2008 Lhasa riots

Riots

Tibetan rioters appeared to be targeting shops and vehicles owned by Han Chinese, the predominant ethnic group in China, and Hui, who are a Muslim minority. According to the BBC and The Wall Street Journal, rioters focused on setting fire to and looting businesses owned by them; The Wall Street Journal stated that first-hand accounts of their stories have been relatively rare in Western news reports, in part because it is difficult to reach people by phone in Lhasa." Tibetans face similar problems due to the strict controls on media reporting of events in Tibetan areas of China.{{cite news | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080329234000/http://www.rfa.org/english/news/2008/03/25/tibetans_protest/ | archive-date = 29 March 2008 | url-status = live

A crowd tried to storm the Lhasa Great Mosque and set fire to the front gate. Shops and restaurants in the Muslim quarter were destroyed.

Also according to The Economist, "The mobs, ranging from small groups of youths (some armed with traditional Tibetan swords) to crowds of many dozens, including women and children, rampaged through the narrow alleys of the Tibetan quarter. They battered the shutters of shops, broke in and seized whatever they could, from hunks of meat to gas canisters and clothing. Some goods they carried away, while other goods were thrown into large fires lit on the street." Little children could also be seen looting a toy shop as well and mobs were attempting to ram the defenses of banks. The mobs also attacked any ethnic Chinese on the streets. James Miles reported seeing a Han Chinese teenage boy plead to a monk to help him hide because of the violence around the city.{{cite news | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090526061019/http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10870258&top_story=1 | archive-date = 26 May 2009 | url-status = live

The Guardian reported that according to a foreign eyewitness account, rioters attacked Han, Muslim Hui and other ethnic minorities. Foreigners were not attacked.{{cite news | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160826122807/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/15/tibet.china2 | archive-date = 26 August 2016 | url-status = live | access-date = 2008-03-19 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080513120936/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3566647.ece | archive-date = 13 May 2008 | url-status = dead

According to the London-based Free Tibet Campaign, an eyewitness in Lhasa saw rioters set a mosque on fire late on Friday night and throw stones at people who appeared to be Hui.{{cite news |url-status=live |url-status=live

Other Western tourists emerged from Tibet with graphic descriptions of the level of violence that had occurred. Some claimed that they had seen non-Tibetan Chinese, including the elderly, being beaten and stoned to death by groups of Tibetans, supported by the crowd.

Other events

An eyewitness stated that police cars, fire engines and other official vehicles were set on fire after anger erupted following the police's dispersal of a peaceful demonstration near a small temple in Lhasa.{{cite news | access-date = 2008-03-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080513121334/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3559355.ece | archive-date = 13 May 2008 | url-status = dead |access-date=2008-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317170032/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/14/tibet.unrest/index.html |archive-date=2008-03-17 |url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080316034516/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/64E0E84F-1A67-4EFD-A5E0-F3D554C0A6DF.htm | archive-date = 16 March 2008 | url-status = live | access-date = 2008-03-19 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080318002326/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7296041.stm | archive-date = 18 March 2008 | url-status = live

According to a Tibetan who fled Tibet after the demonstrations in Lhasa, knife-wielding Chinese troops attacked Tibetan demonstrators on March 14, and several demonstrators died from gunshot and knife wounds.

Aftermath

In the aftermath of the riot, residents appeared to have mixed reactions to the violence. Some Tibetans celebrated by throwing toilet paper that resembled traditional Tibetan scarves over wires across the streets. However, "others appeared aghast at the violence."

Casualties

The official Chinese media source Xinhua has reported that on March 14 in Lhasa "rioters injured 623 people including 241 police and armed police and killed 18 others. They also set fire to more than 300 locations, mostly private houses, stores and schools, smashed vehicles and damaged public facilities."{{cite news | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080329212107/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/26/content_7859382.htm | archive-date = 29 March 2008 | url-status = dead

The official Chinese media has now published details including names and photographs of some of those they say were killed or injured during the rioting.{{cite news | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080327232458/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6378807.html | archive-date = 27 March 2008 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080327232449/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6378730.html | archive-date = 27 March 2008 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080406065639/http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/6379588.html | archive-date = 6 April 2008 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121021074012/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/01/content_7894023.htm | archive-date = 21 October 2012 | url-status = dead

Radio Free Asia and the International Campaign for Tibet reported that fresh protests broke out at the Ramoche Temple, situated in the northwest of Lhasa, March 29, 2008, as a 15-member group of diplomats from the United States, Japan and Europe returned to Beijing after a two-day visit to the Tibetan capital. However, independent verification of the protest could not be obtained.{{cite news |access-date=2008-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331152729/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/30/china.tibet.ap/index.html |archive-date=2008-03-31 |url-status=dead

References

References

1. Xiaobing Li, ''Civil Liberties in China'', ABC-CLIO, 2010, 165 p., p. xlvii: "March 14: Buddhist riots – the '3/14 Riots' – occur in Lhasa."
2. link. (October 6, 2017 (Trad Chinese) China Review News Agency, 22 June 2008)
3. (June 2023)
4. (2008-03-20). "Transcript: James Miles interview on Tibet". CNN.com.
5. Barbara Demick, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-23-fg-muslims23-story.html Tibetan-Muslim tensions roil China], ''Los Angeles Times'', June 23, 2008.
6. (2008-03-19). "Tourists tell of Tibetans' violence". The Australian.
7. Bell, Thomas. (2008-03-19). "Tibetans attacked Chinese, say Lhasa tourists". The Telegraph.
8. "Escaped Tibetan rioter tells of Chinese repression".