Olympics 2008 : China tight spot

BEIJING - In unrest has spread among China's ethnic Tibetan population, Beijing has found itself caught between its desire to seem reasonable to the outside world and its tendency to fall hard when feeling threatened.

In recent days, the government has increased shriller propaganda and its stricter security: The London-based Free Tibet Campaign, an activist group, said late Friday that the police in Sichuan province opened fire on hundreds of Buddhist monks and residents, resulting in eight deaths. The Chinese government has acknowledged unrest in the region and said the police had fired warning shots, but reported no deaths.