Western media should be fair

A French scholar on China issues said the Western media should be fair and responsible in their reports about the Lhasa riots.

"The Western media must deal fairly and responsibly with the riots in Tibet," Pierre Picquart, a doctor in Human Geography and Sinologist at the University of Paris-VIII, told Xinhua News Agency.

The Chinese government has the legitimacy to take necessary actions and measures to put down the riots in Lhasa. It has the duty to defend the safety of people and property and to restore public order. It is irresponsible of some Western media to criticize the Chinese government and report the incident from an unfair and unobjective stance, Picquart said.