China Is Said to Seek Tighter Rein on Tibet

China has called for tighter controls on Tibetan Buddhist temples to clamp down on pro-independence propaganda and combat increased opposition to Chinese rule, the Tibet Daily said in a report seen here Monday.

News of the call for stronger controls on pro-independence monks and nuns came as a Western advocacy group accused China of widespread torture of detained clergy in the restive Himalayan region and of suppressing religious growth there.

The Tibet Daily report, dated April 5, said an official forum of Beijing-approved religious leaders in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, had called for anyone found with pro-independence books, pictures and audiovisual materials in temples, monasteries and nunneries to be strictly punished.

Meanwhile, the International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group, said in a report on religious repression in the region released Monday that China is suppressing religious growth in Tibet out of fear that the Buddhist church could become a rallying point for a disaffected population.