According to a report by the Washington Post, Chinese authorities instructed Tibetans to turn in their old passports, ostensibly to be replaced by electronic ones during a paper-to-electronic conversion.

BBC: Passport restrictions in Tibet

The Washington Post recently reported that Chinese officials have thought about a possible role for American mediation and even discussed it with American officials.

ECONOMIST: Chen warms up the Chinese motherland

The idea, according to The Washington Post, is to lure newly-moneyed Chinese, Indian, and Brazilian shoppers to the U.S. The method?

FORBES: U.S. Recession Cure: Import Chinese, Indian and Brazilian Shoppers