China Criticizes West, Dalai Lama Over Recent Unrest

The Dalai Lama

State-run Chinese media have accused Western governments of distorting and exacerbating recent unrest in China's Sichuan Province, which is inhabited primarily by ethnic Tibetans.

The English-language "China Daily" said "it is not uncommon for some Western governments and the so-called Tibetan government-in-exile to play up and distort incidents."

The comments came after three people were reported killed in three separate clashes last week in Sichuan, prompting the United States to say it was "seriously concerned."

The "China Daily" also said the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, is hiding his "real agenda behind religion" and is financed by Western governments that have an anti-Chinese agenda.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 and says he is seeking a negotiated, "authentic autonomy" for the region.

Compiled from agency reports