Foreign reporters forced out of Tibet

BEIJING, March 20 (UPI) -- China has forced all foreign reporters and broadcasters out of Tibet.

Georg Blume, a correspondent for the German newspapers Die Zeit and Taz, told the BBC that he believed he was the last one in Lhasa. Speaking from the train station, he said he had been warned that remaining in Tibet would lead to cancellation of his permit to live in Beijing.

Reporters Without Borders said that Kristin Kupfer, a correspondent for the Austrian magazine Profil, held out with Blume, resisting pressure to leave for five days.

Blume said that he had seen a convoy of trucks enter Lhasa, carrying around 6,000 soldiers.

Chinese Internet users have also been warned against discussing events in Sichuan Province and any other area with a significant Tibetan population, Reporters Without Borders said.

"Anyone infringing this ban will have their IP address sent to the police who will take the necessary steps," an announcement from the Internet Surveillance Bureau said.