Since peaceful protests turned into outbreaks of rioting and violence in Lhasa, Tibet on March 14th 2008, many Foreign Affair government departments including those of Canada, the UK and the United States have indicated that all travelers should avoid non-essential travel to Tibet and surrounding areas.
Chinese Government’s Ban on Travel to Autonomous Region of Tibet
Accordingly, the Chinese government has banned travel to this region of Tibet, known as the “autonomous region, a large portion of the south west of the Tibet province. Most, if not all tour operators have cancelled any tours in the area because of the unknown and unstable status of many of these areas, especially in the capital of Lhasa.
The Chinese government has stopped granting tourist visas to Tibet and has denied any press or media from covering the event since day one. News and reports of the incidences have been blocked on many online websites like YouTube and The Times.
Affected Areas & Areas to Avoid for Travelers
Most governments are warning their citizens to avoid the areas of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan in the upcoming few weeks, until further notice. These areas are the immediately surrounding provinces of Tibet and are also areas in which other protests for Tibet independence have taken place.
One major concern for many tour operators and travelers is in light of the Summer Olympics taking place in Beijing in August 2008. Many businesses hope that problems will be resolved within the next few months so that China’s role in hosting the Olympics will be as seamless as possible to boots its economy and tourism industry.
The Protests: What Are They All About?
March 10, 2008 marked the 49th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against the Communist Party’s rule (to no avail). On this day 49 years later, peaceful protests were held by the International Tibet Independence Movement. The “Free Tibet” movement calls for greater autonomy for the region with undertones of independence. While the movement is not exclusive to, it is largely associated with Tibetan Buddhists and the Dalai Lama, whom are located in Lhasa.
As peaceful protests continued for many days, on March 14th, the protests began to be broken up by the police. Acts of violence, gunfire, damaging property and riots began to occur in Lhasa, mainly towards Han Chinese, a dominant force in the Chinese government. The Chinese government responded by sending in the People’s Armed Police to regain control of affected areas.
For more travel information and advisories, please visit:
Foreign Affairs and International Travel Canada: China
Travel Alert for Travel to China by the U.S. Department of State
Foreign & Commonwealth Office, United Kingdom: China
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