CHINA CONTINUES CRACKDOWN IN TIBET

Beijing continues its crackdown in Tibet as Chinese authorities jailed six pro-independence Tibetans in Shigatse, according to Reuters. The report quoted Chinese officials as saying that operations against separatists must be at the forefront of the region's "Strike Hard" campaign against serious crime. Officials in the region have ordered separatists to surrender by June 30 to gain leniency. Amnesty International lists 725 Tibetans already detained by the Chinese on political grounds. In April, China ordered all temples and monasteries in the region to stop displaying pictures of the Dalai Lama, leading to widespread protests. Authorities, sent to tear down pictures of the Dalai Lama, clashed with monks at Ganden monastery. Chinese officials denied reports that one monk died after being shot by troops who stormed the monastery and that a 13 year old novice had been beaten in detention.

GERMANY AND CHINA HAVE FALLING OUT OVER TIBET

China has closed the Beijing office of the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation, the organizer of the 2nd International Conference of Tibet Support Groups in Bonn. Bowing to pressure from Beijing, the German government withdrew its financial support for the conference but did not stop the Dalai Lama from attending, or 250 others from 59 countries. A resolution condemning China's repression in Tibet subsequently passed unanimously by the German Bundestag prompted China to cancel a planned visit to Beijing by the German Foreign Minister.

CHINA TO HAVE MFN FOR ANOTHER YEAR

The U.S. Congress rejected a motion to deny Most Favored Nation (MFN) trading status to the People's Republic of China, ensuring that China will continue to receive the preferential status for another year.

BELGIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES RESOLUTION ON TIBET

Following the examples of the European Parliament, the Luxembourg Parliament and the German Bundestag, the Belgian Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning Chinese actions in Tibet.

NEPAL SUPPORTS CHINA ON TIBET ISSUE

Kyodo News Service in Tokyo reports that Nepalese police arrested 25 Tibetans who illegally entered Nepal. An estimated 5,000 Tibetans entered Nepal in 1995. According to official figures, Nepal has 20,000 Tibetan refugees sheltered in camps. Unofficial estimates put the number at around 100,000. Xinhua, China's official news agency, reports that the Nepali Prime Minister said his country will never allow a visit by the Dalai Lama.

INDIA TIGHTENS DALAI LAMA'S SECURITY

UPI, quoting the Indian Express, reports that Indian authorities have further tightened security around the Dalai Lama following intelligence reports of a possible attack on Tibet's exiled spiritual leader. Indian authorities have already provided the Dalai Lama with a security which is generally reserved for visiting heads of state.

AFFORESTATION PROJECTS IN QINGHAI

Xinhua reports that 130 million trees have been planted in recent years in Qinghai Province (traditionally part of Tibet). Statistics show that to date, the province has closed 270,000 hectares of hillsides to facilitate afforestation. Large scale afforestation projects will continue in the province, according to Xinhua.

WORK STARTS ON SICHUAN-TIBET HIGHWAY TUNNEL

Xinhua reports the start of construction of an 8.7 km tunnel, to be part of the highway connecting China's Sichuan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region. The existing highway around the mountain is too dangerous due to landslides and rainy, foggy and icy weather. The tunnel, expected to be completed by 1999, will be the longest highway tunnel in China.

ICT REPORTS PROBLEMS WITH YAMDROK TSO ELECTRIC PROJECT

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) reports that the top official overseeing construction of the Yamdrok Tso hydroelectric plant was dismissed for gross mismanagement of one of Tibet's most vaunted projects. The high profile electric generation project is now in shambles, reports ICT. The Yamdrok Tso hydroelectric plant, located 120 km south of Lhasa, was begun in 1985, but the project has been mired in controversy. Construction was halted at one point after Tibetan officials, including the late Panchen Lama, vigorously opposed it. According to the report, the tunnels leading from the lake to the turbines are leaking and are not usable.

TIBET OPENS FIRST HOSPITAL WITH ISOLATION WARD

Xinhua reports that Tibet's first hospital specially for treating infectious diseases has been completed in Lhasa. The facility has an outpatient clinic and 200 beds for respiratory and digestive tract diseases. The hospital will be a clinical research and treatment center for infectious diseases, as well as a base for training local medics.

CHINA AIMS TO RESTRICT FAMILY SIZE IN TIBET

Reuters, citing the Tibet Daily, reports that a new birth control campaign to reduce the size of families has been launched in Tibet with the aim of lowering the region's natural population growth rate to 1.6% by the year 2000. Tibet's growth rate fell from 1.84% in 1990 to 1.61% last year, the paper added.

TIBET TARGETED FOR RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH

Xinhua reports that the Tibet Autonomous Region plans a 10% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) each year till the end of the century, with the per capita GDP approaching the nation's average in 2010. To attain its goals, Tibet will strengthen its farming sector; build hydroelectric power stations; upgrade national highways; improve telecommunications; expand such industries as forestry processing, mining, farm product and animal byproduct processing, handicrafts, construction, building materials and tourism; and build four economic zones along the highways connecting Tibet with neighboring provinces and Nepal.

TIBET FORECASTS LARGE URBAN POPULATION INCREASE

Xinhua reports the Tibet Autonomous Region government plans to build seven cities over the next decade. The report said that Lhasa's urban population will increase to 400,000 in 2015 from 140,000 at present.

TIBET OPENS ITS FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY

Xinhua reports that the Tibet Autonomous Region opened its first public library in Lhasa. The majority of the library's collection will be books written in Tibetan or about Tibet. About 500 publishing houses throughout China donated 380,000 books to the library.

HISTORY OF TIBET PUBLISHED IN CHINA

Xinhua reports that the General History of Tibet - Strings of Turquoise, has just been published. The book, almost 1,000 pages, is the first general history of Tibet written by contemporary scholars inside Tibet.

TIBETAN FREEDOM CONCERT

50,000 people a day attended a two day Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco. Top bands and Tibetan activists mixed music with political activism for an audience that was young and sympathetic. The concert, an educational effort sponsored by the Milarepa Fund, encouraged the crowd to boycott Chinese goods and to vote.

TIBET O.R.G. TO COORDINATE TIBET WEB SITES

Tibet Online Resource Gathering (Tibet O.R.G.) has announced a central site for all things Tibetan to be launched on the World Wide Web July 6. Preparation of the site (at http://www.tibet.org/), which will serve as a central connection for Web sites of Tibet support groups and individuals all over the world, has involved over two dozen persons representing organizations in seven countries.