Two Russian correspondents came to the CRI studios on Monday to share their experiences in Tibet. They called on their counterparts around the world to objectively report the Tibetan issue.

Our reporter Michael Lee has the details.

Reporter:

After the March 14 riot in Lhasa, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promised to invite foreign reporters to Tibet. He delivered his promise quickly. A select handful of correspondents flew to Tibet for a government-sponsored trip. Eugeny Soloviev with ITAR-TASS's Beijing bureau was one of them.

"It was a rare opportunity for reporters. We could see the consequences of the riot in Lhasa with our own eyes ."

This is what Eugeny Soloviev and the other reporters saw.

"We visited a school that had been totally ruined by the mobs. It was really heart-rending, because the people who planned the riot harmed children. Some kids were injured. I think this is unforgivable. Like we often say, kids are everything! We all felt depressed after visiting the school."

Director of ITAR-TASS's Beijing station Andrei Kirillov spent a week in Tibet last summer. He showed some pictures from his trip.

"My impression is that Tibetan people's lives are very happy. I took many pictures there, and I found that almost everyone was smiling. We visited a lamasery in downtown Lhasa. The monks were smiling, too. I saw that people in Tibet have complete religious freedom. They are not restricted by anything."

However, some Western media outlets have distorted the truth of the March 14 riot, describing the violent incident as a "peaceful petition" while maliciously attacking the Chinese government. Andrei Kirillov said that these media outlets are exercising double standards when reporting Tibetan issues.

"I don't want to offend my Western colleagues, because a lot of them are honest and just. But some reports are clear evidence that the Western media outlets are using double standards. For instance, the 3/11 blasts in Spain are called 'a terrorist attack', yet mobs burning houses in Lhasa is considered a 'peaceful petition.'"

Andrei Kirillov called on reporters around the world to look at the Tibetan issue objectively.

"I want to call on all my media colleagues to report what you see with your own eyes. Do not play into certain people's 'political game.'"

Michael Lee, CRI News.