The rising demands for a 'Free Tibet' are a sore irritant for the Chinese government that is celebrating this year as the 50th anniversary of the 'complete demolition of the cruel feudal reign of the Dalai Lama' that prevailed in Tibet.

In 1959, eight years after China invaded the Buddhist kingdom, the Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising and China's control was complete.

In October, China will also celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of its republic when Tibet will be showcased to visitors as an autonomous state that developed by leaps and bounds under Chinese stewardship.

Beijing is wary about the Tibetan diaspora in Nepal, whose number had been swelling with nearly 2,000-3,000 people crossing into Nepal every year in search of religious and other freedom.

The diaspora kept up anti-China protests for nearly 10 months last year, humiliating Beijing at a time it was hosting the 2008 Olympic Games.

China has been trying to suppress the free Tibet movement in Nepal by tightening vigil across the China-Nepal border to prevent Tibetans from escaping. It has also successfully pressured the Nepal government into stopping issuing IDs to fresh Tibetan refugees as well as closing the office of the Dalai Lama's representative in Kathmandu.