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China tightens border control in Tibet

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-09 15:01

BEIJING  -- China has tightened its border control in Tibet ahead of the annual "two sessions" and expected sabotage activities by the Dalai Lama clique, a senior police officer said here Monday.

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"We have made due deployment and tightened controls at border ports, and key areas and passages along the border in Tibet," Fu Hongyu, Political Commissar of the Ministry of Public Security Border Control Department.

"We will firmly crackdown on criminal activities in Tibet's border area that pose a threat to China's sovereignty and government," said Fu,  a deputy to the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's legislative body.

"We will go all out to maintain the security and stability of border and coastal areas," said Fu, on the sidelines of the NPC session.

Tibet will mark the 50th anniversary of the abolishment of slavery and the theocratic regime of the Dalai Lama on March 28. A riot instigated by the Dalai clique broke out in the same month last year.

Legqog, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region People's Congress, said Sunday the Dalai clique has increased its secessionist and sabotage activities in Tibet this year.

"They made attempts to make trouble through collusion with those inside or even sending in their people," he said.

Tibet, a plateau region in China, has a lengthy border with Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal.