Nagano police will not accept Chinese security personnel for relay

Saturday 19th April, 11:51 AM JST

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9 Comments

electric2004 at 10:28 PM JST - 19th April

Good statement.
Betzee at 11:06 PM JST - 19th April

Oh, dear, how will the Chinese people take this insult to their national honor? Beijing, having fanned the flames of nationalism, now finds the fire a bit too hot:

The Chinese government is caught in something of a bind as it tries to manage foreign criticism without appearing weak in the eyes of angry Chinese; "otherwise, it becomes the target of that anger," said Chu Shulong, a professor at Qinghua.

France has become a particular target of mass Chinese anger after pro-Tibet, Darfur and other human rights activists attacked the Olympic torch this month in Paris, forcing bearers to retreat to a bus and shorten the route. Earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy became the first world leader to suggest that he might boycott the opening ceremony.

Chinese Internet users called for a boycott starting May 1 of Carrefour, the French supermarket chain with more than 90 stores in China, after a rumor spread that company shareholders supported the Free Tibet movement. Carrefour has denied any such support, but one online survey this week found 210,000 supporters for a boycott.

"The French really make Chinese people angry," said Zhou Shuyang, a 22-year-old student. "And we don't want to be treated this way by the Western media, which lies. If we were allowed, a lot of people would join in protests, and I would as well."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-backlash19apr19,0,6034210.story

The Chinese need to remember if you issue "you're either with us or against us" proclamations, while it may play to a domestic audience, you're going to end up alone on the world stage.
some14some at 12:17 AM JST - 20th April

I think Darfur or Carrefour is not relevant to this article, even this article itself makes no sense, The Government of Japan has already decided not to allow Chinese security personnel and local police simply has to follow govt instructions.
imacat at 12:38 AM JST - 20th April

Good on the Japanese. Those Chinese paramilitaries guarding the torch are hateful and horrible and have become a symbol of oppression. This whole farce has backfired badly on the Chinese and they have ended up with a PR disaster. They may be no official boycott of the games but I have a feeling there will be a huge "unofficial boycott", with millions of people around the world switching off their TVs whenever there's any hint of an Olympic broadcast. I know I will. I see on the BBC today that pro-Chinese protestors have gathered in cities in the UK to protest against what they perceive as Western bias against China. Can't they see the irony of this?! Imagine if the Tibetans tried to organise a protest in Lhasa... Imagine if the Chinese people themselves tried to organise a protest in Tiananmen Square...
telecasterplayer at 12:41 AM JST - 20th April

It's about damn time someone stands up to the blue track-suited thugs. And I hope more people will condemn the Olympic Committee for actually ADVOCATING the use of this bully-force. I guess in the committee's view, "the Olympics aren't about 'politics'.. and we'll beat you until you accept this!".

BTW, although I still can't approve of the dalai lama sending his Tibetans into losing confrontations with a known repressive regime, he did make one thing perfectly clear. Beating-down a conquered people is not "politics", it's a crime.
Everton2 at 12:55 AM JST - 20th April

Great! band those goons
rjd_jr at 02:13 AM JST - 20th April

No need to make this a bigger issue than it is (China/Japan relations, etc.). Japan simply refused the security personnel, no big deal, any country would do the same unless they had absolutely no police force in place. I would consider it somewhat of an insult if a nation repeatedly insists on sending its own security force to another country, regardless of who the parties are.
SuperLib at 05:29 AM JST - 20th April

Yeah, I can't imagine Chinese police pushing away Japanese protesters in Japan would be anything less than throwing a match into a sea of gasoline. But if Japan accepts the responsibility, then they have to get the job done, period.
Scrote at 11:44 AM JST - 20th April

Perhaps China should put the torch on top of a tank and simply run over any protestors that get in the way? It would be an accurate representation of the unelected Chinese government and its way of doing things.