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Isolated protests as Olympic flame arrives in Beijing

The Olympic flame approached the final destination of its long and sometimes contentious global tour yesterday, greeted by rapturous crowds, tight security and two small protests in the Chinese capital.

The torch will tour Beijing for three days before ending up at tomorrow’s opening ceremony for the games and will be carried by a diverse crowd, including Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei (楊利偉), movie director Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) and basketball superstar Yao Ming (姚明).

The route was tightly guarded by police and military, and at least one Chinese-language newspaper carried a police announcement on its front page reminding relay spectators to cooperate with mandatory security checks and not to bring dangerous goods. Police said ceremonies marking the start and finish of the relay each day are closed to the public, according to the Beijing Youth Daily.

In Tiananmen Square crowds were small and strictly controlled in ordered lines. The only people allowed in were media and organized groups of supporters, mostly from major Olympic sponsors, who shouted “Go China! Go Olympics!” and waved corporate flags.

Three US Christians staged a protest on the fringes of the square against repression of religion and forced abortion in China, a US-based spokesman said.

The three unfurled a banner saying “Jesus Christ is King” in English and Chinese, said Rob Schenck, the US-based spokesman of the Christian Defense Coalition.

“Their principal statement is against the brutal repression of religious rights in China as well as human rights. Forced abortion is one of these,” Schenck said.

The protest ended when the three, two men and one woman, knelt down and prayed aloud, he said.

At this point, plainclothes police seized the three and drove them away in a van, Schenck said.

China’s one-child policy, in place since about 1980, has been a target of intense foreign criticism, partly because its implementation is suspected of having caused large numbers of forced abortions.

Earlier yesterday, four foreign activists were led away by police after unfurling pro-Tibet banners outside the Beijing National Stadium, where the Olympic opening ceremony will take place.

Two men from Students for a Free Tibet climbed a light pole in front of the so-called “Bird’s Nest” and put up the banners at dawn, said Lhadon Tethong, the New York-based group’s executive director. The other two — a man and a woman — provided support from the base of the poles, she said.

“We express our strong opposition,” said Sun Weide (孫維德), spokesman for the Beijing Olympics organizing committee. “In terms of assembly and demonstrations, China has related laws and regulations. We hope that foreigners will respect the related Chinese laws and regulations.”

Sun said the demonstrators were “persuaded to leave” by police. The four were not arrested or taken to a police station, he said.

“We’ve done this action today to highlight the Chinese government’s use of the Beijing Olympics as a propaganda tool to whitewash their human rights record on Tibet,” protester Iain Thom said from his perch about 15m off the ground, the group’s Web site said.

Tethong’s group identified the protesters as Thom, 24, of Scotland; Lucy Marion, 23, of England; Phill Bartell, 34, of Bridgewater, New Jersey; and Tirian Mink, 32, of Portland, Oregon.
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