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WELLINGTON, July 30 (Xinhua)– “I value today’s discussion, and it is very important for human-to-human exchanges. I wish the Beijing Olympics a great success,” Rick Barker, New Zealand minister for internal affairs and civil defense, told a group of Chinese Tibetologists on Tuesday.

At the Parliament Building on Tuesday, the Tibetologists held discussions and exchanged views with seven members of parliament from the Labor, National and Green parties on the current situation and history of Tibet.

Professor Sherap Nyima, head of the Chinese Tibetologist delegation, told the MPs that the 14th Dalai Lama, during his visit to Europe last year, had said 2008 would be a “critical year,” attempting to take advantage of the Olympics to put pressure on the Chinese government and draw attention of the international community. The violent incident in Lhasa on March 14 occurred against such a backdrop.

“Scholars should have their own voice. As a Tibetologist, I have been thinking about the root cause of the March 14 incident in Lhasa and will write several essays on that subject,” said Nyima, who is the Vice-President of the Central University of Nationalities of China.

Commenting on Green Party MP Keith Lock’s questions, Hu Yan, professor of the Party School of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee, said, “The Dalai Lama has been in exile for half a century, and only a very small number of Tibetans were with him. They can not represent the Tibetan people. The Dalai Lama was attempting to provoke national hatred by saying ‘all Tibetans hate Han nationals’.”

“It is totally untrue. I had worked in Tibet for about two years and I have many Tibetan friends there,” said Hu Yan, who is a Tibetologist

Labor MP Jill Pettis, who has visited Tibet before, was interested in the impact of the opening of Qinghai-Tibet Railway to the life of the local Tibetan people.

Professor Tseyang Changngo, a member of the delegation and Vice President of the Tibet University in Lhasa, said the Tibetan people described the Qinghai-Tibetan Railway as a “Road to Heaven” and “Road to Happiness”.

“The railway contributed to Tibet’s economic development and made it very convenient for Tibetan herdsmen to go to Lasha to pay pilgrims and see doctors and for students to study in other big cities of China,” she said.

The Chinese Tibetologists also held frank discussions with some 10 international relations scholars of the Victoria University, as well as Foreign Ministry officials on Tuesday.

They will hold discussions with representatives of the local Chinese community in Auckland on Wednesday and meet the New Zealand media.

People form long queues outside Bank of China Tower to snap up special-edition HK$20 Olympic banknotes more than a day before their official release in Hong Kong July 15, 2008. [Agencies]

People form long queues to snap up special-edition HK$20 Olympic banknotes more than a day before their official release in Hong Kong July 15, 2008. [Agencies]

A photo taken on July 11, 2008 shows a new HK$20 bank note commemorating the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. [Xinhua]

HONG KONG - Thousands formed long queues outside Bank of China branches across Hong Kong on July 15, 2008, in a feverish bid to snap up special-edition HK$20 Olympic banknotes more than a day before their official release.

 Residents including young children and pensioners flocked to the city’s main Bank of China branch in the financial hub of Central at the crack of dawn, some hunkering down inside tents for a lengthy wait behind metal barricades.

 ”I came with my friends because the Olympic banknotes have commemorative value,” said Ken Yip, a 15-year-old who was playing with a Rubik’s cube inside a blue tent stacked with snacks and comics.

 Four million of the HK$20 ($2.56) Olympic banknotes will be issued, depicting a Greek pillar on the front and Beijing’s Olympic “Bird’s Nest” stadium on the other side. 

China’s central bank also issued six million new 10 yuan ($1.46) notes to mark next month’s Olympic Games. 

Long queues had begun forming early on Monday, more than 48 hours before the banknotes were due to be issued on Wednesday.

 But a severe thunderstorm on Monday night drenched thousands, with Hong Kong’s Cable Television showing footage of crowds cowering under umbrellas.

 The Bank of China was forced to issue banknote purchase vouchers late Monday night to disperse the crowds, given what it said in a statement “the overwhelming response from the public and the continuous unstable weather conditions.”