place.
Sudan has already barred units from Sweden, Norway, Nepal, Thailand and other countries from joining the U.N. force. It has banned night flights, dithered on a status-of-forces agreement, held up communications equipment and refused to allow the U.N. to bring in foreign helicopters. The growing fear is that the U.N. force will be humiliated in Sudan as it was in Rwanda and Bosnia, causing enormous damage to international peacekeeping.
Another possible sign of Sudan’s confidence: an American diplomat, John Granville, was ambushed and murdered in Khartoum early this month. Many in the diplomatic and intelligence community believe that such an assassination could not happen in Khartoum unless elements of the government were involved.
Chinese officials argue that they are engaging in quiet diplomacy with Sudan’s leaders and that this is the best way to seek a solution in Darfur. They note that Sudan has other backers, and that China’s influence is limited.
It is true that since the start of the “Genocide Olympics” campaign (www.dreamfordarfur.org) a year ago, China has been more helpful, and it’s only because of Chinese pressure on Khartoum that U.N. peacekeepers were admitted to Darfur at all. But the basic reality is that China continues to side with Sudan — it backed Sudan again after it ambushed the U.N. peacekeepers — and Sudan feels protected enough that it goes on thumbing its nose at the international community.
Just a few days ago, Sudan appointed Musa Hilal, a founding leader of the Arab militia known as the janjaweed, to a position in the central government. This is the man who was once quoted as having expressed gratitude for “the necessary weapons and ammunition to exterminate the African tribes in Darfur.”
Other countries also must do much more, but China is crucial. If Beijing were to suspend all transfers of arms and spare parts to Sudan until a peace deal is reached in Darfur, then that would change the dynamic. President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan would be terrified — especially since he is now preparing to resume war with South Sudan — and would realize that China is no longer willing to let its Olympics be stained by Darfuri blood.
Without his Chinese shield, Mr. Bashir would be more likely to make concessions to Darfur rebels and negotiate seriously with them, and he would no longer have political cover to resume war against South Sudan. That would make long-term peace more likely in Darfur and also in South Sudan.
I’m a great fan of China’s achievements, and I’ve often defended Beijing from unfair protectionist rhetoric spouted by American politicians. But those of us who admire China’s accomplishments find it difficult to give credit when Beijing simultaneously underwrites the ultimate crime of genocide.
China deserves an international celebration to mark its historic re-emergence as a major power. But so long as China insists on providing arms to sustain a slaughter based on tribe and skin color, this will remain, sadly, The Genocide Olympics.
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:40 am
China's True Face
The Host of the Olympics or the Thug of Tibet?
By Wei Jingsheng Wednesday, March 19, 2008; Page A15
WP: As what the Dalai Lama has called "cultural genocide" goes on in Tibet, it is wholly unacceptable that Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, refuses to take a stand against the Beijing government's current crackdown on Tibetan protesters. In fact, this is completely at odds with the "spirit of the Olympics."
Far more than Steven Spielberg, who quit his advisory role for the Summer Games because of China's unwillingness to pressure the Sudanese government on genocide in Darfur, the IOC has a special obligation to act. Since promised improvements in China's human rights were a quid pro quo for awarding the Games to Beijing, how can it proceed as if nothing happened when blood is flowing in the streets of Lhasa?
And if the Dalai Lama resigns from all his public positions in response to the violence, as he said yesterday that he might, the prospect of resolving the Tibet issue peacefully will be even more hopeless. We will feel very sorry if that comes about -- for Tibet and for China.
If the IOC doesn't move to put pressure on Beijing consistent with its obligations, it risks this Olympics being remembered like the 1936 Games in Berlin. Already, the spirit of the Olympics in Beijing has become associated with the word "genocide," thanks to Spielberg and the Dalai Lama. Indeed, if the IOC and the rest of the world do not pressure Beijing to stop the crackdown and improve human rights now, a boycott of the Games will widely be seen as justified.
Tibetans have long chafed under the oppression of the Chinese Communist Party. In 1959, when the Dalai Lama fled to exile in India, Tibetans' protests were harshly suppressed in a massacre that lasted more than a year. Since then, more than a million Tibetans have reportedly lost their lives because of the Chinese government's policies.
In 1989, it was Chinese President Hu Jintao, then a provincial leader, who suppressed yet another revolt in Lhasa by bringing in the military to kill people in the streets. And, of course, the whole world knows what happened in Tiananmen Square that year.
Clearly, without human rights and the rule of law, neither Tibetans nor the majority Han Chinese are safe from persecution at the whim of Communist authorities.
The old lies and propaganda don't work anymore. In the past, many Han Chinese didn't know about the sufferings of Tibetans. Now thanks to travel, tourism, cellphones and the Internet, the majority Han understand that the Tibetan struggle against tyranny is the same as theirs.
Of course, as part of its "peaceful" face, Chinese authorities have expressed their willingness to resolve the Tibetan issue through negotiation. But, as with Darfur, there is no sincerity behind this willingness and there will not be any unless international pressure is brought to bear. If there has been any lesson in all my years as an activist for democracy and human rights in China, it is that only international pressure coupled with internal pressure will yield solid results.
Jacques Rogge's unwillingness to pressure Beijing at this moment is so tragic because these Olympics are the turning point in modern Chinese history. Having invited the world to polite tea, the Communist Party rulers have turned their palace of power into a global glass house. They can no longer show both the smiling face of "a peaceful rise" to the world and the stern face of brutal suppression at home.
The Olympics will force China to show its true face. Only international pressure, by the IOC and others, will make sure it is the face we all want to see.
The writer, a recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, lives in exile in Washington. He was first arrested in China in 1979 for his activities with the "Democracy Wall" movement and was released in 1993 nine days before the International Olympic Committee voted on Beijing's bid for the 2000 Games. He was arrested in March 1994 for "plotting against the state" and released in 1997.
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:20 am
Dutch lawmaker calls for Olympics boycott
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- A Dutch lawmaker wants an international boycott of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics to protest China's human rights record.
Joel Voordewind, a member of the Christian Union party, would like governments around the world to support the boycott and lean on sponsors to use their financial clout with Beijing.
"It is possible to take part in the games but skip the party beforehand," he said Tuesday. "Such a ceremony is only intended to glorify the host, China."
Voordewind also suggested setting up a venue in Beijing during the games where visitors can discuss human rights. He expected opposition from organizers, but said, "If the Chinese are against the plan, that means they are against human rights."
Voordewind has just begun enlisting world support. Neither the Dutch government nor the Olympic Committee has backed him.
Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said the government regularly brings up human rights issues at meetings with Chinese officials and has no plans to support a boycott of the games or the opening ceremony.
Despite the negative reactions at home, Voordewind still hopes for a mass movement before the Olympics open next August.
"The Americans waited a long time until they boycotted the (Moscow) games," he said, referring the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympics to protest Russia's invasion of Afghanistan.
The Beijing Olympic organizing committee has said it believes "excellent ceremonies will be presented to the world." Linking sports and politics, it added, was "not in line with the Olympic spirit."
Critics say China has for years mistreated Tibetans, jailed dissidents and journalists on questionable charges and should be doing more to push the government in Sudan -- where China is a major buyer of oil -- into bringing an end to violence in Darfur. More than 200,000 people have died in the Sudanese province in a conflict between rebels and militias backed by government forces.
Nobel laureates and former Olympic gold medalists added their voices on China's role in the humanitarian crisis by issuing an open letter.
Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has said he will skip the Olympics. He supports Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile since an uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
Last week, Hollywood director Steven Spielberg quit as an artistic adviser to Beijing, saying China was not doing enough to press Khartoum to end the conflict in Darfur.
"I hold much respect for Spielberg's decision and if an athlete doesn't want to go, I'll respect that, too
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:26 am
Heritage Foundation: Beijing Olympics Boycott: A Wake-Up Call
Given China’s objectionable behavior in recent years — in human rights, trade, nuclear proliferation, aid to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, support for genocidal regimes in Sudan and vicious dictatorships in Burma and North Korea — it is no wonder that dozens of frustrated members of the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Location : Wasted Space Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:31 am
CovOps wrote:
Given China’s objectionable behavior in recent years — in human rights, trade, nuclear proliferation, aid to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, support for genocidal regimes in Sudan and vicious dictatorships in Burma and North Korea — it is no wonder that dozens of frustrated members of the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for an American boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Actually, that's called hypocrisy, but anyways...
RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:08 am
Protesters 'surrender in Tibet'
More than 100 people have turned themselves in to police following anti-China riots in Tibet's main city, Lhasa, Chinese state media has said.
People surrendered to secure leniency in response to a deadline set by the authorities, Xinhua news agency said.
China had said it would harshly punish those who failed to surrender. Police in Lhasa have been searching houses and making arrests, activists say.
China has blamed the Dalai Lama for the protests - a claim he firmly rejects.
The Chinese government and rights groups have provided radically different accounts of the past week.
Activists say dozens of people have been killed by security forces after protests, but Chinese officials say 13 people were killed by mobs during riots by Dalai Lama supporters.
Foreign journalists have not been allowed into Lhasa and the flow of information is tightly controlled, making it difficult to verify either of these claims.
Location : Wasted Space Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
Subject: Re: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:13 am
Life and Death Struggle
Tibet's Communist Party secretary Zhang Qingli has warned of a "long-term" struggle against the Tibetan exile movement, labelling the Dalai Lama a "wolf in monk's robes".
"We are in the midst of a fierce struggle involving blood and fire, a life and death struggle with the Dalai clique," he told a meeting of regional leaders on Wednesday.
"Leaders of the whole country must deeply understand the arduousness, complexity and long-term nature of the struggle," he said in remarks carried online by the China Tibet News.
The Dalai Lama - who in 1989 won a Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to non-violent protest - has rejected Chinese claims of involvement and called for calm.
"Violence is against human nature," the Dalai Lama said. "We must not develop anti-Chinese feelings. Whether we like it or not we have to live side-by-side."
He has called for an international inquiry into why the riots took place.
TIBET DIVIDE China says Tibet was always part of its territory Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before 20th century 1950: China launched a military assault Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959 Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India
Subject: ANCAPS: BOYCOTT CHINA'S OLYMPICS 
Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:17 am
