Jailed Tibetans go on hunger strike in Nepal

Police have been put on alert to rush the exiles to hospitals if their health deteriorates, Katmandu police Chief Ganesh Chettri said.

The 23 Tibetans were arrested March 10 and 14 for defying the government's ban on anti-China protests by trying to storm the Chinese Embassy's visa office. They were ordered held for 90 days under the public security act, which allows authorities to take action against those determined to be a threat to the public.

Tibetans in Nepal have been protesting regularly against China since 2008 — a source of embarrassment to Nepal's government, which wants strong ties with China.

Nepal has been under pressure from China to stop the protests and from Western nations to allow them. The government has said it will not allow protests against friendly nations.

Thousands of Tibetan exiles live in Nepal, and hundreds more are allowed to pass through the country on their way to Dharmasala, India, where the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, lives in exile.

China claims Tibet has always been part of its territory, but many Tibetans say the Himalayan region was virtually independent for centuries until Chinese troops invaded in the 1950s. They say Beijing rules the region with a heavy hand and have been calling for independence or greater autonomy.

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