Protesters Kept in Dark Over Chinese Visit

Human rights groups yesterday accused the government of restricting their right to protest at next week's trip to London by the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, by wrapping the official visit in a cloak of secrecy.

The Free Tibet campaign said the government was scared of a repeat of the protests and heavy-handed policing that surrounded the controversial state visit of China's former president Jiang Zemin in 1999.

"Downing Street has refused to provide any information about his [Wen's] political engagements," said Alison Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the campaign. "This has prevented us from liaising effectively with the police and may result in the Chinese premier being shielded from Tibet supporters expressing their concerns about the occupation of the country."

A spokesman for No 10 rejected the claim, saying that while some of the preparations may have been less public, the visit had been dealt with no differently to any other.

"We never give out details of the prime minister's meetings very far in advance," he said.

Mr Wen is the most senior Chinese leader to visit London since Mr Jiang's visit, which was marred by protests and led to an admission in the high court by Scotland Yard that its heavy-handed policing was unlawful.

The police took away Tibetan flags and pro-democracy ban ners from protesters, but left UK and Chinese flags untouched. Demonstrators were wrestled to the ground, while police vans were used to block the angry crowds from the Chinese president's view.

It emerged that Foreign Office officials, in a series of meetings with the Metropolitan police, urged that a tough line be taken with protesters in the Mall and elsewhere to avoid upsetting Mr Jiang.

A police spokeswoman said they expected Mr Wen's visit to be low key and were not anticipating major protests.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London said: "We have put forward our requests on matters of security. We are sure that the British side will do everything to ensure a successful visit."

As well as meeting Tony Blair, the Chinese premier will have talks with the deputy prime minister, John Prescott, the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, the international development secretary, Hilary Benn, and the trade secretary, Patricia Hewitt.

He will be given a guard of honour when he arrives at the Foreign Office on Monday before his talks at No 10.

Despite concerns over the oppression of Tibet and the lack of democratic reform in Hong Kong, the main focus of Mr Wen's visit will be business. During the trip, the government expects £550m worth of deals to be signed by British companies such as BP, Shell and B&Q.

There has probably never been a Chinese communist leader more likely to appeal to the west.

At 62, the relatively young Mr Wen is widely credited - inside and outside China - with the sharpest intellect, the greatest dynamism and the most liberal instincts of the new administration that took power last year.

Since then, he has pursued a domestic policy of redressing the inequalities in society, and spearheaded an international charm offensive that has stressed China's role as a peaceful and responsible member of the world community.

Before becoming premier he was best known abroad for being pictured in Tiananmen Square alongside the Communist party's then most prominent reformer, Zhao Ziyang, appealing to the student protesters before the 1989 killings.

But while Mr Zhao has been under house arrest for the past 15 years, Mr Wen astonishingly escaped punishment - a sign, say many observers, of his political agility and tendency to place stability before any other principle.

"Wen has shown that he is capable of political bravery," Ms Reynolds said. "We call on him to demonstrate courage again by advancing discussions on Tibet's future with representatives of the Dalai Lama. Wen has a genuine opportunity to break with China's past."