On March 10 2008 a series of demonstrations began in Lhasa and other Tibetan regions of China to mark the 49th anniversary of an unsuccessful Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 The demonstrations appeared to begin peacefully with small groups that were then contained by security forces Both the protests and the response of the PRC authorities escalated in the ensuing days spreading from the Tibetan Autonomous Region TAR into parts of Sichuan Gansu and Qinghai Provinces with Tibetan populations By March 14 2008 mobs of angry people were burning and looting establishments in downtown Lhasa Authorities of the People s Republic of China PRC responded by sealing off Tibet and moving in large scale security forces Beijing has defended its actions as appropriate and necessary to restore civil order and prevent further violence Still China s response has resulted in renewed calls for boycotts of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on August 8 2008 and for China to hold talks with the Dalai Lama China sees itself as having provided Tibet with extensive economic assistance and development using money from central government coffers and PRC officials often seem perplexed at the simmering anger many Tibetans nevertheless retain against them Despite the economic development Tibetans charge that the PRC interferes with Tibetan culture and religion They cite as examples Beijing s interference in 1995 in the choice of the Panchen Lama Tibet s second highestranking personage enactment of a reincarnation law in 2007 requiring Buddhist monks who wish to reincarnate to obtain prior approval from Beijing and China s policy of conducting patriotic education campaigns as well as efforts to foster atheism among the Tibetan religious community The PRC defends the campaigns as a tool to help monks become loyal law abiding citizens of China Controversy over the role of the Dalai Lama and the impact of PRC control on Tibet s language culture and religion have prompted recurring actions by Congress in support of Tibet s traditions actions routinely denounced by Beijing