Foreign journalists find Tibetan city divided

Journalists were monitored most of the time during the first day of their visit but did venture outside without minders for several hours. However, several cars followed the journalists at one point and a cab driver who took journalists around the city was questioned afterward by authorities.

When the motorcade stopped beyond one of three checkpoints seen on the airport roadway, several reporters hurried toward the police chased by government minders.

Five uniformed police stopped cars. Officer Cunluobu, who like some Tibetans uses only one name, said the post was set up March 14 — the day of the rioting — and they were checking for "people not wearing seat belts, for violating traffic rules and for having fake licenses."

Aside from the monitoring, a clash of expectations soon emerged between the officials and the foreign reporters. The officials from Beijing and the Tibetan government emphasized the violence of what is known as "the 3-14 beating, smashing, looting and burning incident."

Video stresses security forces' restraint
Reporters were shown an extended version of video of the violence that has been replayed on state television. It pointed out that rioters targeted not just Chinese and their businesses but also Chinese Muslims known as Hui. The video stressed the security forces' restraint.

"The armed police did not use lethal measures," the narrator said. "Only shields and batons were used."

The government says at least 22 people have died in Lhasa, most of them "innocents" killed by rioters, while exiled Tibetan rights groups say 140 Tibetans have died in the crackdown across western China.

Liu and other officials present declined to answer questions from reporters about the suppression and the causes and events leading up to the protests. They deferred until interviews arranged for Thursday.

But the video and the extent of damage visible on Lhasa's streets showed how Tibetan protesters targeted many of the symbols of Chinese rule. They torched police stations, fire trucks and a Bank of China. The video showed a charred signboard from a Communist Party office.

'Harmonious' banner, burned-out stores
On Qingnian, or Youth, Road — one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, a ceremonial arch was draped with a red banner with the latest party slogan "Build a Harmonious Society." On either side stood burned-out, two-story storefronts.

Shops were closed on the road, but from the windows above or the steel gates over the doors hung traditional white ceremonial scarves — an apparent signal to rioters that the places were Tibetan, not Chinese.

President Bush called China's President Hu Jintao on Wednesday and raised concerns about the crackdown in Tibet.

Bush encouraged Hu to engage in "substantive dialogue" with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the White House said. The president also called on China to allow access for journalists and diplomats in Tibet.

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