In this undated image taken Sunday, March 16, 2008, from China's CCTV and provided by APTN, Japanese tourists are led by police on a street in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Tibet's exiled government said Sunday that 80 people had been killed during protests in Lhasa as armed police and soldiers patrolled the capital's streets, enforcing a strict curfew in a security clampdown following violent demonstrations that drew negative publicity for China ahead of the Beijing Olympics. (AP Photo/Cable TV via APTN)
China Blocks YouTube Over Tibet Videos
BEIJING (AP) — China blocked access to YouTube.com on Sunday after dozens of videos of recent protests in Tibet appeared on the popular U.S. video Web site.
The blocking added to the communist government's efforts to control what the public saw and heard about protests that erupted Friday in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, against Chinese rule.
Access to YouTube.com, usually readily available in China, was blocked after videos appeared on the site Saturday showing foreign news reports about the Lhasa demonstrations, montages of photos, and scenes from Tibet-related protests abroad.
There were no protest scenes posted on China-based video Web sites such as 56.com, youku.com and tudou.com.
The Chinese government has not commented on its move to prevent access to YouTube. Internet users trying to call up the Web site are presented with a blank screen.
Chinese leaders encourage Internet use for education and business but use online filters to block access to material considered subversive or pornographic.
Foreign Web sites run by news organizations and human rights groups are regularly blocked if they carry sensitive information. Operators of China-based online bulletin boards are required to monitor their content and enforce censorship.
China has at least 210 million Internet users, according to the government, and is expected to overtake the United States soon to become the biggest population of Web surfers.
Beijing tightened controls on online video with rules that took effect Jan. 30 and limited video-sharing to state-owned companies.
Regulators backtracked a week later, apparently worried they might disrupt a growing industry, and said private companies that already were operating legally could continue. They said any new competitors will be bound by the more stringent restrictions.
Seattle, Washington, a protest against China's rule is held. 

The Central Tibetan Administration, headed by the Dalai Lama, says that at least 80 people have been killed in protests by supporters of Tibet against Chinese rule, despite China's claim that only ten people are dead.

"As the Tibet uprising continues, reliable sources have confirmed that at least 80 people were killed on 14th March 2008 in Lhasa," the website Tibet.net reported. They also said that many dead bodies have been stashed in front of a Public Security Department office in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital where most of the unrest occurred. The site did not name its sources.

The report from Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, was much different. "In Friday's riot, at least ten civilians died, mostly from burns caused by the roving mobs and some others were injured," Xinhua said, citing the Tibetan Regional Government's report. Additionally, they reported that police in Lhasa had saved 580 people, including an entire school, from the violent array of sabotage.

Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, condemned China's reaction to the protests, calling it a "cultural genocide". At a press conference in Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan government in exile, he said, "They simply rely on using force in order to simulate peace, a peace brought by force using a rule of terror." He also called for an international organization to investigate the situation in Tibet.

China has declared a "People's War" against the protesters, vowing to "expose" the Dalai Lama. "We must wage a people's war to beat splittism and expose and condemn the malicious acts of these hostile forces and expose the hideous face of the Dalai Lama group to the light of day," officials were quoted as saying.

China also prevented access to video website YouTube after many international videos of the protests were posted on the website. YouTube is normally easily accessible in China, which blocks other pornographic or subversive sites with its 'Great Firewall'.