The World - News from Feb. 16, 1988

Tibetan officials have expelled foreign travelers, fearing an upsurge of anti-Chinese unrest during an important Buddhist festival in the capital of Lhasa, sources in the region said. Police in Lhasa have rounded up the few foreign travelers still in Tibet--it was officially closed to tourists in October--and ordered them to leave the city, a Chinese source said. The report followed a recent speech to the Tibetan Congress by the Panchen Lama, a religious leader who insisted that Beijing will not reverse its policies on Tibet despite last fall’s violent protests for independence from China.