27 December 2007
Tibetan dialogue task force meet in Dharamsala
(Phayul; TibetInfoNet) The Tibetan task force dealing with the Sino-Tibetan dialogue has concluded its latest meeting in Dharamsala. The three-day meeting discussed existing ties between the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and Beijing and focused on the sixth round of talks held in China from 29 June to 05 July 2007. Following these talks the special envoy of the Dalai Lama and the head of the Tibetan delegation Mr Lodi Gyari said: "We conveyed our serious concerns in the strongest possible manner on the overall Tibetan issue and made some concrete proposals for implementation if our dialogue process is to go forward". The European Parliament recently expressed regret "that the sixth Sino-Tibetan round of talks has brought about no results"
01 January 2008
Foreign journalists report continued harassment in China
(AP) Foreign journalists working in China face continued harassment despite new reporting rules brought in for the Olympic games, according to a report by the Beijing-based Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC). The authorities relaxed restrictions on foreign journalists at the beginning of 2007, exempting them from having to apply for permission to travel and conduct interviews. But the FCCC said it received more than 180 reports of interference in journalists' work in 2007, including beatings and intimidation by local plainclothes thugs. The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and Xinjiang still remain difficult places in which to work due to official obstruction and harassment, the FCCC said, and journalists working in both of these places were followed or detained, or their sources were intimidated.
02 January 2008
Lhasa bus leaves without passengers
(Nepalnews.com) The direct Kathmandu-Lhasa bus service operated by Sajha Yatayat (SY) has suffered further problems after the Chinese embassy refused to issue visas to bus travellers. Many Nepali and foreign tourists reportedly bought tickets to Lhasa from the state-owned company expecting it resume operations from 01 January 2008. The Chinese government has given no reason for its refusal to issue visas. SY and Himalayan Transportation (representing Chinese interests) agreed in November 2007 to resurrect the service after its suspension in 2006. SY still sent a bus with just a driver and his assistant on board "to respect the agreement".
04 January 2008
Exiles plan march to Lhasa
(Reuters) Five Tibetan exile groups are planning a march from India into Tibet ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics as part of a series of actions to try and embarrass China into ending its rule in the region. Announcing the plans, they acknowledged it would be difficult and dangerous to try and get past Chinese border guards. They also urged exiled Tibetans to join them in plans to disrupt the Olympic torch as it is carried through 20 cities on five continents. "China is hoping to showcase itself as a global leader and forever silence any challenges to its rule in Tibet", Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, told a press conference in New Delhi. He said: "Wherever China takes this torch, Tibetans must take to the streets and take action". Organisers plan to begin their march on 10 March 2008, the 49th anniversary of the failed uprising against Chinese rule. They will begin in Dharamsala, before travelling to Delhi, and from there they plan to march to Lhasa.
04 January 2008
New Chinese internet restrictions
(DPA) China is introducing strict regulations to control videos, podcasts and other audio-visual content on the internet, official media have reported. From February only state websites will be allowed to carry film or radio programmes, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said. Providers will not be able to offer material containing sex, violence or gambling as well as anything against state interests or security or that threatens social morals. Also banned are videos and programmes attacking the country's "unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity" - a move directed at groups supporting Tibet, Taiwan or Xinjiang.
04 January 2008
Funding for environmental protection in Qinghai announced
(Xinhua) Beijing plans to spend 1.567 billion Yuan (UK£108.8m; US$214.7m EUR€145.6m) over the next decade on environmental protection projects around Qinghai Lake (Mong: Koko Nor; Tib: Tso Ngopo). Starting in 2008, the project area will include Kangsta (Chin: Gangcha) Dashi (Chin: Haiyan) Themchen (Chin: Tianjun) and Chabche (Chin:Gonghe) counties of the area traditionally known as Amdo, now part of Qinghai province. An official from the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Economy Department of the Qinghai Provincial Development and Reform Commission said: "The 10-year project aims to help conserve wetlands, restore grassland, control rats and pests, prevent land desertification, plant trees, resettle local residents, offer safe drinking water to rural people, [and] renovate river ways". Increased tourism is said to have put huge pressure on the environment in the area and in September 2007 a plan was announced where all permanent buildings including hotels, restaurants and tourism service facilities would be relocated to an "accommodation zone" at least three kilometres away from the southern bank of the lake.
