China has abandoned plans to reopen riot-hit Tibet to visitors on May 1, a tourism official in the Himalayan region said Thursday, amid reports of simmering tension there.
Asked whether the reopening for foreign and domestic tourists had been postponed, a Tibet Tourism Bureau official told AFP by phone: "Yes, because conditions are not ripe for it."
The man, who refused to give his name but said he was director of the bureau's main office in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, said a new date had not been set.
"No. It's not decided yet," he said, refusing to give further details.
Tour organisers had been informed of the postponement, a tour operator in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu who regularly arranges trips to Tibet told AFP.
"Yes, they have told us. But they haven't indicated what the new date would be," said the woman, who organises such trips from a guesthouse in the city.
She asked that AFP not use her name to avoid trouble with authorities.
The US-based International Campaign for Tibet first reported the postponement last week, saying the reversal was due to lingering unrest and that Tibet might not be reopened until after the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics.
Chinese authorities began clearing Tibet of foreign tourists after riots erupted in the region's capital, Lhasa, on March 14 amid protests by Tibetans against China's 57-year rule of the remote region.
Foreign reporters were also banned as China sent in a massive security force to quell the unrest, which spread to other areas of western China with Tibetan populations.
Chinese authorities announced on April 3 that the region would be reopened to foreign and domestic tourists on May 1, a national holiday in China.
The official Xinhua news agency said independent travellers, as well as those on group tours, would be allowed back in.
The report cited Tibet's tourism bureau while Lhasa's tourism authorities also confirmed the May 1 plan to AFP.
However, the government appeared to begin backtracking last week amid continuing reports of tension in the region.
On two occasions in recent weeks, Tibetan monks at Buddhist monasteries in Lhasa and the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu have held protests in front of foreign journalists brought to the region by China on tours aimed at showing calm had returned.
The monks denounced China's rule and called for the return of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who was forced into exile in India in 1959.
Pro-Tibet groups overseas have said China has added to anger in the region by responding with a campaign of "patriotic re-education" in monasteries, which the groups say typically involves forcing monks to denounce the Dalai Lama.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people have died in the Chinese crackdown on the demonstrations. China insists it has acted with restraint and killed no one, while blaming Tibetan "rioters" for the deaths of 20 people.
Alongside the Great Wall and the famed Terracotta Warriors in Xian, Tibet has become one of the most popular destinations for foreign travellers in China.
Its spectacular landscape, Buddhist culture and access to Mount Everest base camp are among Tibet's top drawcards.
0 comments:
Post a Comment