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BEIJING-Fresh rioting broke out in a Tibetan area of southwest China, defying a huge security crackdown there, even as officials in Tibet vowed swift, harsh punishment for those who sparked the initial anti-Chinese unrest.The latest riot to shake Tibetan areas of China occurred on Thursday night in Donggu Township, Ganzi (Garze) Prefecture, a largely ethnic Tibetan area in Sichuan province's mountainous west, Xinhua news agency reported late on Friday."Police were forced to fire warning shots and put down the violence," an official with the prefectural government said."An official was attacked and seriously wounded in a riot," the brief report said, adding that he was "seriously wounded."The report did not explain the cause of the unrest or whether it involved ethnic Tibetans, who have been protesting against China's rule and calling for the return of the exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.Ganzi and neighboring Aba in Sichuan province have seen torrid confrontation between Tibetan protesters and police in past weeks. Anti-riot troops have poured into the area.A mob armed with stones and knives killed an armed Chinese policeman in Ganzi late last month. On March 16, Buddhist monks and residents in Aba protested, demanding Tibetan independence from China. More than 200 police and officials there were hurt when violence broke out, a local official said this week.The widespread unrest began in Lhasa, the capital of neighboring Tibet province, and there officials on Friday vowed quick trials for those behind the unrest.As in the days of Noah....
