As they rose up in recent weeks against China's harsh rule over the Himalayan region and Beijing sent forces to quell the protests, Tibet's government-

in-exile sent its envoys to far-flung capitals with appeals for help.

But guided by the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, they kept their requests modest, knowing that few countries are willing to cross China, particularly with the world counting on the emerging superpower to keep the global economy ticking as the United States appears headed for a recession.

'His Holiness says we have to be realistic,' said Mr Tenzin Ta-

klha, a senior aide to the 72-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, who has come to embody the Tibetan struggle since he fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against China.

From the exiled Tibetan leaders, there were no calls for sanctions like those imposed when Myanmar suppressed pro-democracy protests last year, or even for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

The Dalai Lama has said he had received reports that many Tibetans wounded in clashes were not going to Chinese hospitals for treatment, fearing arrest.

Said Mr Taklha: 'Specific things are very difficult. No one is going to send in a peacekeeping force.'

The Tibetans have won the moral support of many nations.

On Friday, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lent her voice, calling China's crackdown 'a challenge to the conscience of the world'. She was the first major foreign official to meet the Dalai Lama since the unrest started.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang cited statements of support for Beijing from foreign governments. 'It is clear proof that the international community is on the side of China,' he said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Without mentioning Ms Pelosi by name, Mr Qin said China opposes 'any encouragement and support for the secessionist schemes of the Dalai clique'.

It is difficult for most countries, torn between their sympathy for the Tibetans and their economic and strategic need to maintain good relations with Beijing, to do more than call on China to show restraint.

Even the United Nations Security Council has never debated the Tibet issue and it has not been raised in the broader General Assembly since 1965.

AP