On March 14 the Tibetan capital Lhasa erupted in violence as security forces used measures to quell the biggest protests against Chinese rule in two decades. More than 100 Buddhist monks started the protests and were joined by some 900 other people. Hospitals have been overwhelmed by the number of victims. The protests spread to other Tibetan areas of China, including Xiahe in Gansu province, where monks led a protest rally of 4,000 people (AFP, 14 March 2008). At least 13 people have been killed, and possibly many more (BBC, 17 March 2008).
The nation is stepping-up security measures to restrain all destabilizing factors which include advocates for an independent Tibet (South China Morning Post, 10 March 2008) in the run-up to the summer Olympics.
The Tibetan protests seriously damage Beijing's desire to hold a smooth, incident-free Olympics. Security is likely to be even tighter in the few remaining months until August when the Games open.
Read more in Global Chinese Ministries (GCM) May newsletter.
