March 31

On March 31, 1989, Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, answered the questions asked by journalists in the Great Hall of People. He said that the Lhasa Riot on March 5, 1989 was a criminal act premeditated by several separatists attempting to split China, rather than the issues related to nation or religion or human rights. No one sovereign state can tolerate this kind of separation. After the enforcement of martial law in Lhasa, the normal order was quickly restored in the society. The monks and nuns involved in this riot not only broke the laws but went against the doctrines.