Beijing-Dec. 30-FWN/UPI CHINA'S HARSH SENTENCING OF A Tibetan Fulbright scholar for espionage has touched off warnings against visiting the Himalayan region where even photography may lead to police interrogation.

The cautions emanating Sunday from human rights groups coincide with Beijing's insistence that Tibet is ready to welcome international tourists in 1997 "by promoting holidays on the world's highest plateau."

Human rights groups are appealing to President Clinton to condemn the conviction of Ngawang Choephel to 18 years in prison while making a video about traditional music. They are warning prospective visitors to be extremely cautious.

John Ackerly, director of the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet, said tourists should carefully consider their actions once there, including the use of video cameras to film what may appear to be innocuous scenes.

In a bid to bring more revenue to Tibet, one of the most impoverished areas since Beijing invaded and annexed the region in 1950, China has been pouring millions into infrastructure and power projects.

A massive effort has been under way to spruce up tourist attractions such as the renowned Potala Palace, the traditional home of the dalai lama who fled in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.

Ackerly stresses Choephel's sentence is the harshest given to any tourist, Tibetan or Western, and the law under which the Tibetan living in India was convicted is specifically applicable to foreigners.

After receiving a Fulbright to teach at Vermont's Middlebury College in 1993, Choephel visited Tibet as a tourist with several other Americans in August 1995. Chinese authorities did not confirm his detention for 13 months.