BEIJING — Trading fireworks for somber prayer, Tibetans marked Wednesday’s arrival of their new year with mourning as Chinese authorities sealed off Tibet and Tibetan regions in western China to foreigners.
An unofficial Tibetan boycott of festivities was in memory of last year’s victims of a harsh Chinese crackdown on protests against the government. The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, said celebrations would be “inappropriate.”
At temples in Lhasa, the capital, Chinese paramilitary guards replaced crowds of pilgrims, and candlelight vigils were held instead of merrymaking, Tibetan groups said.
Adding to the tensions, next month marks the 50th anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule that led to the Dalai Lama’s flight into exile.
