Report: Air China to launch direct Beijing-Tibet flights to boost tourism

October 14th, 2009 Record tourism in Tibet despite bans from '08 riotBEIJING — Tibet received a record 4.75 million tourists in the first nine months of this year, state media reported Wednesday, marking a rebound from ethnic rioting and security clampdowns last year that shut the Himalayan region to travelers. Tourism revenue reached almost 4 billion yuan ($580 million), the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the deputy director of the regional tourism bureau, Wang Songping.

October 12th, 2009 China's Hainan Airlines to begin service to HawaiiHONOLULU — China's Hainan Airlines has received approval to begin service from Beijing to Hawaii. The U.S. Department of Transportation approved the flights, which initially will be once-a-week.

September 24th, 2009 Official denies Tibet ban for foreign visitorsBEIJING — A Chinese official on Thursday denied reports that Tibet will be closed to foreign visitors over the sensitive Oct. 1 national day period.

September 22nd, 2009 BEIJING - China has banned foreign tourists from travelling to Tibet ahead of a parade in the capital to mark 60 years of Communist rule. The Daily Express quoted Tan Lin, an official with the business administration office at the Tourism Bureau of Tibet, as saying that foreign tourists would be banned from entering Tibet, but added that those who have already arrived would be allowed to stay.

September 21st, 2009 China bans foreign tourists from TibetBEIJING — China has banned foreign tourists from traveling to Tibet ahead of a parade in the capital to mark 60 years of Communist rule, an official said Tuesday, amid stepped-up security across the country to ensure nothing mars the celebrations. Tan Lin, an official with the business administration office at the Tourism Bureau of Tibet, said foreign tourists would be banned from Tuesday onwards, but those who have already arrived would be allowed to stay.

August 31st, 2009 TAIPEI/BEIJING - Taiwan and China launched regular direct flights Monday, ending Taipei's six-decade ban on air links with the mainland imposed at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Taiwan and Chinese airlines will operate a total of 270 round-trip flights per week, up from the current 108 charter flights.

August 17th, 2009 BEIJING - Air China President Cai Jianjiang has said that it will begin regular scheduled flights between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan from Aug 31. Jianjiang said that Taiwan's civil aviation authority granted a business license to Air China on Aug 13, and the carrier's branch was also established in Taiwan.

June 16th, 2009 BEIJING - Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that Beijing wanted to promote comprehensive, stable and lasting relations with Myanmar. Peaceful coexistence has been the cornerstone of China's diplomacy and the two countries should promote projects to boost trade, Xi said during a meeting here with Myanmar's visiting state peace and development council vice chairman Maung Aye.

May 5th, 2009 China reject latest US report on religious freedomBEIJING — Beijing on Tuesday said a U.S. report criticizing the state of China's religious freedom was biased and groundless.

April 26th, 2009 China, Taiwan sign agreements to boost cooperationBEIJING — China and Taiwan signed three agreements Sunday that will enhance economic ties between the rivals and increase the frequency of flights, amid efforts by Taiwan's president to improve relations with Beijing. One agreement, signed at a meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, sets the stage for financial services firms to open branches in each other's territory, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.

April 22nd, 2009 Tibet tourism recovering after last year's riotsBEIJING — Tibet's battered tourism industry is gradually recovering from last year's deadly riots, prompting authorities to phase out discount prices aimed at boosting visitor numbers, state media reported Wednesday. Tourism in the Himalayan region took a major hit from the March 2008 riots, in which Tibetans attacked Chinese migrants and torched much of Lhasa's commercial district, leaving 22 people dead by China's account.

April 1st, 2009 BEIJING - A Hindustan Times report last week that suggested that the Indian army had on March 25 concluded a three-day military exercise codenamed Divine Matrix, based on the assumption a "nuclear-armed China will attack India before 2017", has left the government in Beijing surprised. It said that before the exercise, the Indian military spent six months studying various hypothetical scenarios of war with Beijing and concluded: "China would rely on information warfare to bring India down on its knees before launching an offensive." It also quoted an officer as saying the People's Liberation Army can now "launch an assault very quickly, without any warning".

March 9th, 2009 BEIJING - The question of Tibet's autonomy has been a bone of contention for decades. The following are important dates in modern Tibetan history: 1912 - Chinese troops expelled from Lhasa after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in Beijing.

March 7th, 2009 BEIJING - Two Tibetan women were arrested for staging separate protests that were critical of China in the Chinese province of Sichuan, an advocacy group for Tibet said Saturday. A nun in her 20s and a 36-year-old woman were detained Thursday in Ganzi after handing out pamphlets that called for the exiled Dalai Lama's return to Tibet, respect for Tibetans' human rights, religious freedom and the release of Tibetan political prisoners, the International Campaign for Tibet said.

March 2nd, 2009 BEIJING - The Chinese government has reiterated its claim on Tibet and said the region would not be granted independence or autonomy, a report published Monday said. The document, published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of democratic reforms in the region, said 'granting independence to Tibet is impossible', adding 'semi-independence or attempts to free Tibet using the term of high-level autonomy is also impossible'.