Human Rights Tibet

A Chinese magazine, in the latest of a series of Beijing protests, lashed out at members of Congress for criticizing China's policies in Tibet. The article, to be published in Outlook, described an Oct. 6 Senate vote on human rights in Tibet as "a ridiculous action typical of some U.S. congressmen who like to meddle with the internal affairs of other nations." China also has criticized members of congress for providing a forum last month for the Dalai Lama to publicize his views on Tibet.

Human rights abuses by Chinese authorities in Tibet increased in the last year, in a campaign to break Tibetans' loyalty to their exiled religious leader, the Dalai Lama, a monitoring group said Saturday. "Beijing's obsession with stability and control in Tibet was the predominant theme of the year 2000," said the annual report by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy.

In the eight months since President Clinton's foreign policy team elevated religious freedom and human rights in Tibet to a priority issue in Washington's prickly relationship with China, visible progress has been virtually zero.

A deeply divided World Bank on Friday in effect bowed out of a plan to resettle 58,000 Chinese peasants near Tibet, a project portrayed by critics as a cynical effort by Beijing to weaken Tibetans' cultural identity in the name of economic development. As protesters camped outside World Bank headquarters here, critics inside--including members from the United States and other wealthy nations--sought to impose new loan conditions that Chinese authorities blasted as "unacceptable."

Although conditions in Tibet have improved greatly in recent years, systematic abuses by the Chinese of basic human rights continue, according to an Asia Watch report made available to reporters here Thursday. "The people of Tibet are still not free to practice their religion as they choose, nor to express their opinions on political issues.

Despite expressions of concern from the Bush Administration, the House voted unanimously Thursday for a tough package of economic sanctions against China and warned Beijing officials that "the whole world is watching" its suppression of human rights. "Today we send a clear, undivided message to the leaders of China," said House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri. "If you want to rejoin the community of nations, stop the killing now. Don't try to rewrite history." Gephardt commended President Bush for speaking out on the Chinese crackdown but added: "Someone in this government has to speak on behalf of the American people and take a more forceful stand than the President has been willing to take.

Usually they get all the attention, but at the Dalai Lama's teachings this week in Pasadena, celebrities congregated with the masses and gushed just liked the rest of the spiritual leader's followers.

In its 22nd annual report on human rights, the State Department on Friday chronicled the curtailment of fundamental personal freedoms in China, noting, in particular, recent repression in Tibet. "In China, the government's human rights record deteriorated sharply at the end of 1998 with a crackdown against organized political dissent," Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh said as he formally presented the report to Congress.

About 75 placard-waving protesters marched in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles on Wednesday as part of an international demonstration marking an uprising 40 years ago against China's takeover in Tibet. "The Chinese are trying to annihilate the Tibetan people as a race," said Kesang Dolkar, an Orange County nurse who fled Tibet at the age of 9 in 1959. "Under the Chinese, there are starvation, torture, forced labor and mass murder," Dolkar said.

Amid a sea of U.S. and Tibetan flags, the two-week March for Tibetan Independence arrived Sunday at the Huntington Beach Pier, the last stop of its Orange County leg. Passion for spreading awareness of Tibetans' concerns is driving the weary group of 13 freedom walkers.

Amid a sea of U.S. and Tibetan flags, the two-week March for Tibetan Independence arrived Sunday at the Huntington Beach Pier, the last stop of its Orange County leg. Passion for spreading awareness of Tibetans' concerns is driving the weary group of 13 freedom walkers.

Still recuperating from a trek across the Himalayas to escape Chinese-ruled Tibet, a teenage Buddhist leader was all smiles Saturday after a visit with the Dalai Lama. The 17th Karmapa, wearing a dark brown monk's robe and light orange scarf, grinned as he walked easily from the gate of the Dalai Lama's house to a yellow car.

About 75 placard-waving protesters marched in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles on Wednesday as part of an international demonstration marking an uprising 40 years ago against China's takeover in Tibet. "The Chinese are trying to annihilate the Tibetan people as a race," said Kesang Dolkar, an Orange County nurse who fled Tibet at the age of 9 in 1959. "Under the Chinese, there are starvation, torture, forced labor and mass murder," Dolkar said.

In its 22nd annual report on human rights, the State Department on Friday chronicled the curtailment of fundamental personal freedoms in China, noting, in particular, recent repression in Tibet. "In China, the government's human rights record deteriorated sharply at the end of 1998 with a crackdown against organized political dissent," Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh said as he formally presented the report to Congress.

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, won an audience here Tuesday with President Clinton and other top administration officials, but he postponed plans to unveil an initiative aimed at working out a rapprochement with China. Instead, the Tibetan leader said he needs further talks with Beijing to make sure that any new peace offering will win a "positive response" from the Chinese leadership. U.S.

It's a heart-warming thought, the notion that there might be a settlement between the Dalai Lama and China to resolve the future of Tibet. But chances are it's not going to happen. The Dalai Lama has spent the last few days in Washington pursuing the wispy prospects of a deal with China. He would like to return to Tibet, from which he fled for exile amid an unsuccessful Tibetan rebellion in 1959. He is also seeking some measure of autonomy (under overall Chinese rule) for his homeland.

Still recuperating from a trek across the Himalayas to escape Chinese-ruled Tibet, a teenage Buddhist leader was all smiles Saturday after a visit with the Dalai Lama. The 17th Karmapa, wearing a dark brown monk's robe and light orange scarf, grinned as he walked easily from the gate of the Dalai Lama's house to a yellow car.

In the eight months since President Clinton's foreign policy team elevated religious freedom and human rights in Tibet to a priority issue in Washington's prickly relationship with China, visible progress has been virtually zero.