China

Dalai Lama's envoys return to India after talks in China

Tibet China New Delhi  - Representatives of the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, who returned to India on Thursday after a week's visit to China, said they had presented a memorandum to the Chinese leadership on "genuine autonomy."

The main purpose of the trip was to follow up discussions held in July, Kasur Lodi Gyari, who led the delegation, said in a statement.

He said the delegation had briefed Samdhong Rimpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Tibetan team briefs PM-in-exile about talks in China

Tibet MapNew Delhi, Nov. 6 : A Tibetan delegation that visted China for autonomy-related talks between October 30 and November 5, today briefed the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, about the outcome of the deliberations.

In a statement issued here, Special Envoy Kasur Lodi Gyari, said that the Eighth Round of Tibetan-Chinese discussions was a follow up on the discussions held during the seventh round in July this year.

Two-thirds of Hong Kong police sign letters demanding higher pay

Hong KongHong Kong  - Letters calling for higher pay signed by 19,000 Hong Kong police officers, more than two thirds of the city's force, were Thursday handed to a government advisory body.

The letter campaign is the biggest in the force's history and follows a long fight for better pay rates by associations representing rank and file officers in the former British colony.

Staff associations are calling for new pay scales that would add an average of 230 US dollars a month to the pay packets of the city's 27,000-strong police force.

China releases democracy activist after nine years

China releases democracy activist after nine years Beijing - China on Thursday released a well-known dissident after he served more than nine years of a 13-year prison sentence, a Hong Kong-based rights group said.

Veteran activist Liu Xianbin was released from the Chandong prison in the south-western province of Sichuan, the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said.

Liu, 40, had returned to his family in Sichuan's Suining city following his early release for good behaviour, the group said.

Shanghai shares fall 2.4 per cent after Wall Street plunge

Shanghai shares fall 2.4 per cent after Wall Street plunge Beijing - Shares on China's main stock market fell by 2.44 per cent Thursday after an overnight plunge on Wall Street.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in foreign and local currencies, closed at 1,717.72, down 42.89 points, or 2.44 per cent.

The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.67 per cent, or 7.85 points, to end the day on 463.01.

Both markets had risen by just more than 3 per cent Wednesday.

Tibetan exiles in Dharamsala pin their ''freedom hopes'' on Obama

Dharamshala, Nov 6: The Tibetan exiles in Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, are hoping that Barack Obama the US President-elect would help them restore human rights in Tibet.

The exiles hope that Obama will extend full support to the people of Tibet in their fight for freedom from the alleged Chinese suppression.

Frustrated with the lack of progress with China despite rounds of talks and the March crackdown on riots against Chinese rule in Tibet, many exiles wish that Obama would make the much-needed difference.

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