In the face of continued public unrest in Tibet, Chinese officials are threaten to step up their campaign of "reinforcing patriotic education".

Efforts by authorities to "re-educate" monks at a monastery in Sichuan province in south-west China led to protests there on Thursday in which at least eight Tibetans were killed, the activist groups said.

China's communist rulers have been deeply angered and embarrassed over the Tibetan unrest, as it has overshadowed its preparations for the Beijing Olympics and shone a spotlight on a range of other human rights issues.

Tibetans have been protesting to express anger over what they say has been widespread repression suffered under nearly six decades of Chinese rule.

In Xinjiang, a Muslim-populated region of north-west China which neighbours Tibet, there have also been protests in recent days to express similar sentiments, although not on nearly the same scale as the Tibetan unrest.

The jailing of prominent Chinese dissident Hu Jia on Thursday for subversion added to concerns around the world that the human rights situation in China was getting worse instead of better ahead of the Games.

Those concerns were expected to be magnified on Sunday when the Olympic torch passed through London, with Tibetan activists and other groups vowing to add further heat to the flame there.

Source: mg.co.za