BEIJING – China on Thursday angrily defended its detention of two Western Tibet activists protesting against Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 Olympics, saying foreigners must abide by the country’s laws.
“Last week, there were two foreigners who held up a banner advocating Tibet independence outside the gate of a park. I feel very angry about this,” foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan told reporters at a regular briefing.
“Chinese people really welcome foreigners to come to China to sightsee, study or to live,” he said.
“But at the very least they have to adhere to the local country’s laws and regulations and at the very least they should respect China’s unity and territorial integrity.”
Kong said it was “very inappropriate” for the activists to engage in activities promoting the separatism after entering China as tourists.
While some people may oppose Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games, Kong said those voices were “quite few”.
The activists, an Australian and an American, were detained Monday after unveiling a banner in a Beijing park reading “No Olympics for China until Tibet is Free”.
They were released after some eight hours of questioning and escorted to the airport to leave the country.
Two journalists covering the event, including a reporter for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, were also briefly detained. Beijing occupied Tibet, which it insists has been an integral part of the Chinese nation for centuries, in 1951.
Since then it has been accused of trying to wipe out Tibet’s unique Buddhist-based culture through political and religious repression as well as mass ethnic Chinese immigration.
Rights groups have begun stepping up their campaigns against China as the clock ticks down to 2008.
