How many people have to die before nations start boycotting the Beijing Olympics?

The Tibetan capital Lhasa erupted in deadly violence Friday as security forces used gunfire to quell the biggest protests against Chinese rule in two decades, officials and rights groups said. The protests, which spread outside Tibet into other areas of China, came amid a growing international campaign by Tibetans to challenge Beijing’s rule of the Himalayan region ahead of the Olympic Games in August. Several people lost their lives and many others were injured in Lhasa on Friday, an official at the city’s medical emergency centre told AFP, with Radio Free Asia reporting at least two people had been killed by Chinese bullets. The United States, Britain and other European states expressed concern over the violence, with the White House calling on Beijing to “respect Tibetan culture” and the US ambassador here asking officials to “act with restraint”.