A group of Tibetan students staged a sit-in at the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing on Monday night.

They began a silent gathering from 7:30 p.m. at the university in the Haidian District in northwestern Beijing. Students told Xinhua that they were holding a "candlelit vigil."

"The students started to gather in front of one of the teaching buildings after dinner, but they were not starting any trouble," one of the teachers said. The sit-in participants sat quietly around lit candles. Tibetan-speaking teachers persuaded them to go back and rest.

Xinhua reporter who was at the scene saw no clashes between the participants and school authorities. The crowd have all gone back to dormitories by midnight.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2008)