Mar 19, 2008 9:40 pm US/Eastern
China: Tibet Protests Spread To Other Provinces
China's Premier Open To Talks With Dalai Lama
LONDON (AP) ―
Chinese state media is saying for first time that Tibet protests have spread to other provinces.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday on "riots in Tibetan-inhabited areas in the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu, both neighboring Tibet."
It blamed both incidents on supporters of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader in exile.
Xinhua said late Wednesday that 170 people had surrendered for their role in last week's riots in Tibet's capital, Lhasa. China says 16 people were killed, denying Tibetan exile groups' claims that 80 died.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Wednesday that he is prepared to hold discussions on Tibet with the Dalai Lama, Brown said.
Brown said he spoke with Wen to call for restraint after violent protests in the biggest challenge to Chinese rule in Tibet in almost two decades.
"I made it absolutely clear that there had to be an end to violence in Tibet," Brown told lawmakers in the House of Commons.
"I also called for constraint, and I called for an end to the violence by dialogue between the different parties.
"The premier told me that, subject to two things that the Dalai Lama has already said - that he does not support the total independence of Tibet, and that he renounces violence - that he would be prepared to enter into dialogue with the Dalai Lama," Brown said.
"The most important thing at the moment is to bring an end to the violence, reconciliation, and to see legitimate talks taking place between those people and China," Brown added.
Brown pledged to meet Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader during his visit to London in May.
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