China: Tibet Closed To Foreigners Until July 26

BEIJING — Travel agents say China has closed Tibet to foreigners until July 26 in an apparent move to head off trouble surrounding sensitive political anniversaries.

Agents say official written notice of the closure was received June 1 and cited last month's 60th anniversary of communist rule over Tibet as the cause. However, with the May 23 anniversary already passed, the closure seems more likely targeted at the 90th anniversary of ruling Communist Party's founding, which is July 1.

Ren Zhiwei of Tibet China Travel Service and Zeng Meimei of Tibet China International Travel Service, both in Lhasa, said Thursday that Chinese tourists are not affected by the ban.

Tibet has been closed intermittently to foreign tourists since deadly anti-government protests there in 2008.

Comments

[Pod-gers]

11:26 AM on 06/22/2011

Under the rule of the Da Lie Lama's Tibet was always closed to 'foreigers." That is a fact. China has worked hard to open Tibet, much to the consternation of the current Da Lie Lama, who was paid $180,000 to leave Tibet and "fight communism," by telling lies about China.

Today, China has not only a right, but a duty to protect the people living in Tibet. Most are the emancipated serfs and slaves, abandoned by the Da Lie Lama when he took the money from the US and the go;d and jewels from the people of Tibet and China, and "fled" dressed in his finery and riding on a horse, led by the CIA into India. It was his biggest mistake.

Yes, the CCP will celebrate the expulsion of Japan, the US and European Imperialist's and the end of the Century of China's Humiliation. Why shouldn't they?

Today, China has the best government they have had in hundreds of years!

[wereeverywhere]

12:24 PM on 06/23/2011

What a chillingly Orwellian homage to the Big Brother of neo-colonialism we see unfolding in Tibet. Way to celebrate a government that just shut down the country to non-foreign Chinese. Way to compound your ignorance of current repression with a fairy tale reference to the Party-approved 'slaves and serfs' meme.

Yes, the Chinese have every to celebrate their liberation from the hands of imperialists. Just as Tibetans will have reason to celebrate theirs if they can get from under the thumb of Chinese imperialism.

[iceburg]

11:29 PM on 06/16/2011

This is how a totalitarian regime rule a country.

[sachazg]

06:51 PM on 06/16/2011

China is such a violent ruler. They don't want the west to have proof of their brutality.

[Anne Mccormick]

12:34 AM on 06/17/2011

i agree. in 2009 there were riots in the Muslim Xinjiang region of China that were deadly. ever since then China has censored any and all information about restive populations under their control that would destroy China's public relations machine. the Arab spring must be making China really nervous. they can't allow the Muslims in Xinjiang to get the idea they should have independence as well. after all, we all know how happy people in that part of the world are to live under the rule of the Han Chinese. just look at Tibet.

[thoughtmc00]

05:17 PM on 06/16/2011

Res ipsa loquitur. :) I hope the youth in China eventually bring about change. It won't happen until the average Chinese starts desiring it deep within their bones, and at present the average Chinese is too busy becoming more and more like one of the "Real Housewives."

[NotMyTube]

04:16 PM on 06/16/2011

Shouldn't we use the word "lock down"? First, it catches more eye balls, second, it's China we are talking about here after all.

[GaddafismyHero]

03:03 PM on 06/16/2011

There trying to stop meddling foreigners from meddling with their country.

[wereeverywhere]

03:23 PM on 06/16/2011

Chinese government is the foreigner meddling in the affairs of Tibetan people.

[GaddafismyHero]

03:35 PM on 06/16/2011

Are you Dumb ? the Entire world recognizes Tibet as a apart China, UN etc etc the Only place Tibet is Independent is in your mind ^^.

[tksensei]

05:18 PM on 06/21/2011

The Tibetan people would sure like to stop "meddling foreigners from meddling with their country."

Meddling foreigners = CCP sponsored Han Chinese

[HanMeiRen]

02:57 PM on 06/16/2011

For anyone who wants to learn more on how the Tibetans are oppressed here is the Senate Foreign Committee staff's Tibet report of a recent trip:

http://foreign.senate.gov/download/?id=E3A86CB6-499B-4228-9F2F-2B046E0ADE83

[Assumed Name]

02:40 PM on 06/16/2011

...China is just plain scary.

[bodhi213]

01:59 PM on 06/16/2011

Sorry everyone the Tibet ride is closed for reconditioning until july 26th....Please get a ticket for the Tianamen square reenactment or several other human rights atrocities while we "straighten out" some problematic areas.......GET OUT OF TIBET

[hueylover]

03:43 AM on 06/17/2011

I'm surprised by the anti Tibet and anti Dalai Lama comments I've read on huffpo.
Didn't realise there was such contempt in the USA for this culture.

[bodhi213]

09:44 AM on 06/17/2011

Im sure its because the average person in the usa probably think Tibet and al qaeda are linked........

[tksensei]

05:23 PM on 06/21/2011

That's because there are some here who reflexively defend anything under the heading: Communism, and because some others are on the CCP payroll and make their living as apologists for all things PRC.

[dobravery]

01:51 PM on 06/16/2011

It's only closed until they finish upgrading all the rides and attractions.

[Volantiad]

03:01 PM on 06/16/2011

Or scooping up the bodies and hosing down the blood...

[Tony Andrews]

12:51 PM on 06/16/2011

China has been oppressing Tibet for OVER 60 years. This year just happens to be the 60th anniversary of comunist rule in the country.

I have been protesting China's treatment of Tibet for almost all of my adult life, and notice that most of the world is totally ignorant of any problems in that country.

Even with this story, it seems, the emphasis is on the inconvenience to tourists, and not on the plight of Tibetans.

The disinterest of almost everyone in the world is sickening.

Tibetans are, generally, a beautifully pacific people who have suffered Chinese oppression for far too long, and I urge everyone to do a little basic research, take a few minutes, to find out a little about that oppression and protest - from the rooftops - about it.

[akwalter]

01:06 PM on 06/16/2011

One of the worst things is that the Dalai Lama has sort of resigned himself to the world's indifference and has been getting more and more conciliatory towards China.

There is no major power in the world willing to stand up to the Chinese government on Tibet.

America is willing to spend billions of dollars fighting tiny groups of largely unarmed (or minimally armed) and harmless people in remote tribal areas but it won't even criticize anymore what is done in Tibet.

Years ago the U.S. started to train Tibetans to resist, even bringing some to the U.S. after 1959 for guerrilla training. Now if China and the U.S. have a disagreement Hillary schedules lunch with the Chinese rep and they discuss it over drinks and dumplings.

[Pema]

04:07 PM on 06/16/2011

F&F

[OutAtFirst]

12:18 PM on 06/16/2011

What is China's fascination with Tibet? Does it have some hidden strategic or economic importance?

[Amalek]

01:50 PM on 06/16/2011

It is like Texas.  It is large and looks good on the map, but otherwise it is basically useless.

[Pema]

04:10 PM on 06/16/2011

it is where the source of all water for that region he who controls water will be on top, its also a place for china to dump their toxic crp.

[Both Wings 2 fly]

02:21 PM on 06/16/2011

It has/had great forests, land,and a direct route to India. The Chinese claim that it has been traditionally theirs. The problem lies with the written language. China has many languages and dialects, but they all read the same pictographic language. The Tibetan language is Sanskrit, which is phonetic in structure, if it had been traditionally Chinese, it would have been pictographic.

Sua Sponte

[SDLee]

11:39 AM on 06/16/2011

This is just one more failure of leadership by the ruling class. Leadership worldwide is proven to be inept and impotent in every urgent crisis facing mankind. Human rights are in shambles everywhere with women and children being specifically targeted. Energy policy worldwide is hostage to a couple of utterly corrupt theocracies and principalities, holdouts from the dark ages. Unjust appropriation of capital and financial manipulation by the wealthy and powerful destroy entire economies in a single generation creating massive unemployment and food scarcity. These problems are all directly attributable to the failures of leaders and functionaries worldwide with particular blame going to the US government since it is the imperial leader and responsible for conducting a series of extremely brutal wars over the last decade. Leadership is busy enriching itself, ingratiating itself with the corporate world that provides capital and employment for it's children. There's a complete disregard for the common good and judging by appearances the ruling class even hates the ordinary people it represents. It's a generation of thugs and vipers.

[edejan]

12:21 AM on 06/17/2011

It's called globalization and the bankers/oligarchs of the WORLD are in control, not really the national leaders, certainly not the US leaders. Thanks to technology and transportation, the entire world can be destroyed for profit and to heck with culture, society, humanity.

[cuoi]

11:37 AM on 06/16/2011

Meanwhile, in South China Sea, Chinese are claiming large swaths of ocean, screwing Vietnam, Phillipines and several other countries. We got an aircraft carrier steaming into area to conduct "joint naval exercises" with Vietnamese Navy. Seems like yesterday I was in Central Highlands surrounded by VC...how times change!

[SamEllison]

12:04 PM on 06/16/2011

I'm glad Kissinger lived long enough to see us win the Vietnam war.

[sensimilla]

02:27 PM on 06/16/2011

i hope that is sarcasm, K1ssinger (of death) never saw a genoc1dal maniac he didn't support or resources he didn't want to steal.

[SDLee]

11:23 AM on 06/16/2011

That should give them plenty of time murder, torture and imprison a few thousand Tibetans without the world sticking their noses into it. Where's all those brave reporters looking for a hot story? They should should be there.