London police battle protesters on Olympic torch relay

Monday 07th April, 07:00 AM JST

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OssanII at 09:52 PM JST - 7th April

The Tibetans have completely succeeded in shattering the pretty-face image of China that it wanted to present to the world with the Olympics. Most of that success is the result of not the protests themselves but how the Chinese government has handled them and the manner in which it cotinues to deal with the Dalai Lama. After the 1989 Tianamen Square Massacre China had to live with a "crappy country" image for 2o years. I would have thought that they would have learned their lesson. Guess not.
Betzee at 10:56 PM JST - 7th April

it sounds as though you would relish the idea of the same professional political activists disrupting the relay in Frisco.

"Frisco" in fact has a long history of Chinese infighting spilling out onto the streets. In days past it was between supporters of the ROC (Taiwan) and the PRC and who was flying which flag. Not to mention, somebody's demonstrating about something almost every weekend (usually without incident).

The games are awarded about seven years in advance (and the PRC was originally slated to get them in 2000). The expectation was that political liberalization would occur in tandem with economic growth. It didn't, however. Perhaps the IOC needs to make an assessment of whether the host government has the institutional means to address conflicts within its society (as opposed to exclusive or heavy reliance on the brute force response). It's not just Tibetans, the Muslim Uighers in southwest China will certainly launch their own protests and we can expect the banned Falun Gong group to make a bid for international attention too. No doubt there are others as well....
cxu at 12:00 AM JST - 8th April

"Most of that success is the result of not the protests themselves but how the Chinese government has handled them and the manner in which it continues to deal with the Dalai Lama"

Couldn’t agree more. Images of angry aggressive degusted Chinese officials hammering protestors that dare to have a different point of view has certainly made China look very very ugly and disgusting and subsequently reduced the interest in the sports of this Olympic event. Roll on watching the athletics compete in the next one in a better environment. ( that’s if the transport system can get them there..)
gmygmygmy at 01:26 AM JST - 8th April

All those recent "Pro Tibet" activities occurred in the west to put more pressure on CCP government over Tibet issue in China have so far produced no positive effects, to the contrary, Chinese nationalism, patriotism and anti-west sentiments are rapidly rising in Chinese community both domestically and abroad, totally out of their expectation from western politicians and news media!
outhousejt at 03:30 AM JST - 8th April

They managed to put the torch out in Paris. woohoo. China. boooooo. Free Tibet.
gmygmygmy at 03:39 AM JST - 8th April

Tibet is free, our PLA liberated the place 50 years ago.
cxu at 03:39 AM JST - 8th April

"European! Please stop lecturing us about Human Right! " Most of the examples you gave are in previous eras. The ones in this era many European people opposed those actions. China makes great play in Japan about previous eras issues. I think more Chinese should realize that most people that were not born in the previous eras are heavily influenced by what happens today and in today's world China and Chinese people don't always create a good impression (I'm not just referring to Tibet, intolerance to protest, differing points of view and clampdowns, many more mundane things such as business practice, manners, service, etc). I think many people around the world ignore or are not even mentioning human rights of china are still disgusted or have a negative impression of the Chinese authorities current actions and behavior. They are judging China on its current actions in today's world not a previous world. Anyway if you are Chinese I would be honestly curious about what kind of news you get from the rest of the world ( not that i'm saying that i'm impressed with world news quality from the rest of the world either). For example, I don't how you appreciate how the French Government and the British Government different handling of the Olympic torch issue is affected by their respective countries recent histories (some you mentioned) and future commitments. In basic terms there is no lecture here or in recent posts here about human rights, its more posts commenting on today's events and conveying/reporting the negative perceptions of china by others based on the events of "today" and not the past. IF china what to please more people or wants more people to have a better impression of them ( without beating it out of them) then it has to change how its handles this current issue amongst others.
outhousejt at 04:39 AM JST - 8th April

The Olympics is a conspiracy. The 5 rings illustrates 5 Clan Wars and capitalism but rich cynical businessmen have newly defined that the Olympics is binding the contenents aslong as it is according to their defention.
Franck at 04:39 AM JST - 8th April

The torch's day in Paris has been even more chaotic than the London one, and it couldn't even finished the initially planned circuit due to the massive presence of protesters. That might not have been released by Chinese TV though.
OssanII at 04:47 AM JST - 8th April

"Tibet is free, our PLA liberated the place 50 years ago."

Yes, almost exactly like how the Imperial Japanese Army liberated Korea and Manchuria 70-100 years ago. They came in, took over, made an effort to wipe out their culture and shipped in lots of civilian colonists. Precisely what China has done in Tibet. (and Xinjiang too for that matter). You always expect the world to be sorry for how China was treated back them. So why should we not feel the same way about the Tibetans today? Today China is the aggressor. And the more it continues to behave the way it is doing, the more it hurts it's own position.
Smythe at 06:20 AM JST - 8th April

To think that in past years the torch runner has run along with a few others to pass on to others & just cheers from those that carred to watch.

Yet look at the massive coverage the torch carrying person needed in the UK & so bad in France that the flame was put out a number of times for it could not be past on to other runners as said milage, for next runner a wheelchair person I believe, had to be in a bus. That shows that some people are against China & its Government. Or is it something else??
Franck at 06:33 AM JST - 8th April

I don't think they are against China. They are just against killing tibetans.
cxu at 07:51 AM JST - 8th April

"I don't think they are against China. They are just against killing tibetans."
I think you will find that alot of people are interested in these protests and disrupting China's Olympic party not just because of deaths in Tibet and the free tibet cause.
gmygmygmy at 08:04 AM JST - 8th April

A must watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9QNKB34cJo
Kwaabish at 09:19 PM JST - 8th April

Look at that...London and Paris.

The French and the English sharing in a cause. (Actually, the French may have outdone the Brits just slightly on this one.)