Tim Johnson is the China correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers. He is also a blogger. His blog? “China Rises: Notes from the Middle Kingdom.”
Here is his latest blogpost:
Anybody who doesn’t think China exercises extraordinary control and coercion over what happens in Tibet should try coming here with accreditation as a foreign journalist. It makes one radioactive.
Since arriving five days ago, our small group has been the subject of constant surveillance. People we’ve talked to have been picked up for questioning. One was given an extraordinary fine on trumped up charges. Our attempts to go to Everest Base Camp were stymied on Saturday when an unmarked car coming from Shigatse, in the west, headed us off and people carrying tourism police IDs ordered us to return immediately to Lhasa, where we were told to stay in our hotel rooms.
Foreign journalists are almost never permitted into Tibet except on once-a-year trips organized and monitored by the Foreign Ministry. I requested formal approval to come from a high-level Foreign Ministry official, and was referred to his counterpart in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. No answer. So I came in as a tourist on the train. State security sniffed our little group out immediately. [Full Text]
