Tibet opened to foreign media

New Delhi, Mar 27 : China moved on late Wednesday to show it had the situation in Tibet under control, escorting foreign journalists on a tour of the region and saying more than 660 people had surrendered over deadly unrest.

The three-day media trip came as online anger mounted over what some Chinese called biased Western reporting, and with the pressure on Beijing, as French president Nicolas Sarkozy warned he could boycott the Olympic opening ceremony.

A group of about a dozen Beijing-based journalists headed to the Himalayan region, where officials said they would be allowed to speak with victims of violent protests and shown properties destroyed in days of rioting.

Meanwhile, more than 280 people have surrendered in Lhasa, while 381 others have turned themselves in Ngawa County, in southwest Sichuan province.

"Most of those who have come forward are ordinary people and monks who were deceived or coerced," said Shu Tao, a local Communist Party chief.

ANI