Tibetans Jailed, Chinese Protest Bias In U.S.

Today, China sentenced 30 Tibetans to prison for their roles in the Lhasa riots that began on March 14th. The prison terms for the new inmates range from three years to life according to the New York Times. The sentence is the first round of punishments against the people China believes took part in the riots. In all, the Chinese say these rioters killed 19 people and left 600 dead. A number that could not be verified independently - the only reports that followed the riots were released by Xinhua, the state-run news service. Foreign reporters were not allowed into Tibet after the protests and only now have been allowed in to "report" on the Olympic torch's Mount Everest ascent. Although, Reuters acknowledges that even the select number of foreign media personnel allowed to report from Everest have been provided with little information as to when the torch will leave for the summit.

A country-wide ban on internet sites such as YouTube further limits the opportunity of the Chinese people to understand what is occurring in Tibet. But even Chinese college students in the U.S., with access to such information, keep a patriotic view of the events, as a seperate New York Times report shows.

They push back against what they see as a U.S. bias against their home country. But then again, at least they are allowed to respond - as one student did who said, "Western media is even more biased than Chinese media" - to the very reports on TV and the internet that their countrymen don't have the right to watch.

--Jason Kerkmans