CNN describes China’s apparent efforts since 2008 to erode the position of Tibetans in Nepal:
“Since China has given Nepal a lot of money, the Nepali government doesn’t let Tibetans do much of anything. They don’t let us gather to mourn, or protest. They even pick up Tibetans while they are walking on the street and send them to jail,” Sonam Choden alleged.
The video report includes scenes of a near-scuffle on the Nepalese side of the border between the CNN crew and plain-clothed Chinese men. The incident recalls recent attacks on journalists in and around the Zhejiang village of Panhe.
We were approached by several men in plain clothes, who put their hands over the camera as we tried to film on the border. The men were speaking Chinese to one another and were clearly on the Nepalese side of the border.
Nepal’s border police were also there. Their security forces had warned us that if the uniformed Chinese police came over the bridge, we’d better watch out because our camera would likely get broken.
However, the Nepalese forces didn’t try to stop us from filming; nor did they stop the Chinese men from following us deep into Nepal’s territory.
