'Forever Friends'

This is the way the Beijing Olympic organizers, and, I genuinely believe, the majority of Chinese, would like the world to anticipate the Summer Olympics, set to open Aug. 8. I attended a festival on the Ohio State U. campus on Saturday celebrating the Olympics Games coming to China. I talked to students from China attending different universities in Ohio and their views were uniform: great pride in China hosting the Olympics, and polite regret that protesters are choosing to target China and the world's biggest sporting event.

The organizers of this festival linked to a music video of "Forever Friends," one of several theme songs to pop up in advance of the Olympics. It's a feel-good celebration of the coming Games, with a heavy dose of Chinese participation. Worth a look. (The video is visible and plays in the Firefox and Safari browsers, but may not in Internet Explorer for some reason.)

Olympics Bring Tighter Visa Rules

China’s new restrictions on visas are proving mighty unpopular among business travelers. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China have harrumphed mightily at the new rules, which have resulted in rejections of multiple-entry business visas and requests for expedited permits, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Granted, keeping track of the hordes of tourists wanting to visit China during the Games this summer, not to mention all the competitors, coaches, national Olympic committee members and journalists who will descend on the Chinese capital, is a headache of monumental proportions. After violence and deaths at the 1972 Munich Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Games, organizers' obsession over security is understandable. But the process for longstanding or clearly legitimate multiple-entry and long-term visitors should be made easier.

China to Meet With Dalai Lama Reps

Might Chinese officials have had enough of demonstrators protesting China's position toward Tibet, which has disrupted the global relay of the Olympic torch? Could be. Chinese officials have agreed to meet with representatives of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The torch protests have quite alarmed Chinese leaders, and angered Chinese, both from the mainland and those who grew up overseas. China has accused the Dalai Lama (photo: Reuters) for being behind the protests. The torch relay is beginning to pit sides against one along the relay routes themselves, which is an embarrassment to Chinese organizers, but in my view bad for the Olympics themselves. The event and the athletes who compete in the Games don't want to be a magnet for protests or violence, and the "Beijing Olympics" is fast becoming a metaphor for "pro- and anti-China elements duking it out."

Torch Not Burned in New Delhi

One final post about the Olympic torch for now -- it made it through New Delhi relatively uneventfully. That was significant because New Delhi is only about 1,700 kilometers by my rough calculation from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital where anti-Chinese demonstrations sparked the current round of protests surrounding the Olympic torch relay. The Indian capital is also only about 450 kms from Dharamsala, where Tibet's holiest figure the Dalai Lama lives. So, in a country where suicide bombers have been known to assassinate political figures (Rajiv Gandhi, May 1991 for instance), I figured if there was any chance for disruption of the torch relay and determined protesters to get through porous security, this would be it.

About 15,000 police however managed to keep the public, and traffic, far enough away from the flame that only spectators by Olympic sponsors were close by. There are more Tibetans in India than anywhere else outside of Tibet, so authorities took no risks, limiting the route to only about three kms, switching runners every few seconds. The ubiquitous Chinese security forces in blue track suits, and Indian guards in red gear surrounded the torch. A few Tibetan activists were detained at a protest far from the torch route in New Delhi (AFP photo), and in other cities.

As a fan of the spirit the Olympics are supposed to engender, I feel it's really too bad that the torch has become such a magnet for protest. Yes, activists have achieved their goals of attracting attention to their causes and humiliating China, but those bearing the brunt of the protests in their faces are Olympic athletes, Chinese or otherwise, regardless of whether or not they were part of the flame's relay. They should be left alone and not pelted with slogans and water bottles, and allowed to soak up the spirit of their achievements. Politicize the Games? Bah humbug.

Japan, Australia Say No Thanks To Blue Man Group

Japan has joined Australia in saying thanks, but no thanks, to the blue-clad Chinese security detail guarding and jogging alongside the Olympic torch as it winds its way through major world cities. "We should not violate the principle that the Japanese police will firmly maintain security," Shinya Izumi, head of Japan's National Public Safety Commission, was quoted as saying in a piece Karl B. emailed to me. "If they are for the consideration of security, it is our role." Earlier Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in Beijing (AP Photo) that the Chinese agents, which Chinese media have acknowleged are members of the People's Armed Police as I thought, will not be allowed to run in the torch relay Down Under, but will follow close behind in a bus. “The total security needs of the Olympic torch during its visit to Australia will be provided by the Australian security authorities,” Rudd said, adding that the security agents will only get off an accompanying bus when necessary, such as when the torch is passed from one runner to another.

Hmm ... "when necessary"? I guess because the runners actually stop to pass the baton, we'll see the Blue Man Group spill out of its chase-bus every few hundred meters to beef up the security against demonstrators protesting Chinese policies on Tibet, Sudan and other issues who tried to get close to the flame. And neither Izumi's nor Rudd's statements reject participation by the PAP cadets. They will likely still be seen throughout the relay stages in Sydney and Nagano, which have both hosted Olympic Games.

China Drops a Surprise Accusation

Chinese officials let loose a surprise today, saying they've rolled up a terrorist plot to undermine this summer's Olympic Games with suicide bombings and kidnappings of foreign journalists, athletes and other visitors. The plot was allegedly being hatched by ethnic Uighur separatists from Xinjiang in China's far west, who have agitated for independence and protested what they call Chinese wiping out of their culture. Details and a video report here. Authorities gave no other details, and the timing and nature of the announcement make one wonder if it could be a diversionary tactic to distract attention from the chaotic and protest-ridden running of the Olympic torch relay, disrupted by pro-Tibet demonstrators. The news of shutting down the Uighur plot conveniently seems to lend justification for the commando-like Chinese security detail following the torch in London, Paris and San Francisco. Yet China doesn't have a pattern of suicide bombings, and aside from a few abductions of foreigners for ransom in some of China's wilder southern regions, you don't hear about kidnappings as a political tactic. China has recently accused followers of Tibet's Dalai Lama of plotting suicide bombings inside China, but that also isn't a tactic with much known history, if any.

Flameout

I'm watching a live feed from the ABC affiliate KGO-TV in San Francisco of the snail-like, circus-like progression of the Olympic flame through the streets of SF. (AFP photo, left). From the helicopter view it looks like semi-controlled pandemonium ... three lines of police security on either side of the torch runners. First there are 15 or 20 police, in black uniforms and holding truncheons at the ready, jogging alongside the runners, who stop every 0.1 mile or so to switch off. Then there's a line of motorcycle police on either side, then another row of defensive linesmen on the run on the outside perimeter, scuffling frequently with protesters feverishly running along the periphery, across grass and around corners in the route, holding up signs and some carrying what appear to be Tibetan flags. Some are seen being pushed back or dragged off the street. So from the air there are six black lines snaking along, with a knot at the head of the procession of eight or nine of the security types in those blue track suits ... who seem to have been internationalized somewhat -- not all Chinese any longer, there appear to be at least one white woman and at least one African American man among them. The runners, in pairs, are in bright red and white outfits. Latimes.com says the route was cut in half and rerouted to try and shake protesters, but TV shows the flame was rooted out. Poor police and security detail don't seem to be getting any respite.

Blue Man Group

Who are the nameless Chinese runners in blue track suits and wearing black fanny packs? They certainly made their presence known during the Olympic torch relay legs in London and Paris, which fell into disarray when demonstrators protesting China's human rights record and the country's actions toward Tibet disrupted the Running of the Flame numerous times this week. My friend Karl B. sent me a link to a story in Britain's The Independent yesterday titled, "Questions raised over mysterious 'men in blue'." It says, "for any of the athletes, protesters, journalists and even police who found themselves guided, barged or fighting with this particularly committed group of Chinese minders, the identity and function of the 'boys in blue tracksuits' was of paramount importance." The story includes interesting photos from Getty Images (above) and the AP (top). My take: they probably come from China's Army and Renmin Wujing (People's Armed Police), a combination of SWAT team and riot police. Will be very interesting to see if they are on today's torch relay route in San Francisco -- the Olympic flame's only appearance in the United States -- where police will be out in force to prevent disruptions and where authorities expect more than 6,000 protesters to turn out.

Boycott Talk Increases; Olympic Torch Relay Disrupted

Hillary Clinton has joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in calling on George Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. Clinton today called Bush "wrong to downplay human rights" in the face of China's suppression of protests in Tibet and surrounding regions, and its support of the government in Sudan despite the documented genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. "President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government,'' Clinton said in a statement. Bush plans to attend the Games this August, including the Aug. 4 opening ceremony in the city where his father was once ambassador. Bush is certain not to change his mind ... I believe he wants China to consider him a "lao pengyou" -- an old friend -- as it does his father. And Britain's Gordon Brown is sure to be there -- London hosts the next Summer Olympics in 2012. But the handful of Western leaders staying away from Beijing's opening ceremonies could trigger more no-shows, and if such a movement gathers more momentum it would percolate to the top of media coverage. Not at all something China wants to see.



Since blogs are meant to be extensions of one's personal existence -- and since I haven't been near any Tibet or Olympic protests in the past week -- I'll try citing instead a couple of stories written by friends and former colleagues about the issue. One is from Paris, where the Olympic torch relay "descended into chaos Monday, with protesters scaling the Eiffel Tower, grabbing for the flame and forcing security officials to repeatedly snuff out the torch and transport it by bus past demonstrators yelling "Free Tibet!" This article, co-written for The Associated Press by Elaine Ganley, describes the nightmarish and at times comically surreal scene of Chinese security agents in warmup suits and French police "flics" on roller blades failing miserably to stop interference from demonstrators protesting China's stance on Tibet and Sudan. "The relentless anti-Chinese demonstrations ignited across the capital with unexpected power and ingenuity, foiling 3,000 police officers deployed on motorcycles, in jogging gear and even inline skates. Thousands of protesters slowed the relay to a stop-start crawl, with impassioned displays of anger over China's human rights record, its grip on Tibet and support for Sudan despite years of bloodshed in Darfur. Five times, the Chinese officials in dark glasses and tracksuits who guard the torch extinguished it and retreated to the safety of a bus - the last time emerging only after the vehicle drove within 15 feet of the final stop, a track and field stadium. A torchbearer then ran the final steps inside." The Olympic flame has been dogged by protesters since it was handed over to Chinese officials in Greece on March 30. It's hard to imagine a more humiliating and embarrassing appearance for the usually welcomed symbol of the Games than today's trajectory in the French capital. And what was Chinese security doing surrounding the torch anyway? Sounds like creating a target. I feel sorry for the athletes carrying the torch, no doubt caught up in the infectious spirit -- and it is always infectious -- of the runup to an Olympics. A washingtonpost.com story today noted that when the flame crossed the Seine River opposite the Eiffel Tower, "pro-Tibet demonstrators pelted the torch bearer -- a wheelchair-bound ping pong player -- and his assistants with bottles of juice, fruit and other projectiles."

Meanwhile today in San Francisco, the tortured torch's next stop where it arrives on Wednesday, three protesters climbed up the Golden Gate Bridge and anchored a Tibetan flag and two banners reading "One World One Dream. Free Tibet" and "Free Tibet." ("Tong yige shijie, tong yige mengxiang" is the Beijing Games' slogan: "One World, One Dream.")

John Glionna, the San Francisco bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times, wrote last Wednesday that the torch is scheduled to arrive for its only North American appearance in SF this week, "but this politically charged city is still squabbling over whether to roll out or roll up the red carpet." He noted accusations that SF Mayor Gavin Newsom is trying to keep the flame's route a secret and that police are under orders to arrest anyone from displaying signs or banners supporting Tibet, Darfur or the Falun Gong religious sect that is banned in China. Last week SF's Board of Supervisors "took a stand that seemed anything but welcoming, voting 8 to 3 for a resolution to greet the torch 'with alarm and protest'."

What's surprising is that Chinese authorities seem to be caught by surprise. Surely they anticipated protests over China's human rights and foreign policy as the Olympics draw near. And the fact that demonstrators in the West can get much closer to the objects of their protests than in China couldn't have been lost on torch relay organizers. (There were all those Chinese security joggers after all). The torch moves on next to Buenos Aires and Dar-es-Salaam, but later hits New Delhi and Hong Kong, where it's likely to face further, and perhaps even more vociferous, protests. Clouds may be gathering for China's coming-out party in four months and a day.

Tibet Protests Drawing Undesired Attention Ahead of Olympics

By allowing pro-Tibet protests to swell before sending in large numbers of Chinese troops into Tibet and nearby regions to quell the demonstrations, Chinese authorities appear to have learned little from the pro-democracy protests of 1989, Time magazine says this week. The apparent paralysis as to how to respond echoed the similar government disarray that allowed students to occupy Tiananmen Square for three weeks before the Army reclaimed it with considerable bloodshed. "Even though Chinese authorities have had almost two decades to learn the lessons of Tiananmen Square — after which it spent time in the diplomatic doghouse — the events in Lhasa were almost a textbook example of how not to handle a crisis: dithering and indecision followed by the application of massive force."