The vast majority of Chinese media on Tuesday ignored a protest at the ceremony to light the Olympic flame, which put new pressure on Beijing over its handling of the ongoing unrest over Tibet.
Amid reports of new bloodshed during a major crackdown by Chinese forces, the demonstration in Greece on Monday underlined international anger over Tibet and a determination to keep harassing China's communist leaders on the issue.
With Tibetan exiles putting the death toll from 10 days of unrest at around 140, protesters briefly disrupted the flame ceremony as it was broadcast live around the world -- with Chinese officials on hand.
Chinese media ignored it in their accounts of the lighting of the flame, which kicked off a five-month world tour of the Olympic torch in the run-up to the August 8-24 event which China hopes will be a showpiece for the nation.
The China Daily instead called the flame ceremony "a perfect start". The protesters, from Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, were arrested and could be facing a year behind bars in Greece.
The Global Times, a specialised newspaper focussing on international news, carried a short reference to the protest at the end of a lengthy report.
The foreign ministry had sharp words for Monday's protest.
"Any act to disrupt the Olympic torch relay is shameful and unpopular," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing.
The incident helped renew international attention on China's crackdown on the two weeks of protest over its rule of Tibet, which Beijing has blamed on the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.
State-run Xinhua news agency reported a policeman was killed, and other officers injured, in fresh clashes Monday in Garze, a southwest region in Sichuan province with a large proportion of ethnic Tibetans.
"The police were forced to fire warning shots, and dispersed the lawless mobsters," an official was quoted as saying.
Activist groups have said at least one Tibetan lost his life in the clashes.
The India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported one Tibetan protester shot dead and another left in critical condition following "indiscriminate firing" at a group of about 200 demonstrators.
Protests began in Tibet on March 10 to mark the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in the region.
The unrest has since turned deadly and spread to other parts of the country.
Thirteen people taking part in the March 10 demonstration are now under arrest, the state-controlled Tibet Daily reported Tuesday.
Independent confirmation of reports from the region and areas populated by Tibetans has been extremely difficult due to curbs China has placed on foreign media.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday repeated her call for China to hold direct talks with the Dalai Lama, saying she believed he could play "a very favourable role" in dealing with the "grievances of Tibet."
By contrast, Singapore said Tuesday it "supports the declared policy of the Chinese government to protect the lives and property of its citizens from violent demonstrators with minimum use of force."
Tibet, a mountainous region that straddles Mount Everest and is more than twice the size of France, has been a flashpoint issue for China's Communist leadership ever since it came to power in 1949.
Communist forces were sent into Tibet in 1950 to "liberate" the region, with official Chinese rule beginning a year later.
Tibet has taken on greater importance in the run-up to the Olympics in August, which the country's leaders hope will be a chance to show off China's rapid transformation into a modern economic power.
Despite the protests, calls for a boycott of the Games have been muted.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said Monday that there was "deep concern" over events in Tibet but has dismissed talk of boycotting the event.
It is unclear how the unrest is viewed by the Chinese public, but reports in the state-controlled media indicated the government might be winning the propaganda war.
A video clip titled "Tibet was, is, and always will be part of China" became an instant hit after it was posted on YouTube on March 15, attracting 1.6 million hits in eight days, according to the China Daily.
Amid reports of new bloodshed during a major crackdown by Chinese forces, the demonstration in Greece on Monday underlined international anger over Tibet and a determination to keep harassing China's communist leaders on the issue.
With Tibetan exiles putting the death toll from 10 days of unrest at around 140, protesters briefly disrupted the flame ceremony as it was broadcast live around the world -- with Chinese officials on hand.
Chinese media ignored it in their accounts of the lighting of the flame, which kicked off a five-month world tour of the Olympic torch in the run-up to the August 8-24 event which China hopes will be a showpiece for the nation.
The China Daily instead called the flame ceremony "a perfect start". The protesters, from Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, were arrested and could be facing a year behind bars in Greece.
The Global Times, a specialised newspaper focussing on international news, carried a short reference to the protest at the end of a lengthy report.
The foreign ministry had sharp words for Monday's protest.
"Any act to disrupt the Olympic torch relay is shameful and unpopular," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing.
The incident helped renew international attention on China's crackdown on the two weeks of protest over its rule of Tibet, which Beijing has blamed on the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.
State-run Xinhua news agency reported a policeman was killed, and other officers injured, in fresh clashes Monday in Garze, a southwest region in Sichuan province with a large proportion of ethnic Tibetans.
"The police were forced to fire warning shots, and dispersed the lawless mobsters," an official was quoted as saying.
Activist groups have said at least one Tibetan lost his life in the clashes.
The India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported one Tibetan protester shot dead and another left in critical condition following "indiscriminate firing" at a group of about 200 demonstrators.
Protests began in Tibet on March 10 to mark the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in the region.
The unrest has since turned deadly and spread to other parts of the country.
Thirteen people taking part in the March 10 demonstration are now under arrest, the state-controlled Tibet Daily reported Tuesday.
Independent confirmation of reports from the region and areas populated by Tibetans has been extremely difficult due to curbs China has placed on foreign media.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday repeated her call for China to hold direct talks with the Dalai Lama, saying she believed he could play "a very favourable role" in dealing with the "grievances of Tibet."
By contrast, Singapore said Tuesday it "supports the declared policy of the Chinese government to protect the lives and property of its citizens from violent demonstrators with minimum use of force."
Tibet, a mountainous region that straddles Mount Everest and is more than twice the size of France, has been a flashpoint issue for China's Communist leadership ever since it came to power in 1949.
Communist forces were sent into Tibet in 1950 to "liberate" the region, with official Chinese rule beginning a year later.
Tibet has taken on greater importance in the run-up to the Olympics in August, which the country's leaders hope will be a chance to show off China's rapid transformation into a modern economic power.
Despite the protests, calls for a boycott of the Games have been muted.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said Monday that there was "deep concern" over events in Tibet but has dismissed talk of boycotting the event.
It is unclear how the unrest is viewed by the Chinese public, but reports in the state-controlled media indicated the government might be winning the propaganda war.
A video clip titled "Tibet was, is, and always will be part of China" became an instant hit after it was posted on YouTube on March 15, attracting 1.6 million hits in eight days, according to the China Daily.
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