Pro-Tibet protesters clashed with police and tried to put out the Beijing Olympics flame as the torch was being taken around the British capital yesterday.
Police jumped on demonstrators who tried to disrupt the relay in what appeared to be a well-orchestrated protest.
Two protesters were arrested as they attempted to extinguish the torch and a third was pushed to the ground as he tried to seize the flame from a British TV presenter taking part in the relay.
PHOTO: AFP
Police said there had been 10 arrests in the first hour of the relay.
There were scuffles each time members of the relay team — renowned British athletes and TV personalities — handed over the flame to the next runner.
Shouts of “Free Tibet, Free Tibet,” echoed around the streets, while demonstrators held up banners and had their faces painted in the colors and style of the Tibetan flag.
Police on bikes and running alongside the flame escorted each member of the relay.
Former Olympic rower Steve Redgrave kicked-off the all-day relay that began at Wembley Stadium under unseasonal snowfall. There were even arrests as Redgrave handed over the flame to a 16-year-old girl.
Beijing has faced international criticism over its crackdown on anti-Chinese protests in Tibet that began on March 10 in Lhasa and which have spread to other areas of China with Tibetan populations.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people have been killed in the unrest. China has given a figure of 20.
But China’s top official in Tibet, rejecting demands by activists around the world, insisted yesterday that the Beijing Olympics torch relay would pass through Tibet as planned.
As many as 2,000 British police officers were out in force to protect the London torch procession.
Ahead of the relay London police said it expected six organizations — including the Free Tibet movement, Falun gong and the Burma Campaign — to send about 500 protesters to demonstrate.
In London, the demonstrators were outnumbered by thousands who lined the capital’s streets to enjoy the relay and carnival atmosphere.
The torch was to be met by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at his Downing Street residence. Brown has brushed aside criticism of his plans to attend the Olympic ceremonies, insisting it is the right thing as London will host the 2012 Games.
An array of British sports and entertainment stars, flanked by police and security officers, were carrying the torch on a 48km route taking in the site of the London 2012 Olympic Games and finishing at the O2, formerly known as the Millennium Dome.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) boss in Tibet said the region was now stable following anti-government riots last month, but warned of possible plots to sabotage the Olympic torch relay, state media reported yesterday.
China plans to take the Olympic torch to Tibet twice. One torch will be taken up Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak, early next month, while the regular torch will pass through Lhasa in June.
“The social order in Lhasa and other parts of Tibet” has returned to “normal,” Xinhua news agency quoted Tibet’s CCP boss Zhang Qingli (張慶黎), as saying.
But he warned “that grave challenges remain ahead, as the Dalai clique is plotting new sabotage activities.”
Authorities had “to spare no efforts in preparing for the torch relay to ward off any possible mishap,” Zhang said, providing no other details.
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
‘SOVEREIGN AI’: As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for having computing power of 103 petaflops. The governments wants to achieve 1,200 by 2029 The government would intensify efforts to bolster its “Sovereign Artificial Intelligence [AI]” program by setting a goal of elevating the nation’s collective computing power in the public and private sectors to 1,200 peta floating points per second (petaflops) by 2029, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The goal was set to fulfill President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of turning Taiwan into an “AI island.” Sovereign AI refers to a nation’s capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks. One petaflop allows 1 trillion calculations per second. As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for
STAY WARM: Sixty-three nontraumatic incidents of OHCA were reported on Feb. 1, the most for a single day this year, the National Fire Agency said A total of 415 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurred this month as of Saturday, data from the National Fire Agency showed as doctors advised people to stay warm amid cold weather, particularly people with cardiovascular disease. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a low temperature warning nationwide except for Penghu County, anticipating sustained lows of 10°C or a dip to below 6°C in Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as areas north of Yunlin County. The coldest temperature recorded in flat areas of Taiwan proper yesterday morning was 6.4°C in New Taipei City’s Shiding District (石碇). Sixty-three nontraumatic OHCA
RSS