10.03.2012
Chinese President Hu Jintao stressed the need to maintain stability in Tibet as he met legislators from the restive region, following a spate of self-immolations in Tibetan-inhabited areas.
"Stability and harmony should be maintained in Tibet, while social management" needs to be "enhanced and improved," Hu said Friday on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary session, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
As Communist Party chief in the Himalayan region in 1989, Hu was behind a brutal crackdown on riots in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, an event that some observers believe gave his career a boost.
The official death toll from the repression of the riots is 11, but rights groups believe more than 130 people were killed.
His comments came after a spate of self-immolations in Tibetan-inhabited areas of China over the past year, mostly in Sichuan. Rights groups say that more 20 people have set themselves on fire in protest at Chinese rule.
China has substantially increased security in its Tibetan-inhabited areas since the deadly riots, which began in Lhasa in March 2008 before spreading to other areas.
Tibetans have long chafed at China's rule over the vast Tibetan plateau, but Beijing insists that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and have benefited from improved living standards brought on by China's economic expansion.
"Stability and harmony should be maintained in Tibet, while social management" needs to be "enhanced and improved," Hu said Friday on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary session, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
As Communist Party chief in the Himalayan region in 1989, Hu was behind a brutal crackdown on riots in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, an event that some observers believe gave his career a boost.
The official death toll from the repression of the riots is 11, but rights groups believe more than 130 people were killed.
His comments came after a spate of self-immolations in Tibetan-inhabited areas of China over the past year, mostly in Sichuan. Rights groups say that more 20 people have set themselves on fire in protest at Chinese rule.
China has substantially increased security in its Tibetan-inhabited areas since the deadly riots, which began in Lhasa in March 2008 before spreading to other areas.
Tibetans have long chafed at China's rule over the vast Tibetan plateau, but Beijing insists that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and have benefited from improved living standards brought on by China's economic expansion.
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