China plans monument to Tibet invasion

China says it intends to build a huge monument in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, to mark the 50th anniversary of its takeover of Tibet.

The official Chinese news agency said the 35-metre high monument would be erected at the Potala Palace - formerly the official residence of the Dalai Lama the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and former head of state.

The agency said the monument would symbolise what it called the sublime spirit of the Chinese army and its great contribution to the peaceful liberation of Tibet.

A spokesman for the Tibetan Government in exile said the Potala Palace had a special meaning for Tibetans, and that a monument there to the Chinese invasion would be a daily reminder of the humiliation of the Tibetan people.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service