As tibetans around the world this week marked the advent of the new year of the Earth Ox, many did so in a spirit of mourning rather than jubilation. The festival fell just before a bloodstained anniversary season: 50 years since the Chinesernsuppression of an uprising that saw the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader, flee into exile in India with some 100,000 followers; 20 years since protests that led to the imposition of martial law in the capital, Lhasa; one year since ugly and murderous anti-Chinese riots in Lhasa that brought a sharp and lasting security backlash. The fact that so many troops are still needed,rnmerely to prevent commemorative protests, suggests that China's Tibet policy is in need of an overhaul.rnChina's officials seem to be contemplating nothing of the sort. Indeed, they may believe things are going their way. A year ago Tibet seemed a real threat to China's hopes of presenting the Beijing Olympics as an unblemished celebration of its achievements. As the Olympic torch was carried round the world, it was met from London to Delhi by protests against Chinese rule in Tibet. Yet the Olympics themselves passed with no serious protest or international boycott.
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