LONDON (AFP) – Opponents of Chinese rule in Tibet said they intend to protest at every turnout when Chinese President Hu Jintao pays a state visit to Britain this week. Free Tibet Campaign said on Sunday it plans to be out on The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace, waving Tibetan flags and banners, when Queen Elizabeth II gives Hu a ceremonial welcome Tuesday.
More protests are planned later Tuesday, when Hu attends a state banquet, and on Wednesday when he sees Prime Minister Tony Blair and tours a Chinese art exhibition.
“We want robust representations to be made by all our political leaders who will meet China’s president, calling for Hu Jintao to meet the Dalai Lama and resolve the occupation of Tibet,” said Free Tibet Campaign director Alison Reynolds.
Unrelenting demonstrations marked the last state visit to Britain by a Chinese president, when Jiang Zemin came in 1999, with police confiscating Tibetan flags and blocking protesters from Jiang’s view.
Hu, who became China’s head of state in 2003, was the top Chinese Communist Party official for Tibet when martial law was imposed in March 1999 after riots broke out in the region’s capital Lhasa.
