China To Close Tibet During Tibetan New Year Festival

[Smarterthanyou]

BEIJING -- For a fifth straight year, China plans to close Tibet to foreign travelers during a sensitive period starting in mid-February, travel agents said Thursday.

Agent Yu Zhi of the Lhasa Youth Tourist Agency said Thursday the government's tourist administration in Tibet's capital had informed agents that foreign travelers would be banned from Feb. 20 to March 30.

Another agent with the China International Travel Agency in Lhasa, who wouldn't give her name, said she'd been told the ban would end March 20.

The periodic closure of the Himalayan region encompasses the Feb. 22-24 Tibetan new year festival of Losar as well as the anniversary of a deadly anti-government riot among Tibetans on March 14, 2008.

Tensions are especially high this year following the self-immolations of at least 16 Buddhist monks, nuns and other Tibetans. Most have chanted for Tibetan freedom and the return of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

While authorities have never explained the rational behind the annual closure, it's seen as a standard measure based on the assumption that outsiders could either inspire or witness renewed anti-government protests or other conflicts.

"We haven't seen a written notice, but it's the same as previous bans. We were not told about the reasons, but it's probably because of the Tibetan new year," said Yu, the Lhasa agent.

In addition to the coming closure of Tibet proper, traditionally Tibetan areas of Sichuan province and other parts of western China where most of the self-immolations have taken place have been closed to outsiders for months amid a massive security presence.

A clerk with the Lhasa Tourist Bureau denied there was a ban, but declined give her name. Chinese officials often issue orders regarding sensitive political issues only verbally to allow deniability and maintain the impression of control.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/china-close-tibet_n_1215477.html

 

[Smarterthanyou]

And truly we Americans should be worried about a country that is too afraid of peoples 'words' and too afraid of monks.

This is whom you think is going to challenge US as a super power. China can learn a lot from Pakistan in this regard, how they are not afraid of free speech or even just " words". Taiwan can look forward to this if they assimilate.

 

[SinoChallenger]

Chinese can still go. Foreign travelers are banned. Nobody is afraid of anything. We are just showing a bit of xenophobia. Sometimes our suspicions are justified.

 

[Kaniska]

And truly we Americans should be worried about a country that is too afraid of peoples 'words' and too afraid of monks.

This is whom you think is going to challenge US as a super power. China can learn a lot from Pakistan in this regard, how they are not afraid of free speech or even just " words". Taiwan can look forward to this if they assimilate.

I agree ...even in south Asia...I feel that Pakistan media is rather more free than even rest of the country..We should really
appreciate Pakistan society that allows such kind of freedom of speech in their television network. In India also it is free...but the problem is the money... Media always provIde these news that sounds good to the large middle class....

 

[Smarterthanyou]

Chinese can still go. Foreign travelers are banned. Nobody is afraid of anything. We are just showing a bit of xenophobia.

I'm writing to our defense department to reduce our military encirclement of china. All we need is to drop literature over china and it will shut itself down. Not need to fire a single bullet.

 

[haidian]

And truly we Americans should be worried about a country that is too afraid of peoples 'words' and too afraid of monks.

This is whom you think is going to challenge US as a super power. China can learn a lot from Pakistan in this regard, how they are not afraid of free speech or even just " words". Taiwan can look forward to this if they assimilate.

i've been to many international forums,no Americans in every post starts with "we American" and again and again claims that they are Americans,your behavior is very strange and fishy.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

i've been to many international forums,no Americans in every post starts with "we American" and again and again claims that they are Americans,your behavior is very strange and fishy.

That is because he is an Indian.

Check his other posts and it becomes obvious.

 

[sweetgrape]

And truly we Americans should be worried about a country that is too afraid of peoples 'words' and too afraid of monks.

This is whom you think is going to challenge US as a super power. China can learn a lot from Pakistan in this regard, how they are not afraid of free speech or even just " words". Taiwan can look forward to this if they assimilate.

Maybe you make the mistake, you western country made the word china threat, we want to calm it down, but you ignite it up! Does it, You just scare yourself!!!

---------- Post added at 08:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:22 AM ----------

I'm writing to our defense department to reduce our military encirclement of china. All we need is to drop literature over china and it will shut itself down. Not need to fire a single bullet.

Just do it, So why to waste you time here, Let you army come here!! We waiting for them too many time!!
But first, handle the IRAN!! Don't let us wait more time OK!!

 

[Smarterthanyou]

i've been to many international forums,no Americans in every post starts with "we American" and again and again claims that they are Americans,your behavior is very strange and fishy.

I've been on several international forums and have yet to read anything but 50 cent army posting propaganda. We Americans can testify to this paid brigade online . How's that for fishy ?

 

[haidian]

We Americans

not again,ha,you American....what is 50 cent army?

 

[OrionHunter]

For a fifth straight year, China plans to close Tibet to foreign travelers during a sensitive period starting in mid-February, travel agents said Thursday.

This just shows how tenuous China's hold on Tibet is! They lack confidence in themselves as well as Tibet which they never tire of claiming as part of their country.

In a nutshell: Where Tibet is concerned, the Chinese are hanging on for dear life!

 

[Nakki Nair]

not again,ha,you American....what is 50 cent army?

Your extremely highly paid armed internet brigade assigned to praise and chest thump all they can about the CPC and China and Chinese History and Chinese Shipbuilding and how china is better than India and the US and other european countries and How china has more toilets than India and sooooooooo on. They save about 12 dollars in their lifetime earning a cumulative interest of 5 cents.

 

[below_freezing]

Your extremely highly paid armed internet brigade assigned to praise and chest thump all they can about the CPC and China and Chinese History and Chinese Shipbuilding and how china is better than India and the US and other european countries and How china has more toilets than India and sooooooooo on. They save about 12 dollars in their lifetime earning a cumulative interest of 5 cents.

If there was a 50 cent brigade, it'd be outsourced to India. coolies on a computer working as "oh so high skilled" "IT professionals". As I understand, 50 cents is big money in India... not so big in China but 50 cents would lift half of India out of poverty.

 

[SinoChallenger]

Kashmir will be free one day. Foreign journalists can't even visit there any time of the year. But they found mass graves!

 

[Star√ation]

zzzzz, Tibet and Xinjang are quite sensitive topic for Chinese.
Why you guys keep making fun of hurting others's wounds. Everyone have their own woulds, I and you, he and she...
Let Tibetan speak for themselves. Oh, but few millions Tibetans seem to be far out-voiced by well over a billion Han Chinese.