New York – Tibetans and their supporters protested as Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao arrived in New York this morning, the first visit of a Chinese leader to the United States since the uprising by Tibetans inside Tibet last March against Chinese rule. Tibet activists accuse the Chinese leadership of trying to cover up the ongoing military clampdown inside Tibet by blocking most tourists and international media from traveling to the region and calling the situation on the ground "normalized." Protests are planned for the duration of Wen's stay in New York, which includes an address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 24th and is expected to include a meeting with U.S. President George Bush and a rare one-to-one interview with CNN.

"Wen Jiabao is the Chinese leadership's master spin doctor," said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. "The Premier is charged with presenting a kinder, gentler face of the Chinese government, but all the spin in the world can't hide the ugly reality of China's extreme hard-line policies in Tibet that are designed to silence anyone who dares to speak out for human rights and freedom."

"As we saw during the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government will stop at nothing to quash voices of dissent and perceived threats to its control," said Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet. "The ongoing military clampdown and new draconian policies inside Tibet show the true authoritarian nature of the Chinese government and even Wen Jiabao, China's most seasoned spin doctor, cannot hide this reality."

Tibet campaigners called on the Chinese government to immediately engage in substantive negotiations with the Tibetan government in exile. They further called for the immediate release of Tibetans detained during the recent protests in Tibet, including Tibetan filmmakers Dhondup Wangchen and Golog Jigme. Wangchen and Jigme were detained in March 2008 for making a documentary film about the plight of the Tibetan people under Chinese rule and their true feelings about the Beijing Olympics.

Students for a Free Tibet staged eight protests in Beijing last month as China hosted the Olympic Games. Over 70 Tibet activists traveled to China to show solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet. Fifty-five were deported for taking part in peaceful protests. Ten of the activists were sentenced to ten days "administrative detention" in Chinese prison.