Chinese paramilitary police with riot shields and batons abruptly took up posts Monday on the main street of this Tibetan town, disrupting the bustle of Buddhist pilgrims in a reminder of China's determined control of the region.

With some Tibetans pushing harder against Chinese rule, the communist government is determined to pacify the area.

The show of force Monday was meant to deter unrest while a local court sentenced a group of Tibetans for taking part in large anti-government protests in March in Xiahe, a small town abutting a sprawling complex of golden-roofed temples.

Though the verdicts were not publicly announced, the trial also seemed timed to answer the complaints of the Dalai Lama and other exiled leaders meeting in India over the weekend that Tibetans' patience with China's domination was thinning.

Seven months after Tibetans across western China exploded in the largest uprising against Chinese rule in nearly 50 years, the authoritarian government is adjusting tactics. Police checkpoints and guard posts in place for months are suddenly dismantled, only to reappear without warning days later.

"We are in the grip of the Communist Party. Tibet is occupied. The Dalai Lama has fled to India. My heart is sad," said a monk who has studied at Xiahe's Labrang monastery for 15 years and declined to give his name for fear of government reprisals.

On a spare altar in his small room was a framed portrait of the Dalai Lama.

Monday's police action in Xiahe came after several weeks in which riot squads had rarely been seen on the streets, residents said.

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