China's Tibetan frontiers rekindle tradition of defiance

By Chris Buckley

ZHUONI, China (Reuters) - Across China's mountainous west, armed troops watch over the Tibetan monasteries and towns that have emerged as hotbeds of protest kindled by traditions of defiance and newer economic grievances.

More than the Tibet Autonomous Region itself, where the upsurge of anti-Chinese protests and riots erupted last month, the historically Tibetan parts of neighboring provinces have defied efforts to smother unrest with troop convoys, roadblocks and patrols, and warnings of harsh punishment to lawbreakers.

In Zhuoni, a county in the northwest province of Gansu, protesters in mid-March torched a school, set up their own roadblock and trashed officials' cars, residents said.

A recent trip along its tightly guarded roads showed the protests had stopped. Smashed windows of the local police offices and Chinese-owned shops had been quickly repaired, and traders were returning to dusty streets.

But Tibetans here and across south Gansu spoke of anger with the government campaign against the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, and with economic shifts they said favored Han Chinese migrants and Hui Muslim merchants in nearby towns.

"There are more and more Han here, so we can't develop," said Tsairang, a herder and farmer. He rejected the government's claim that the Dalai Lama's supporters orchestrated the violence.

"It wasn't the Dalai Lama. He's like a member of our family who isn't allowed to come home. You can't blame him."

Southern Gangsu and nearby Sichuan and Qinghai provinces have seen outbursts of anti-Chinese protests since mid-March.