CHINA:CHINA REMAINED defiant in the face of international criticism of its crackdown on Tibet, painting itself as the true victim in this month's riots in the Himalayan region and accusing the Dalai Lama of taking the Olympics "hostage".
Beijing state media accused Western agencies of biased reporting and said "human rights police" such as US house speaker Nancy Pelosi, who visited the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader last week, ignored the truth.
The Dalai Lama has criticised the violence and said he wants talks about autonomy. The Chinese have also accused him of colluding with Muslim Uighur separatists in China's restive western Xinjiang region.
"The so-called 'peaceful non-violence' of the Dalai clique is an outright lie from start to end. The Dalai Lama is scheming to take the Beijing Olympics hostage to force the Chinese government to make concessions to Tibet independence," said the People's Daily.
Tibet's governor Qiangba Puncog told the Xinhua news agency: "We must win the final victory in all respects against the secessionist forces to help ensure a successful Olympic Games with a stable social situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region." This month's Tibetan independence riots were the biggest in 20 years and Chinese reaction has left Beijing to repair the worst damage to its public image since the massacre of pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Chinese authorities said one policeman and 18 civilians were killed, while Tibetan independence groups say 100 people were killed.
Buddhist monks took to the streets of the capital, Lhasa, on March 10th to mark the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Days later, the protests turned into violent anti-Chinese riots as Tibetans vented their frustration at Chinese rule on ethnic Han Chinese in Lhasa. State propaganda in China has focused on footage of Han Chinese being attacked by Tibetans, as well as reports of Lhasa residents mourning Han victims of the riots, feel-good stories about Tibetans praising China's policy of investing in Tibet and images of Tibetan schoolchildren being taught their native language in schools.
The negative reporting is focused on the "Dalai and his clique", who the authorities say wants to ruin the Olympics in August, which China hopes will provide a platform for its remarkable social and economic advances this generation.
The English-language China Daily said Western coverage was "biased and sometimes dishonest" and accused foreign media of running "untrue" reports about the protests, prompting fears for the safety of foreign journalists.
Media organisations received hate messages and the Foreign Correspondents Club of China issued a statement urging foreign reporters to remain "vigilant about public perception of foreign media".
At the weekend, a group of 29 Chinese dissidents published a letter urging Beijing to end the bitter propaganda, allow United Nations investigators into Tibet, and open direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
