British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday urged China to resolve the ‘underlying issues’ in Tibet.
Addressing a joint press conference with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Brown also indicated that his country sought improvement on the human rights front in the world's most populous nation.
"The UK will continue through our regular dialogue to seek rapid progress towards all international human rights standards and I urge further dialogue on the Chinese government to resolve the underlying issues in Tibet," Brown said.
Brown tempered this implied criticism, however, by crediting Wen's social and economic policies with "lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty".
Prior to Wen’s visit, Brown has been warned not to sacrifice human rights concerns to the prospect of boosting exports.
Wen's visit has been marked by raucous street protests in London, which saw around 50 pro-Tibetan demonstrators gather outside 10 Downing Street on Monday. Five pro-Tibet demonstrators were arrested in London on Sunday.
གཟའ་མིག་དམར། ༢༠༢༤/༠༤/༡༦