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===Paris=== |
===Paris=== |
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[[Image:Manifestation lors du passage de la flamme olympique a Paris en 2008.jpg|left|thumb|Police encounter a protester with the [[Flag of Tibet|Tibetan flag]] during the Olympic torch relay through [[Paris]].]] |
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[[Image:ParisOlympicBanner.jpg|right|thumb|Protest banner on the City Hall: "Paris defends human rights throughout the world".]] |
[[Image:ParisOlympicBanner.jpg|right|thumb|Protest banner on the City Hall: "Paris defends human rights throughout the world".]] |
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[[Image:Violentolympicprotestor.jpg|left|thumb|Police stopping a violent pro-Tibet protestor who attempted to kick the handicapped female torchbearer, [[Jin Jing]]. Jin Jing protected the torch with her body and suffered injuries in the lower jaw and her partly amputated right leg from several assaults during the Paris relay.]] |
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[[Image:2397328566.jpg|right|thumb|A protester tries to disrupt the torch relay through Paris.]] |
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[[Paris]] city officials had announced plans to greet the Olympic flame with peaceful protest when the torch was to reach the French capital. The city government attached a banner reading "Paris defends human rights throughout the world" to the [[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|City Hall]], in an attempt to promote values "of all humanity and of human rights."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080402-127972/Paris-to-greet-Olympic-flame-with-protest—mayor|title=Paris to greet Olympic flame with protest--mayor}}</ref> Members from [[Reporters Without Borders]] turned out in large numbers to protest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/02/sports/EU-SPT-OLY-Olympic-Torch-Paris.php|title=Paris City Hall and athletes to highlight human rights during Olympic torch relay}}</ref> An estimated 3,000 French police protected the Olympic torch relay as it departed from the [[Eiffel Tower]] and crisscrossed Paris amid threat of protests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/06/london.torch/index.html|title=Angry protest as torch reaches London}}</ref> Widespread violent pro-Tibet protests, including an attempt by more than one demonstrator to extinguish the flame with water or fire extinguishers, prompted relay authorities to put out the flame five times (according to the police authorities in Paris<ref>{{fr icon}}[http://www.lexpress.fr/info/quotidien/actu.asp?id=469562 "Flamme olympique: ce qui s'est vraiment passé à Paris"], ''L'Express'', April 8, 2008</ref>) and load the torch onto a bus,<ref> |
[[Paris]] city officials had announced plans to greet the Olympic flame with peaceful protest when the torch was to reach the French capital. The city government attached a banner reading "Paris defends human rights throughout the world" to the [[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|City Hall]], in an attempt to promote values "of all humanity and of human rights."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080402-127972/Paris-to-greet-Olympic-flame-with-protest—mayor|title=Paris to greet Olympic flame with protest--mayor}}</ref> Members from [[Reporters Without Borders]] turned out in large numbers to protest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/02/sports/EU-SPT-OLY-Olympic-Torch-Paris.php|title=Paris City Hall and athletes to highlight human rights during Olympic torch relay}}</ref> An estimated 3,000 French police protected the Olympic torch relay as it departed from the [[Eiffel Tower]] and crisscrossed Paris amid threat of protests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/06/london.torch/index.html|title=Angry protest as torch reaches London}}</ref> Widespread violent pro-Tibet protests, including an attempt by more than one demonstrator to extinguish the flame with water or fire extinguishers, prompted relay authorities to put out the flame five times (according to the police authorities in Paris<ref>{{fr icon}}[http://www.lexpress.fr/info/quotidien/actu.asp?id=469562 "Flamme olympique: ce qui s'est vraiment passé à Paris"], ''L'Express'', April 8, 2008</ref>) and load the torch onto a bus,<ref> |
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{{cite news |
{{cite news |
Revision as of 09:40, 10 April 2008
The 2008 Olympic Torch Relay will run until August 8, 2008, prior to the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China.[2] The relay, with the theme Journey of Harmony, will last 130 days and carry the torch 137,000 km. (85,100 mi.) — the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay. By comparison, when this globe-trotting ritual was first introduced to promote the 1936 Games, the Olympic flame only travelled 3,422 km from Athens to Berlin.[3][4]
In 2008, after being lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch traveled to the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, and then to Beijing, arriving on March 31. From Beijing, the torch is following a route passing through six continents. The torch will visit cities on the Silk Road, symbolizing ancient links between China and the rest of the world. The relay will also include an attempt to carry the flame to the top of Mount Everest (Mt. Qomolangma).[5][6]
The 2008 torch relay has been controversial, being marked on multiple occasions by protests regarding China's human rights record, and in particular the ongoing unrest in Tibet. The path of the torch has been changed on several occasions, with the torch being extinguished by the organisers several times during the Paris leg.
International route
Greece
On March 24, 2008, the Olympic Flame was ignited at Olympia, Greece, site of the Ancient Olympics. The actress Maria Nafpliotou, in the role of a High Priestess, ignited the torch of the first torchbearer, a silver medalist of the 2004 Summer Olympics in taekwondo Alexandros Nikolaidis from Greece, who handed the flame over to the second torchbearer, Olympic champion in women's breaststroke Luo Xuejuan from China.[7]
China
In China, the torch was welcomed by Chinese legal chief Zhou Yongkang and State Councilor Liu Yandong. It was subsequently passed onto Hu Jintao, the President, and then onto Liu Xiang, world champion Olympian in 110 m hurdles.
Kazakhstan
The first torchbearer in Almaty, where the Olympic torch arrived for the first time ever on April 2, was the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev. The route ran 20 km from Medeo stadium to Astana Square. Among other 79 torchbearers were Olympic champions Bakhtiyar Artayev, Yermakhan Ibraimov (boxing), Yuriy Melnichenko, Zaksylik Ushkempirov (wrestling), Anatoly Khrapaty (weightlifting); the first Olympic champion for independent Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov (cross-country skiing) skied his lap on a special artificial snow track; famous Kazakh singer Roza Rymbaeva ran her lap singing a song about Kazakhstan.[8][9]
Turkey
The torch relay leg in Istanbul, held on April 3, started on Sultanahmet Square and finished in Taksim Square. On the 20 km long route the Olympic flame was carried by 80 torchbearers, the first being a figure skater Tuğba Karademir and the last — the Olympic champion in weightlifting Taner Sağır.[10][11][12][13]
Russia
On April 5 the Olympic torch arrived at Saint Petersburg, Russia. The length of the torch relay route in the city was 20 km, with the start at the Victory Square and finish at the Palace Square. Among the 80 torchbearers were Olympic champions Lyubov Yegorova (cross-country skiing), Viktor Zhdanovich (fencing), Vladimir Salnikov, Alexander Popov, Sergey Kopliakov, Andrey Krylov (swimming), Alexander Dityatin (artistic gymnastics), Tatyana Kazankina (athletics), Anatoly Alyabyev (biathlon), Evgeni Plushenko, Tatiana Totmianina, Maxim Marinin, Anton Sikharulidze, Alexei Urmanov, Oksana Kazakova, Artur Dmitriev, Oleg Vasiliev (figure skating), Svetlana Zhurova (speed skating), and others; figure skating coach Tamara Moskvina; mixed martial artist Fedor Emelianenko; polar explorers Robert Swan, Artur Chilingarov; cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova; actress Alisa Freindlich and other prominent people.[14][15][16]
United Kingdom
The torch relay leg held in London on April 6 began in Wembley, passed through the City of London, and eventually ended at the O2 Arena in the eastern part of the city. The 48 km (31 mi) leg took a total of seven and a half hours to complete, and attracted protests by pro-Tibet and pro-Human Rights supporters, prompting changes to the planned route and an unscheduled move onto a bus.[17]
France
The torch relay leg in Paris, held on April 7, began on the first level of the Eiffel Tower and finished at the Stade Charléty. French athlete Stéphane Diagana was the first torchbearer. Other torchbearers included David Douillet and Marie-José Pérec.[18]
The relay was initially supposed to cover 28 km, but it was shortened at the demand of Chinese officials following widespread protests by pro-Tibet and human rights activists, who repeatedly attempted to disrupt, hinder or halt the procession.[19] A scheduled ceremony at the town hall was cancelled at the request of the Chinese authorities, and, also at the request of Chinese authorities, the torch finished the relay by bus instead of being carried by athletes.[20]
United States
The torch relay's sole North American portion occurred in San Francisco, California on April 9. Pre-relay protest rallies included appearances by Desmond Tutu and Richard Gere. On the day of the relay, officials diverted the torch run to an unannounced route. The planned closing ceremony at Justin Herman Plaza was cancelled and instead, a ceremony was held at San Francisco International Airport, where the torch was to leave for Buenos Aires.[21] The route changes allowed the run to avoid most of the protestors. As people found out there would be no closing ceremony at Justin Herman Plaza, there were angry reactions. One demonstrator was quoted as saying that the route changes were an effort to "thwart any organized protest that had been planned." San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, a critic of Mayor Gavin Newsom, said that it was a "cynical plan to please the Bush State Department and the Chinese government because of the incredible influence of money."[21] Newsom, on the other hand, said he felt it was in "everyone's best interest" and that he believed people had been "afforded the right to protest and support the torch" despite the route changes. Peter Ueberroth, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, praised the route changes, saying, "The city of San Francisco, from a global perspective, will be applauded."[21]
Schedule
The announced route will carry the torch through the following locations, from March 2008 to May 2008, before the final stages in mainland China:
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Beijing_2008_Torch_Relay_Route.png/450px-Beijing_2008_Torch_Relay_Route.png)
Date | City | Country |
---|---|---|
March 25 | Olympia | ![]() |
March 30 | Athens | |
March 31 | Beijing | ![]() |
April 2 | Almaty | Template:KZK |
April 3 | Istanbul | ![]() |
April 5 | St.Petersburg | ![]() |
April 6 | London | ![]() |
April 7 | Paris | ![]() |
April 9 | San Francisco | ![]() |
April 11 | Buenos Aires | ![]() |
April 13 | Dar es Salaam | ![]() |
April 14 | Muscat | ![]() |
April 16 | Islamabad | ![]() |
April 17 | New Delhi | ![]() |
April 19 | Bangkok | ![]() |
April 21 | Kuala Lumpur | ![]() |
April 22 | Jakarta | ![]() |
April 24 | Canberra | ![]() |
April 26 | Nagano | ![]() |
April 27 | Seoul | ![]() |
April 28 | Pyongyang | ![]() |
April 29 | Ho Chi Minh City | ![]() |
May 2 | Hong Kong | ![]() |
May 3 | Macau |
The planned route originally included a stop in Taipei between Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong, but there was scuffling in Beijing and Taipei over language used to describe whether it was an international or a domestic part of the route. While the Olympic committees of mainland China and Taiwan reached initial consensus on the approach, the government of the Republic of China in Taiwan intervened, stating that this placement could be interpreted as placing Taiwan on the same level as Hong Kong and Macau, an implication it objected to. The Beijing Organizing Committee attempted to continue negotiation,[22] but further disputes arose over the placement and usage of the flag or the anthem of the Republic of China along the 24 km torch route in Taiwan.[23] As of 2007-09-21, after the midnight deadline for concluding the negotiations on September 20, Taiwan and Mainland China were unable to come to terms with the issue of the Torch Relay. In the end, both sides of the Taiwan Strait decided to eliminate the Taipei leg.[24]
Mainland China route
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Beijing_2008_Torch_Relay_Route_%28China%29.png/250px-Beijing_2008_Torch_Relay_Route_%28China%29.png)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Official_2008_Summer_Olympics_Torch_in_Vilnius.jpg/200px-Official_2008_Summer_Olympics_Torch_in_Vilnius.jpg)
After returning to mainland China, the relay will travel through the following provinces and cities, from May 2008 to August 2008:
- Hainan Province (Sanya, Wuzhishan, Wanning, Haikou)
- Guangdong Province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Shantou)
- Fujian Province (Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Longyan)
- Jiangxi Province (Ruijin, Jinggangshan, Nanchang)
- Zhejiang Province (Wenzhou Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing)
- Shanghai
- Jiangsu Province (Suzhou, Nantong, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing)
- Anhui Province (Hefei, Huainan, Wuhu, Jixi, Huangshan)
- Hubei Province (Wuhan, Yichang, Jingzhou)
- Hunan Province (Yueyang, Changsha, Shaoshan)
- Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guilin, Nanning, Baise)
- Yunnan Province (Kunming, Lijiang, Shangri-La County)
- Guizhou Province (Guiyang, Kaili, Zunyi)
- Chongqing
- Sichuan Province (Guang'an, Mianyang, Guanghan, Leshan, Zigong, Yibin, Chengdu)
- Tibet Autonomous Region (Shannan Prefecture, Lhasa)
- Qinghai Province (Golmud, Qinghai Hu, Xining)
- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Ürümqi, Kashi, Shihezi, Changji)
- Gansu Province (Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Jiuquan, Tianshui, Lanzhou)
- Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Zhongwei, Wuzhong, Yinchuan)
- Shaanxi Province (Yan'an, Yangling, Xianyang, Xi'an)
- Shanxi Province (Yuncheng, Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong)
- Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Hohhot, Ordos, Baotou, Chifeng)
- Heilongjiang Province (Qiqihar, Daqing, Harbin)
- Jilin Province (Songyuan, Changchun, Jilin, Yanji)
- Liaoning Province (Shenyang, Benxi, Liaoyang, Anshan, Dalian)
- Shandong Province (Yantai, Weihai, Qingdao, Rizhao, Linyi, Qufu, Tai'an, Jinan)
- Henan Province (Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Anyang)
- Hebei Province (Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan)
- Tianjin
- Beijing
The Torch
The Olympic Torch is based on traditional scrolls and uses a traditional Chinese design known as "Lucky Cloud". It is made from aluminum. The torch is designed to remain lit in 65 kilometer-an-hour winds, and in rain of up to 50 millimeters-an-hour. An ignition key is used to ignite and extinguish the flame. The torch is fueled by cans of propane. Each can can burn for 15 minutes.[25] It is designed by a team from Lenovo Group.
The Torch is designed in reference to the traditional Chinese concept of the 5 elements that make up the entire universe.
Lanterns
The Olympic Flame is supposed to remain lit for the whole relay. When the Torch is extinguished at night, on airplanes, in bad weather, or during protests (such as the several occasions in Paris[26]), the Olympic Flame is kept alight in a set of 10 lanterns.
Flame attendants
The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee sent out a team of 30 flame attendants selected from the People's Armed Police to escort the flame throughout its journey. Their main job is to keep the Olympic flame alight by any means throughout the journey and to assist in transferring the flame between the torches, the lanterns and the cauldrons.[27] They wear matching blue tracksuits, leading to The Met dubbing them the Smurfs [28] and they will accompany the Torch every step of the way.[29] Two additional teams of 40 attendants each will accompany the flame on its Mainland China route.[27]
Controversies
- On April 7, the federal government of Australia has ruled out any Chinese involvement in security operations when the Olympic torch arrives in Australia.[30]
- Sebastian Coe, the head of 2012 London Summer Olympics said about them, "They are horrible. They did not speak English ... I think they were thugs."[30] According to the China News Service, however, the attendants have received advanced training in five foreign languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese) and the etiquette of various countries before their mission.[27] Konnie Huq reportedly described them as "bloody aggressive"[31]. Also in the United Kingdom, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis expressed concerns about the flame attendants, and asked Home Secretary Jacqui Smith: “Who in the British Government authorised their presence and what checks were made as to their background?”[32]
- During the torch's journey through Paris, Chinese attendants imposed modifications on the torch's route, and controlled the shortening or cancelling of ceremonies. They also extinguished the torch on several occasions, prompting criticism from Paris' mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, who accused them of "disrupting" the passing of the torch from athlete David Douillet to another athlete.[33][34]
Protests
Inception
Following the recent unrest in Tibet, three sympathisers of the Tibetan independence movement breached security and attempted to disrupt a speech by Liu Qi, the head of Beijing's Olympic organising committee during the torch lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece.[35][36][37] The People's Republic of China called this a "disgraceful" attempt to sabotage the Olympics.[38][39] On 30 March 2008 in Athens, during ceremonies marking the handing over of the torch from Greek officials to organizers of the Beijing games, demonstrators shouted 'Free Tibet' and unfurled banners; some 10 of the 15 protesters were taken into police detention.[40] After the hand-off, protests continued internationally, with particularly violent uprisings in Nepal.[41]
London
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Olympic_Torch_Relay_London_2008_protestors.jpg/220px-Olympic_Torch_Relay_London_2008_protestors.jpg)
Of the 80 torch-bearers[42] in London, Sir Steve Redgrave, who started the relay, mentioned to the media that he had received e-mailed pleas to boycott the event and could "see why they would like to make an issue" of it.[42] Francesca Martinez and Richard Vaughan refused to carry the torch,[43] while Konnie Huq decided to carry it and also speak out against China.[44] The pro-Tibetan MP Norman Baker asked all bearers to reconsider.[43] Amid pressure from both directions, Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the torch outside 10 Downing Street without holding or touching it.[45][46]
The London relay saw the torch surrounded by what the BBC described as "a mobile protective ring."[45] Protests began as soon as Redgrave started the event, leading to at least thirty-five arrests.[45] In Ladbroke Grove a demonstrator attempted to snatch the torch from Konnie Huq in a momentary struggle, and in a separate incident, a fire extinguisher was set off near the torch.[45] The Chinese ambassador carried the torch through Chinatown after an unpublicized change to the route amid security concerns.[45] Along many stretches of the route the torch was placed on a bus amid security concerns and efforts to evade the protesters.[45][47] In an effort to counter the pro-Tibet protesters and show their support for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, more than 2,000 Chinese also gathered on the torch route and demonstrated with signs, banners and Chinese flags. A large number of supporters were concentrated in Trafalgar Square, displaying the Olympic slogan "One World, One Dream".[48][49] guardian.co.uk reports that the student organisers claim to have the support of the Chinese Embassy.[50]
Paris
Paris city officials had announced plans to greet the Olympic flame with peaceful protest when the torch was to reach the French capital. The city government attached a banner reading "Paris defends human rights throughout the world" to the City Hall, in an attempt to promote values "of all humanity and of human rights."[51] Members from Reporters Without Borders turned out in large numbers to protest.[52] An estimated 3,000 French police protected the Olympic torch relay as it departed from the Eiffel Tower and crisscrossed Paris amid threat of protests.[53] Widespread violent pro-Tibet protests, including an attempt by more than one demonstrator to extinguish the flame with water or fire extinguishers, prompted relay authorities to put out the flame five times (according to the police authorities in Paris[54]) and load the torch onto a bus,[55] at the demand of Chinese officials.[56] This was later denied by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs[57], despite video footage broadcast by French television network France 2 which showed Chinese flame attendants extinguishing the torch[58] [59]. Backup flames are with the relay at all times to relight the torch.[60] French judoka and torchbearer David Douillet expressed his annoyance at the Chinese flame attendants who extinguished the torch which he was about to hand over to another athlete: "I understand they're afraid of everything, but this is just annoying. They extinguished the flame despite the fact that there was no risk, and they could see it and they knew it. I don't know why they did it."[61]
The Chinese officials decided they would not stop here because they were upset by Parisian citizens expressing their support for human rights.[62][63]
Paris Mayor Bernard Delanoë
Many of the protestors were organized and flew specially to Paris to disrupt the relay[64]. Chinese officials cancelled the torch relay ceremony amidst disruptions, including a Tibetan flag flown from a window in the City Hall by Green Party officials.[65][66]
Reporters Without Borders organised several symbolic protests, including scaling the Eiffel Tower in a daring climb to hang a protest banner from it, and hanging an identical banner from the Notre Dame cathedral.[67][68]
French members of Parliament and other French politicians also organised a protest. All political parties in Parliament—UMP, Socialists, New Centre, Communists, Democratic Movement (centre) and Greens—jointly requested a pause in the National Assembly's session, which was granted, so that MPs could step outside and unfurl a banner which read "Respect for Human Rights in China". The coach containing the torch drove past the National Assembly and the assembled protesting MPs, who shouted "Freedom for Tibet!" several times as it passed.[69]
San Francisco
On April 1, 2008, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolution addressing human rights concerns when the Beijing Olympic torch arrives in San Francisco on 9 April. The resolution would welcome the torch with "alarm and protest at the failure of China to meet its past solemn promises to the international community, including the citizens of San Francisco, to cease the egregious and ongoing human rights abuses in China and occupied Tibet."[70][71] On April 8, numerous protests were planned including one at the city's United Nations Plaza led by actor Richard Gere and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.[72]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Demonstrators_and_San_Francisco_Police_following_the_Olympic_Torch_Relay_%282008%29.jpg/220px-Demonstrators_and_San_Francisco_Police_following_the_Olympic_Torch_Relay_%282008%29.jpg)
Some advocates for Tibet, Darfur, and the spiritual sect Falun Gong, planned to protest the April 9 arrival of the torch in San Francisco.[73] China had already requested the torch route in San Francisco be shortened.[74] On April 7, 2008, two days prior to the actual torch relay, three activists carrying Tibetan flags scaled the suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge to unfurl two banners, one saying "One World, One Dream. Free Tibet", and the other, "Free Tibet '08".[75][76] Among them was San Francisco resident Laurel Sutherlin, who spoke to the local TV station KPIX-CBS5 live from a cellphone, urging the International Olympic Committee to ask China not to allow the torch to go through Tibet. "Sutherlin said he was worried that the torch's planned route through Tibet would lead to more arrests and Chinese officials would use force to stifle dissent."[77] The three activists and five supporters face charges related to trespassing, conspiracy and causing a public nuisance.[78]
The torch was lit at a park outside at AT&T Park at about 1:17 p.m. PDT (20:17 UTC), briefly held aloft by Chinese Olympic officials. The relay descended into confusion as the first runner in the elaborately planned relay disappeared into a warehouse on a waterfront pier where it stayed for a half-an-hour.[79] Meanwhile pro-Tibet protesters, many of which flew in from pro-Tibet organizations, clashed with thousands of pro-China demonstrators, some of who had been bussed into the city.[80][81] It was reported on RTHK that supporters of the Olympics outnumber protesters three to one.[82] Around 2 p.m. PDT (21:00 UTC), the torch resurfaced about two miles (3 km) away from the stadium along Van Ness Avenue, a heavily trafficked thoroughfare that was not on official route plans. Television reports showed the flame flanked by motorcycles and uniformed police officers. Two torchbearers carried the flame running slowly behind a truck and surrounded by Olympic security guards.[83] The torch run ended with a final stretch through San Francisco's Marina district and was then moved by bus to San Francisco International Airport for the closing ceremony.[80]
New Delhi
Indian national football captain, Baichung Bhutia refused to take part in the Indian leg of the torch relay.[84] This came in wake of the storming of the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi by Tibetan protesters. Wary of further protests, the Indian authorities have decided to shorten the route of the relay in New Delhi.[85] Indian Bollywood film star Aamir Khan states on his personal blog that the "Olympic Games do not belong to China" and confirms taking part in the torch relay "with a prayer in [his] heart for the people of Tibet, and [...] for all people across the world who are victims of human rights violations".[86]
Canberra
Following the events in Olympia, there were reports that China requested permission to deploy People's Liberation Army personnel along the relay route to protect the flame. Australian authorities stated that such a request, if it were to be made, would be refused.[87][88] Chinese officials labeled it a rumor.[89]
References
- ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/10/content_7949378.htm
- ^ "Beijing 2008: BOCOG Announces Olympic Torch Relay Route". International Olympic Committee. 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Libby Purves in The Times, 8 April 2008 [1]
- ^ Simon Jenkins in The Sunday Times, 6 April 2008 [2]
- ^ "Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Planned Route and Torch Design unveiled". BOCOG. 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ 'No change in Tibet torch rally route', Times of India, Retrieved on 10 April 2008.
- ^ Olympic Flame begins relay in Greece at the Official Website of the Torch Relay
- ^ Template:Ru icon Kazakhstan: Citius! Altius! Fortius!
- ^ Template:Ru icon Olympic Torch Relay Starts in Kazakhstan
- ^ Template:Tr icon Meşaleyi Karademir taşıdı
- ^ "Beijing Olympic Flame Lands in Istanbul Today".
- ^ "Six detained in Olympic torch relay".
- ^ "Flame leaves Istanbul for St. Petersburg".
- ^ Template:Ru icon Olympic Torch route in St. Petersburg with all torchbearers and lap definitions (.doc file)
- ^ Template:Ru icon Olympic Torch Will Be Carried By Drouz, Freindlich and Evgeni Plushenko
- ^ Template:Ru icon Олимпийский огонь несли
- ^ BBC NEWS | UK | Clashes along Olympic torch route
- ^ "La flamme olympique : le parcours heure par heure (du 06/04 au 07/04)", Nouvel Observateur, April 8, 2008
- ^ "China condemns Olympic torch disruptions", France 24, April 8, 2008
- ^ "Paris protests cut short Olympic torch relay", France 24, April 8, 2008
- ^ a b c "Torch leaves San Francisco after surprise route designed to thwart protesters". San Francisco Chronicle. 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Taiwan rejects China's torch relay plans". USA Today. 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Taipei Times".
- ^ "Taiwan, China Fail to Reach Agreement on Olympic Torch Route".
- ^ Template:Zh icon 示威不斷 聖火難傳 境外是否續運 奧委周五定奪
- ^ "La Chine condamne les troubles sur le parcours de la flamme", france 24, April 8, 2008
- ^ a b c Template:Zh icon "千中選一:"中國聖火護衛隊"惹關注".
- ^ "China's thugs and fears over 2012 'gun guards'".
- ^ "China's 'flame attendants' and world's most guarded relay". guardian.co.uk. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ a b "Torch to be guarded by Australians only". news.theage.com.au. 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ "Questions raised over mysterious 'men in blue'", Jerome Taylor and Clifford Coonan, The Independent, April 8, 2008
- ^ "Unmasked: Chinese guardians of Olympic torch", The Times, April 9, 2008
- ^ "Delanoë: le passage de la flamme à Paris, "mouvement fort" en faveur du Tibet", AFP, April 8, 2008
- ^ Video coverage by France 2, April 7, 2008
- ^ "Olympic flame begins journey to China".
- ^ "Demonstrators disrupt Olympic torch lighting".
- ^ "Protests disrupt Olympic torch ceremony".
- ^ "Torch protest 'disgraceful', says China".
- ^ "China raps Olympic torch protest".
- ^ "Tibet Protesters Try to Disrupt Olympic Ceremony".
- ^ "Violence in Nepal as Tibetans protest Olympics".
- ^ a b "Redgrave receives pleas on Tibet". BBC News. 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ a b Horne, Mark. "Logan vows to run Olympic gauntlet". news.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ Kelly, Jon (2008-04-03). "Burning debate over relay boycott". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ a b c d e f "Clashes mar Olympic torch relay". BBC News. 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "Jowell defends torch parade role".
- ^ "Protests of China make Olympic torch relay an obstacle course".
- ^ Template:Zh icon 特拉法加广场护圣火归来
- ^ Template:Zh icon 伦敦迎奥运火炬照片
- ^ "Pro-Chinese students to guard torch".
- ^ "Paris to greet Olympic flame with protest--mayor".
- ^ "Paris City Hall and athletes to highlight human rights during Olympic torch relay".
- ^ "Angry protest as torch reaches London".
- ^ Template:Fr icon"Flamme olympique: ce qui s'est vraiment passé à Paris", L'Express, April 8, 2008
- ^ "Paris protests force cancellation of torch relay". msnbc.com. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ "China condemns Olympic torch disruptions", France 24, April 8, 2008
- ^ "Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Reports of extinguished flame not true", April 8, 2008
- ^ Video coverage by France 2 (at 00:14)
- ^ Video coverage by France 2 (at 02:21)
- ^ "Olympic torch hit by protests during Paris leg".
- ^ David Douillet, interviewed by France 2, April 7, 2008
- ^ "China condemns Olympic torch disruptions", France 24, April 8, 2008
- ^ Template:Fr icon"La flamme de passage à Paris", official website of the mayor of Paris
- ^ Template:Fr icon"A Paris, la flamme olympique achève son parcours à l'abri des regards", Le Monde, April 7, 2008
- ^ "Paris torch relay canceled". Associated Press. Sports Illustrated. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ Template:Fr icon"Flamme olympique fortement chahutee". TF1-LCI. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ Reporters Without Borders, April 7, 2008
- ^ Template:Fr icon"A Paris, la flamme olympique achève son parcours à l'abri des regards", Le Monde, April 7, 2008
- ^ Template:Fr icon"Des députés crient "Liberté pour le Tibet" devant une flamme... invisible", AFP, 7 avril 2008
- ^ "SF To Greet Olympic Torch With 'Alarm And Protest'".
- ^ "Video:SF To Greet Olympic Torch With 'Alarm'".
- ^ Tutu, Gere, to protest; San Francisco alters torch route, M&C News, April 8, 2008.
- ^ "Bay City to protest Olympic torch".
- ^ "China wants San Francisco Olympic torch's route shortened".
- ^ "Torch protesters scale Golden Gate Bridge". KGO-TV. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^
"Pro-Tibet protesters climb Golden Gate Bridge tower". San Francisco Chronicle. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ "Olympic Torch Protesters Scale Golden Gate Bridge". CBS5. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ "Climbers scale Golden Gate Bridge to protest Olympic torch run". CBC Canada. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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- ^ San Francisco Olympic torch relay gets off to chaotic start, MarketWatch, April 9, 2008.
- ^ a b "Torch leaves San Francisco after surprise route designed to thwart protesters". San Francisco Chronicle. 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
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(help) Cite error: The named reference "thwart" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ NBC Torch Relay: Bloggers Gets Close To The Action, nbc
- ^ http://www.rthk.org.hk/asx/rthk/news/summary/20080410/20080410_12.asx
- ^ Protests and Cheers Along Torch Route, The New York Times, April 9, 2008.
- ^ "India's soccer captain refuses to join in Beijing Olympic torch run in Indian capital".
- ^ "Wary of protests, IOA shortens Olympic torch route".
- ^ "Aamir Khan's blog: Olympic Torch Relay".
- ^ "China wants army to oversee torch relay in Australia".
- ^ "Chinese army will not be monitoring Aust Olympic torch leg: officials".
- ^ Template:Zh icon PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denies the Rumor that China Wants to Send Troop to Australia to Protect the Olympics Torch Relay
External links
- Official site of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games
- Official site of the Beijing 2008 Torch relay
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Torch Relay coverage by Community-online.com
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Google Map
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay in London