Although the picture has been published by the New York Times on its front page, the caption made no mention of the attack by the rioters.

"Many friends working in western media consulted me to know more about the truth of the riot in Lhasa and sent me some western media reports," Liu Na, professor with College of Journalism and Mass Medium at Wuhan University said in an interview with Global Times.

"Bias and even prejudice still exist in some western media coverage about China because of old ways of thinking and different values," said Liu, who is also a cultural scholar at the University of Birmingham.

Xinhua has tried to contact CNN Beijing Bureau for a comment but has so far not succeeded, because the telephone is either busy or is not answered.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said at a press conference held on March 18 that China will consider the possibility of organizing foreign media to Lhasa and see on the ground what happened there.

Qin Gang, spokesman with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular press conference held on March 20 that efforts to organize such a trip are under way.

According to the Manchester Guardian, a slideshow on YouTube accuses CNN, Der Spiegel (a German newspaper), and other media of cropping pictures to show Chinese military while screening out rioters.