DESPITE its promotion of a ‘peaceful Olympics’, China has intensified its crackdown on Tibet this week following the most significant uprising in nearly 50 years. The wave of mainly peaceful protests against the Chinese government that has swept across Tibet since March 10 is a result of more than half a century of Communist Party misrule, revealing the breakdown of Beijing’s Tibet policy at a time when China seeks to convey an image of pre-Olympics harmony.
In order to hide its repression in Tibet, China has virtually sealed off the entire plateau – despite promising increasing openness in the buildup to the Olympics – and imposed a news blackout. A new report published by the International Campaign for Tibet, ‘Tibet at a Turning Point: the Spring Uprising and China’s New Crackdown’ (http://www.savetibet.org/news/newsitem.php?id=1344) provides evidence gathered at great risk of: