China Asks U.S. to Understand Real Motives of Tibet Protesters

By Paul Tighe

April 3 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. should understand the real motives of protesters in Tibet and support China's moves to control unrest, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said.

Yang made the comment after meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in Beijing, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported late yesterday. China blames separatists backed by the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, for last month's unrest in Tibet and neighboring provinces, the most serious protests in 20 years.

``China hopes the U.S. side will see clearly the true nature of the Dalai clique, respect truth and distinguish between right and wrong, and understand and support the just position of the Chinese government and people,'' Yang said.

The U.S. is leading international calls for China to hold talks on the future of Tibet with the Dalai Lama, who fled to northern India after a failed uprising in the region in 1959. The U.S. and European Union have said they won't boycott the Beijing Olympic Games in August because of China's crackdown on protesters.

Paulson, who met with President Hu Jintao and Vice Premier Wang Qishan yesterday, said earlier he expressed U.S. concerns about the crackdown and ``urged a peaceful resolution through dialogue.''

Death Toll

Chinese authorities said supporters of the Dalai Lama killed about 20 people and torched hundreds of businesses and homes last month in rioting that began in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and spread to Tibetan-populated areas of Western China. Tibet's government-in-exile accused Chinese security forces of killing 140 protesters.

Yang explained the truth about the Lhasa riots and the stance of the Chinese government in his talks with Paulson, Xinhua said in its report.

The Dalai Lama yesterday appealed for continued international pressure on China to act with restraint in Tibet and hold ``meaningful'' talks.

``The Chinese authorities have deployed large contingents of troops in these traditional Tibetan regions,'' he said in a statement published on his Web site. Security forces ``have not only started to crack down heavily on the Tibetans allegedly involved in the unrest, but also sealed off the areas where protests have taken place.''

China, which sent troops to Tibet in 1950 and annexed the Himalayan region a year later, accuses the Dalai Lama of trying to divide the country and has rejected his assurances he is seeking autonomy, not independence, for Tibet.

Holding Talks

The government in Beijing says it is willing to hold talks as long as the Dalai Lama truly abandons advocating Tibetan independence and stops activities aimed at splitting China and sabotaging the Games. The Dalai Lama set up a government-in- exile in northern India after fleeing Tibet.

Tibetan independence activists are planning suicide squads to disrupt the Games, Wu Heping, the Public Security Ministry spokesman, said at a briefing in Beijing two days ago. Tibet's government-in-exile rejected the allegation as ``propaganda,'' AFP reported at the time.

China has evidence the riots were organized by a group called the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement, Wu said, according to Xinhua.

President George W. Bush and U.S. government officials should boycott the opening of the Olympic Games over China's human rights abuses, particularly in Tibet, a U.S. lawmaker said in a draft bill to Congress two days ago.

Thaddeus McCotter, a member of the House of Representatives for Michigan from Bush's Republican Party, introduced the bill to restrict U.S. government officials and employees from attending the Aug. 8 ceremony. Bush has the power to veto the bill in the event it is approved by lawmakers.

The measure doesn't include U.S. athletes, McCotter, chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, said on his Web site.

Tibet has a population of 6 million people and more than 120,000 Tibetans live abroad, according to the government-in- exile in Dharamshala, northern India. About 98,000 Tibetans live in India and 14,000 in Nepal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 2, 2008 20:09 EDT

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