Tibet protesters arrested before China US visit

Police on Monday arrested activists who unfurled a banner reading, "Tibet Will be Free," on a major Washington bridge ahead of a closely watched visit by China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping. Officers took four people into custody after they rappelled down the Arlington Memorial Bridge, which connects Virginia with central Washington's National Mall, to hang the banner, police said. The four -- two of whom were taken by a police boat as they dangled down the side of the bridge over the Potomac River -- will be presented to a court on charges of trespassing, US Park Police spokesman Sergeant David Schlosser said. Protesters also planned rallies Monday and Tuesday outside the Chinese embassy and the White House to protest against Xi's visit, which comes as residents and rights groups report a clampdown inside Tibet. Xi, who is vice president and widely expected to take over as China's leader next year, was due to arrive later Monday before talks Tuesday with President Barack Obama and other top leaders. Lhadon Tethong, an activist with Students for a Free Tibet, said that the group put up the banner to draw attention to the "all-out assault" in Tibet along with China's diplomatic support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "Xi Jinping is the last person that we believe President Obama should basically have a date with on Valentine's Day," she said. "He represents everything counter to what Americans believe about human rights, freedom, democracy and dignity of people," she said. At least 19 Tibetans have set fire to themselves in the past year to protest what they see as a lack of rights under Chinese rule, leading Beijing to impose virtual martial law, according to residents and exiled groups. China has disputed the accounts and accused overseas groups and Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama of fomenting the unrest.