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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| China vows to compensate Lhasa victims | |
| 2008-03-30 | |
By the government’s count, 18 civilians were killed during anti-Chinese violence in Lhasa on March 14, when demonstrators hurled rocks at police and burned and looted stores and homes. Their families would each receive 200,000 yuan ($28,530), a notice from Tibet’s regional government said. Anyone injured in the chaos that engulfed in Lhasa after days of Buddhist monk-led demonstrations was entitled to free medical care, the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted it as saying. “Measures are to be taken to help people repair their homes and shops damaged in the unrest or to build new ones,” it said. The Tibet government-in-exile, established when the Dalai Lama fled to India after an abortive uprising in 1959, has estimated there have been 140 deaths in the violence. Since the unrest, China has been on a propaganda offensive, attacking foreign news organisations for biased reporting, quoting Buddhist clergy condemning the riots, praising the authorities for exercising restraint and highlighting the material gains the ruling Communist Party has brought to Tibet. It has also pinned blame for the unrest on the “Dalai clique” -- meaning the Dalai Lama and his supporters -- who it says want to disrupt the Olympics and seek Tibet independence. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |