China fears Tibet unrest may spread

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said 19 people were killed inriots in the Tibetan capital last week and official mediawarned against the unrest spreading to the northwest region ofXinjiang, where Uighur Muslims bridle under Chinese control.

The rising death toll comes amid mounting internationalconcern over China's handling of the protests, overshadowingthe run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games in August that the hosthopes will be a celebration of its arrival as a world power.

The official Xinhua news agency on Saturday quotedofficials in Tibet's capital Lhasa as saying 18 civilians and apolicemen were killed in the riots, which Beijing insists wereengineered by Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

It said another 58 people were seriously injured. ExiledTibetans claim as many as 100 have died in the protests whichspilled over this week into neighbouring ethnic-Tibetan areas.

PRESSED TO BE MORE OPEN

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier pressedBeijing to be more open and let the rest of the world see foritself what is happening there.

"China is only hurting itself by preventing foreignobservers from seeing what is going on," he told the Bildnewspaper.

Beijing has poured troops into the region but is barringforeigners from entering Tibet and some neighbouringethnic-Tibetan areas.

U.S. presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCainhave both criticised China over the issue with McCain saying itwas "not acceptable conduct from a world power."

Chinese officials are adamant that the discontent in Tibet,which Communist troops marched into in 1950, is being driven bythe "Dalai clique" of exiled Tibetans intent on independenceand the official media has stepped up criticism of the DalaiLama.

Xinhua quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang as sayingthat "China firmly opposes any encouragement or support for thesecessionist attempt of the Dalai's clique".

The Beijing Times said pro-Tibet independence elements hadattacked 17 Chinese embassies consulates in the United States,Europe, Australia and India since the monk-led protests.

The attacks occurred almost simultaneously, an "obvious"sign they were planned and organised by the Dalai clique, itquoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao assaying.

The English-language China Daily dedicated its front pageto a report and graphic illustrating what it said wasinaccurate or biased reporting in the West which put China in abad light.

GREATER AUTONOMY

The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, denies he wantsanything more than greater autonomy for his homeland, hascriticised the violent protests and offered to come to Beijingfor talks with Chinese officials.

China has put a security blanket over the remote Tibetanregion, fearful the protests -- which some analysts say alsohave their roots in the economic gap with the Han Chinese --could spread to other parts of the country.

The official media of the northwest region of Xinjiangwarned against outbreaks of unrest there inspired by Tibetanprotests.

"No matter whether it's Tibetan independence, Xinjiangindependence or Taiwanese independence, their goal is all thesame -- to create chaos and split the motherland," said acommentary on the official Xinjiang news Web site(www.tianshannet.com).

"China and Beijing's holding of the Olympic Games in 2008has led separatists at home and abroad to believe they have agolden opportunity. To put it bluntly, if they don't wreckthings, they won't feel comfortable, because they won't haveachieved their goal of spoiling China's image."

(Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)