KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Tibetan exiles living in Kathmandu illegally are to be deported in a bid to curb anti-China protests threatening Nepal's ties with its giant neighbour, officials said Thursday.
Tibetans exiled from China have been protesting virtually daily in Nepal's capital since a crackdown in March by Chinese authorities in Tibet after unrest in that region.
"The government has begun investigating the cases of Tibetans living in Nepal. The ones without proper documents will be deported," Modraj Dottel, home ministry spokesman, told AFP.
Dottel said police and immigration department officials have been ordered to take action as the Tibetans have not stopped their protests despite repeated appeals from the government.
"We have been forced to take this measure as Tibetan immigrants continued with their anti-China protests. We don't want to spoil our friendly relations with China," the spokesman said.
"We will not allow our territory to be used for anti-China activity."
Police have been regularly detaining hundreds of protesters a day, before releasing them hours later.
But more than 100 Tibetans who recently protested in front of a Chinese embassy building have remained in custody.
"We have 111 Tibetan protesters in our custody from the last two days," Kathmandu police chief Sarbendra Khanal told AFP. "The immigration officials have begun investigation to check their legal status."
Sandwiched between India and China, Nepal recognises Beijing's "One China" policy that regards Tibet and Taiwan as integral parts of its territory.
Nepalese officials have repeatedly said no anti-Chinese activity would be tolerated, in order to preserve friendly cross-border ties.
Nepal is home to about 20,000 exiled Tibetans who began arriving in large numbers in 1959 after the Dalai Lama fled Tibet following a failed uprising against the Chinese.
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