passage: (CNN) -- U.S. ambassador to China Gary Locke is nearing the end of a three-day visit to the Tibet Autonomous Region where he has been meeting with local officials to impress the importance of preserving Tibetan culture, according to the U.S. embassy. Locke, who took the trip with his family, several embassy officials and Chengdu's consulate general, also stressed the need to open up access to Tibet to foreign diplomats, tourists and journalists, the embassy said in a statement. There has been no mention of the trip in Chinese media, which follows Locke's visit last September to Tibetan monasteries in western China, where a number of Tibetan monks have set themselves on fire.
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  U.S.: Locke meeting officials to impress importance of preserving Tibetan culture
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  Envoy also stressed the need to open up access to Tibet to foreign diplomats
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  Since 2006, 119 monks have self-immolated in protest against Chinese policies
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  HRW report alleges mass relocation of millions of Tibetans to "New Socialist Villages"
query: The HRW report included aerial images of @placeholder counties, which showed photos of villages before and after new homes were built.
entities: CNN Chengdu China Chinese Gary Locke HRW Locke New Socialist Villages Tibet Tibet Autonomous Region Tibetan Tibetans U.S.