Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in southern India on Oct. 11 for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to try to halt a slide in ties over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir amid scattered anti-China protests from Tibetan groups.
Xi arrived in the southern city of Chennai where Modi was to take him on a tour of the nearby Shore Temple dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries.
Ahead of his arrival, police detained the chief of the Tibetan Youth Congress, Gonpo Dhondup, and 11 Tibetan students in several locations, including at the airport and a highway leading to the summit venue.
“We want freedom,” shouted Dhondup, as he was wrestled away by six policemen in a video shared by the Tibetan Youth Congress. He was pushed into an autorickshaw and taken away by police.
Two Tibetan activists, both women, staged a protest inside Chennai airport, holding a banner that read, “Xi Jinping Stop Occupation in Tibet—Free Tibet.”
By Sanjeev Miglani
