The Panchen Lama, Gyaincain Norbu, on Sunday visited an exhibition trumpeting the economic and democratic progress brought by communist rule in the 50 years since the end of feudalism in Tibet, state television reported.

The exhibition coincides with the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that led to the exile of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's most revered spiritual figure.

Chinese authorities say the beginning of his exile marked the end of serfdom in the mountainous region.

"Facts prove that without the Communist Party of China, over a million serfs would never enjoy human dignity and freedom," the report quoted the Panchen Lama as saying.

"People living in Tibet should cherish the prosperity and happy lives today, it has not come easy."

His comments came as Tibetan regions in China remained under tight security during the muted first anniversary of anti-Chinese unrest that Beijing says led to the deaths of 21 people and which it blames on rioters.

According to exile groups, 203 Tibetans were killed -- mostly by Chinese troops -- during last year's unrest, which began in Lhasa on March 14 before spreading to other areas of western China with Tibetan populations.

China's atheist government enthroned Gyaincain Norbu as the Panchen Lama in 1995, rejecting another boy selected by the exiled Dalai Lama in a move that defied long-held Buddhist traditions.

The Dalai Lama's choice, six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, immediately disappeared from public view and is believed to have been under a form of house arrest ever since.

The alternate Panchen Lama is rarely seen in public and is believed to be receiving his education in Beijing under close scrutiny from the government.

In Tibetan Buddhist tradition the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama have played alternating roles in the religion's esoteric reincarnation rituals and the education of each other's successors.

Exiled Tibetans have refused to accept the authority of the alternate Panchen Lama and have expressed fears that he will be used by the government to select the next Dalai Lama.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951 after sending in troops to "liberate" the region the previous year.

Tibetan monks in China taken away: activist group
Authorities in northwest China have taken more than 100 Tibetan monks away from their monastery for political re-education after they held a peaceful protest, an activist group said Monday.

The US-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said the monks were "taken for study" from Lutsang monastery in Qinghai province's Guinan county last week, and others had suffered interrogation, torture and beatings.

"The phrase 'taken for study' means that the monks will be taken to a location such as a military camp or prison where they will undergo political education classes," the activist group said.

This came after the monks marched to local government headquarters on February 25 -- the first day of the Tibetan New Year -- where they called for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet, the group quoted Radio Free Asia as saying.

The monks' detention also coincided with the 50th anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule last week that led to the escape into exile of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader.

China accuses the Dalai Lama of wanting independence for his Himalayan homeland. He denies this, saying he wants meaningful autonomy under Chinese rule and an end to widespread repression.

The ICT, citing a Tibetan source in exile with connections in the area, said tensions were high in Qinghai and that people were being forbidden to travel from one village to another.

Tibetan students have also had their mobile phones confiscated by police in an apparent attempt to stop any information from leaking out, the activist group said.

The Guinan government and police refused to comment about the situation when contacted by AFP.

It has been extremely hard to confirm information independently in Tibetan-populated areas of China in recent weeks as they have been sealed off to foreign journalists.

AFP reporters who travelled to Qinghai last week were repeatedly blocked by police from entering these areas.

Officially, however, foreign reporters are allowed to visit Tibetan regions of western China such as Qinghai, and are only banned from travelling independently to the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The Chinese foreign ministry has insisted that foreign reporters are still allowed to visit the Tibetan areas of western China, but that local authorities have the final say.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951, a year after sending in troops to "liberate" the Himalayan region.

earlier related report
Obama braces for China's Tibet 'offensive'
Barack Obama has started his presidency with aims to build a broader relationship with China but he is already getting a taste of battles to come on one deeply divisive issue -- Tibet.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited Washington last week and spoke of a "historic opportunity" for the Pacific powers to build lasting cooperation under Obama, even after a showdown between their navies in the South China Sea.

But Yang vowed no compromise on Chinese sovereignty over Tibet and Taiwan -- and did not mince words when he demanded his hosts stop "meddling" in Beijing's affairs over human rights.

While Taiwan tensions have been easing, China poured troops into Tibet to prevent protests on the March 10 anniversary of a failed uprising that forced the region's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to flee to India.

Prominent Tibet expert Warren Smith, addressing a US Congress panel on Friday, said China has launched a new offensive both in the Himalayan territory and on the diplomatic front.

He cited the global response to China's crackdown on protests in Tibet a year ago in which rights groups say hundreds of Tibetans were killed or remain missing.

"Tibetans and their Western supporters may have thought that the 2008 uprising put them on the offensive," Smith said.

But with no Western leaders following through on threats to boycott the Beijing Olympics, China believed it won the propaganda battle and hardened its position, he said.

China last year canceled a major economic summit with European leaders after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama.

"China's cancelation of the European meeting may in the future be seen to have been the first move in its new offensive on Tibet," Smith added.

Obama said he told Yang that human rights were an "essential aspect" of US foreign policy and voiced hope for a resumption of talks between China and the Dalai Lama's representatives.

The Dalai Lama, who enjoys a large following in the United States, is expected to visit Washington this year. Every US president has met the Nobel Peace Prize winner since George H.W. Bush in 1991.

Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, had no doubt that Obama would also meet the Tibetan spiritual leader, saying that Beijing's pressure on European leaders was unlikely to work here.

"The president is not going to go out of his way to poke his finger in China's eye and be very provocative but there is no doubt that we (the US) will continue to see the Dalai Lama as an important spiritual figure," she said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had caused a storm on a visit to China last month when she said that human rights would not impede cooperation between the countries on the global economic crisis, climate change and other issues.

"I believe that position erred a little bit too much in the direction of downplaying the importance of human rights and I think the administration realized that and so when Yang was here they emphasized the other direction," Glaser said.

Human rights have been a constant friction in US relations with China.

However, Chinese leaders gave a largely positive assessment to former president George W. Bush who -- despite his criticism of Beijing's rights record -- ramped up cooperation with Beijing, particularly on the economy.

Nina Hachigian, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress, said that the Obama administration had a chance to broaden the relationship.

She noted that Clinton has moved quickly to start cooperation on climate change between the world's two biggest carbon-emitting nations.

"Under the Bush administration, the relationship was literally driven by the Treasury Department," she said. "It's fair to say that with some exceptions that our relationship was very much driven by economic interests."

"Now we are seeing more of a holistic approach," she said.

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