MELBOURNE: Members of the Chinese expatriate community in this southeast Australian seaport gathered at the city center yesterday to protest against "riots, violence and media distortion" associated with the recent strife in Tibet.

More than 4,000 demonstrators, many of whom were overseas Chinese students, marched through Melbourne's main street from Federation Square to the State Library on Sunday, carrying Chinese and Australian flags and displaying signs advocating "one China", "peace in Tibet", and "respect for truth".

The protesters condemned Western media for biased coverage of the violence in Tibet and subsequent anti-China protests.