One of Tibet’s richest businessmen has been sentenced to life in prison for helping exile groups, a human rights organisation said today, the latest case in a surprising crackdown on well-known Tibetans once praised by Chinese authorities.

China vowed today to ramp up its controversial “patriotic education” campaign for monks even though the latest deadly protests in Tibetan areas were sparked by deep resentment over its enforcement.

Violence spilled over from Tibet into neighbouring provinces today as Tibetans defied a Chinese government crackdown and the Dalai Lama warned that the area faced “cultural genocide” and appealed to the world for help.

A human rights group has claimed abuses by the Chinese authorities in Tibet have increased in the past year in a bid to break the people's loyalty to their exiled religious leader, the Dalai Lama.