Current situation in Tibet: FACTS ONLY ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

Current situation in Tibet: FACTS ONLY PLEASE

Replies: 31 - Last Post: 03-Apr-2008 12:36 Last Post By: easyrider

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Posted
17-Mar-2008 22:32
by: ljb8899

Posts: 132
Registered: 09/07/07

15

Pro tests Spread From Tibet to Western China : RFA News...
Laurence of Australia

Vive le Thibet libre ! Do they still serve rice in Lhasa... Travel Safe.

Posted
17-Mar-2008 23:16
by: jak_dafool

Posts: 1,437
Registered: 24/03/06

16

Probably most pertinent for the majority of users on this forum, and not something I've seen mentioned on here before:

"We also suggest foreign tourists now in Tibet to leave in the coming days," Xinhua quoted Ju Jianhua, director with the region's foreign affairs office, as saying.

Local civil air, rail and highway departments would "provide convenience" for foreign travellers wishing to cut their trips short, Xinhua said, citing Ju.

source The Guardian

No longer posting on TT because TT sucks.

Posted
18-Mar-2008 12:32
by: jak_dafool

Posts: 1,437
Registered: 24/03/06

17

ICT has produced a map of protests across greater Tibet, updated as of 17 March

No longer posting on TT because TT sucks.

Posted
18-Mar-2008 14:17
by: mrcjonesy

Posts: 885
Registered: 26/03/06

18

Tuesday morning update from sources in Lhasa.

Things are quietening down significantly. Many streets are now open again and cars and taxis are out and about...even in the old quarter. There is still a very heavy military presence but restaurants, teashops and even the Summit cafe with the good coffee is open. A major clean up operation is underway.

There is a surprising number of people on the streets including many Chinese tourists who have surfaced from the west end and are going down to the old quarter so see what all the fuss was about.

All foreigners have not been kicked out of Lhasa...these reports are false. There seems to be a number of tourists still in town although a very small number.

News for travellers planning to go to Tibet is not good. The TTB will definitely NOT issue any permits in March and will reassess the situation for April. They will be trying to open Tibet for April that is for sure BUT this will totally depend on what will happen between now and then. We also heard from a very reliable agency in Nepal that "Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu was told by their government not to let anyone from Nepal into Tibet or China from May first till May 31st. " I also think that this info may change as the govt. figures out the situation and its stance on the issue.

There is going to be a long period here with conflicting news and info as the govt gets their act together. There is a feeling on the ground in Lhasa that this is not the end of the issue.

Posted
18-Mar-2008 14:37
by: jak_dafool

Posts: 1,437
Registered: 24/03/06

19

All foreigners have not been kicked out of Lhasa...these reports are false. There seems to be a number of tourists still in town although a very small number.

Indeed. Qiangba Puncog is quoted as saying: Foreigners or foreign-funded companies are not required to leave Tibet, the chairman of the autonomous regional government said yesterday. Talk about contradictory reports...

No longer posting on TT because TT sucks.

Posted
18-Mar-2008 19:55
by: Spectral_Priest

Posts: 55
Registered: 14/01/08

20

i'm in china and a lot of news sites from outside the country are now blocked. i've tried a few proxies but they arent working so well. can anyone recommend a good proxy for me to try so i can find out whats going on in this country?

thanks.

Posted
18-Mar-2008 21:22
by: gummiwormsrock

Posts: 338
Registered: 03/03/02

21

The police and military are out in Chengdu today.

The Tibetan area of town is relatively small--perhaps 8 adjacent streets--yet this morning/afternoon it was BLANKETED with police, riot police and military personnel.

These weren't just basic cops either; they had batons and helmets with face shields and pissed off looks on their faces. I walked past a few with semi-automatic machine guns hung over their shoulders.

The streets were coned off and the only vehicles getting through were police cars and motorcycles, troops transport vehicles and buses masking as riot police movers. Local cars were stopped, their occupants brought out and searched, the trunks opened and searched and papers checked before being allowed in.

Baton-wielding police stood on every street about 250 feet apart. What appeared to be tour buses were actually troop movers outfitted with dark curtains. There were no outside markings to indicate the vehicles purpose. Military men sat in the seats, some asleep, some peering out at passersby.

As I was messing with my camera a local Tibetan man came over, pointed to the police and waved his hand at me in a 'be careful' motion. He asked if I was American and patted me on the knee when I said yes.

I only saw a few other non-locals, two of which were seriously annoyed Americans. Their trip was PPD as well and their Han Chinese guide was being a drag. I had to break the news that the 8 dead reported on state-run TV was a lie.

"Jews for Jesus!"

Posted
18-Mar-2008 21:50
by: Andreas_at_LP

Posts: 360
Registered: 20/12/06

22

Please read again the opening post in this topic before posting in this thread. I have removed a number of off topic comments and flaming. Lets stick to the guidelines in the OP from now on.

thankyou

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." George Bernard Shaw

Posted
18-Mar-2008 23:50
by: claude12

Posts: 22
Registered: 27/11/07

23

hello everyone

we just left lhasa with air china. the flight was operating as normally and it was'nt even full. we book our tickets through air china hotline and faxed the credit card and passport details. i know other people that left lhasa by landcruiser. the border to nepal should be open till the 10th of may (according to the nepalese consulate)
at the airport everyone was very friendly, no one was checked for cameras or usb sticks or else.
as far as i know the next flight is on saturday.
we got out of lhasa with a taxi, which was'nt a problem.
yesterday i saw a chinese couple taking pictures of soldiers. on of them saw it loaded his gun, aimed at them and run across the street. they were taken away.
another friend of mine took pictures downtown and was followed back to the hotel by secret police. they copied his pictures on to their laptop and had them deleted from his camera afterwards. nothing else happend.

stay safe, it you're still in there

claude

Posted
19-Mar-2008 00:30
by: jak_dafool

Posts: 1,437
Registered: 24/03/06

24

Going back to the events at Ramoche Temple, just noticed this......

There's an unverified eyewitness account of on the ICT webiste:

One Tibetan (told a friend) that he saw 50 Tibetans and a child get gunned down by soldiers on Ramoche street." (Disturbing reports of what happened at Ramoche continue to emerge, but no confirmation is currently possible.)

No longer posting on TT because TT sucks.

Posted
19-Mar-2008 01:22
by: jak_dafool

Posts: 1,437
Registered: 24/03/06

25

re. #24

Macau Daily Times has a little more detail about the Chengdu situation.

No longer posting on TT because TT sucks.

Posted
19-Mar-2008 02:59
by: pazu

Posts: 2,102
Registered: 05/02/01

26

18 March 2008, at 11:47pm, I just heard some explosion outside the intersection between the Dosenge Road and Beijing East Road.

I don't know what happened. I met a high school student in the afternoon and he said something bad happened again near the Xianzhu Island, and we were advised to go back ASAP. It was still quite okay to walk around on the street though. The hostel where we stayed put a bench behind the front door again.

Extensive FAQ about travel situation and permit restrictions in Tibet
Spinn Cafe, Bar and Tours , Lhasa, Tibet - Your information hub
Spinning in Tibet (ISBN: 9789881805966), published in Hong Kong.

Posted
19-Mar-2008 03:01
by: pazu

Posts: 2,102
Registered: 05/02/01

27

I think foreigners can still go into Lhasa at the moment, some hotels can let foreigners to stay (e.g. the Phuntsok Khasang Youth Hostel, it's still popular with foreigners as of 18 March).

Now you can still take a taxi around town, but come as early as possible, security enforcement and checks are very different at night, we were not allowed to go into the Dosenge Road last night because they police said they closed the road after 7pm, but we talked to their patrol leader and they finally let us in.

The problem is, you won't have much tourist spots to go, almost all the bigger temples and monasteries are closed now, you can still go and observe what happened during the riot, but you can't go anywhere near the Jokhang.

Extensive FAQ about travel situation and permit restrictions in Tibet
Spinn Cafe, Bar and Tours , Lhasa, Tibet - Your information hub
Spinning in Tibet (ISBN: 9789881805966), published in Hong Kong.

Posted
19-Mar-2008 13:06
by: jak_dafool

Posts: 1,437
Registered: 24/03/06

28

Pazu, thanks for the update and I'm glad to see you are OK. How is Spinn Cafe?

No longer posting on TT because TT sucks.

Posted
19-Mar-2008 16:50
by: pazu

Posts: 2,102
Registered: 05/02/01

29

The Spinn Cafe is very okay, no harm done, no problem at all. But we are going to be closed for around a week or so. The street is still patrolled by army and police but it seems to be okay, there are rumours about upcoming riots but these are just rumours and we have no idea if this is true. So far we felt very safe in Lhasa, just inconvenient.

Extensive FAQ about travel situation and permit restrictions in Tibet
Spinn Cafe, Bar and Tours , Lhasa, Tibet - Your information hub
Spinning in Tibet (ISBN: 9789881805966), published in Hong Kong.

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