2008 Beijing Olympics

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Olympic Protesters Zero In on Sponsors

Tibet, Darfur activists lobby corporations, with some success

(Newser) - As the Beijing Olympics approach, advocates for a free Tibet and peace in Darfur are trying to hit the Games where it hurts: in the wallet. A coalition of groups has been petitioning the corporations that are sponsoring this year's Olympics to press China on their behalf. The strategy seems...

Indonesia Torch Run Stays Inside Stadium

15-mile relay scaled back to a few laps before hand-picked crowd

(Newser) - The Olympic torch passed through Indonesia today with little incident and less fanfare, the BBC reports. What was originally supposed to be a 15-mile relay was abbreviated to a few laps around a Jakarta stadium before a crowd of 5,000 carefully credentialed spectators. Outside, police broke up a pro-Tibet...

Sarkozy Acts as Chinese Mount Anti-French Protests

President apologizes to Paralympian fencer

(Newser) - Two weeks after the Olympic torch relay in Paris, anti-French backlash in China is gaining steam. Rare demonstrations on the streets of Chinese cities, seemingly with the government's tacit approval, have seen French flags burned and defaced with swastikas. As the nations' relationship deteriorates, Nicolas Sarkozy has been forced to...

Nepal OKs Deadly Force Against Torch Protesters

Flame will ascend Everest next month

(Newser) - Nepal has plans for protesters intent on disrupting the Olympic flame's ascent up Mount Everest, the AP reports. An official today authorized the use of deadly force "to stop any protest on the mountain using whatever means necessary." Climbers are scheduled to reach the summit in the border...

Thousands Chant 'Fire Cafferty' Outside CNN

Chinese Americans upset over pundit's remarks

(Newser) - Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Hollywood today over recent anti-China remarks by CNN commentator Jack Cafferty, the Los Angeles Times reports. The crowd chanted "Fire Cafferty" and sang Chinese songs outside the CNN building in Hollywood. "We understand free speech," one protester said. "But what if...

China Protests Slam Tibet Push for Freedom

Rallies call for boycott on French goods

(Newser) - Chinese demonstrators today responded to pro-Tibet protests around the world with rallies of their own, blasting Tibet’s calls for independence and demanding a boycott of French goods, Reuters reports. “Oppose Tibet independence, support the Olympics,” said banners hoisted by protesters in at least four cities. A number...

US Athletes Reject Boycott of Beijing Games

Sporting trumps politics, even for sympathetic competitors

(Newser) - Many US athletes aren’t swayed by winds of boycott surrounding the Beijing Olympics, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “What's going on is important and we should pay attention to it,” says a 2004 gold medalist, but “we need to be athletes first.”  Despite a...

Public Barred From Delhi Torch Run

Torch route shortened; few can attend

(Newser) - The Olympic torch was carried through New Delhi today, escorted by 15,000 police on a route shortened to less than two miles through a locked-down city center, the AP reports. Some 70 runners each held the torch for just seconds before handing it off. Only a few hundred, sitting...

Delhi Melee Rocks Torch Arrival
 Delhi Melee Rocks Torch Arrival 
Apr 17, 2008 4:16 AM CDT

Delhi Melee Rocks Torch Arrival

Downtown locked down

(Newser) - The Olympic torch was greeted with furious protests as it arrived in Delhi today, and 15,000 security forces have locked down the heart of the city ahead of the relay, Reuters reports. Members of India's large community of Tibetan exiles have vowed massive protests to highlight China's human rights...

Blogs Vent China's Anti-West Ire

Chinese see outcry over Tibet, torch as effort to sap newfound strength

(Newser) - The Chinese Internet is aflame with vitriol at Western governments and news organizations for “insults” over Tibet and recent Olympic torch incidents, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Chinese authorities, usually quick to censor the Web, have let the sentiment flow, believing "the West is trying to humiliate them...

India Steels for Torch Protest Showdown

Tibetans pour in for New Delhi high noon

(Newser) - Security protecting the Olympic torch will face its toughest test yet as thousands of Tibetan protesters converge on New Delhi for the Indian leg of the relay tomorrow. Hunger strikes, relay disruptions and attempts to grab the torch are all being planned. One Indian television station is referring to the...

China Protests Singe Torch Sponsor Lenovo

Computer maker invested $100M; 'didn't anticipate' brouhaha

(Newser) - Lenovo execs were hoping for some major branding momentum from winning the Olympic torch design competition—not to mention from plunking down some $100 million as sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Games. What they got was anti-China vitriol that has accompanied the torch around the globe, and a marketing campaign...

4 Months to Go: Is China Ready for Spotlight?

Country is proud to host Games but worries abound

(Newser) - The last-minute drama brewing in the runup to this summer's Olympic Games is of a more global and more personal nature than the infrastructure issues of Olympics past—and Chinese leaders are bristling under the scrutiny, the Chicago Tribune reports. But pride in the country's hosting gig remains strong, even...

Olympic Boycott Is a 'Cop-Out': Bush Adviser

Says skipping opening ceremony isn't effective protest against China

(Newser) - The foreign dignitaries opting to skip the Beijing Olympics' opening ceremony are engaging in a "cop-out," said President Bush's national security adviser today. What's more, claimed Stephen Hadley, they're missing an opportunity to meaningfully pressure China via behind-the-scenes diplomacy—as the US is doing. Bush has said he...

China Skewers House Speaker
 China Skewers House Speaker 
Apr 13, 2008 5:50 AM CDT

China Skewers House Speaker

Media rips Pelosi, touts Olympics as triumph of 'good over evil'

(Newser) - Chinese state-sponsored media today blasted US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her stance supporting Tibet.  Belligerent  editorials from the official Xinhua news agency ripped Pelosi as "the most disgusting person" and a "protector of mobsters, arsonists and murderers." Pelosi has urged President Bush to boycott the...

Torch Untroubled in Argentina
 Torch Untroubled in Argentina 
Apr 12, 2008 5:59 AM CDT

Torch Untroubled in Argentina

Heavy security but relatively few protesters for Buenos Aires leg of torch tour

(Newser) - A few water balloons were the worst threat to the Olympic flame yesterday in Buenos Aires, where the torch relay enjoyed an uninterrupted run, the BBC reports, after major disruptions in London, Paris, and San Francisco. Groups of pro- and anti-China protesters gathered along its route, guarded by some 5,...

Game, Set, Match to China
 Game, Set, Match to China 
Apr 11, 2008 11:46 AM CDT

Game, Set, Match to China

World of table tennis is international, but not really

(Newser) - Go to a table tennis match between, say, Poland and Finland, and you’ll see something confusing. “It’s just Chinese playing against each other,” says America’s national team coach. China is so mind-bogglingly dominant at table tennis that it exports players throughout the world and still...

More Notables Stay Away From Beijing Olympics

Nobel laureate scraps torch relay; UN chief won't attend opening

(Newser) - The controversy around the Olympic flame continued as Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel laureate, announced she was dropping out of the torch relay. Maathai was to carry the torch this weekend in Tanzania but pulled out in protest of China's human rights record. Maathai also told the Los ...

Dalai Lama Begins US Visit
 Dalai Lama Begins US Visit 
Apr 10, 2008 6:00 PM CDT

Dalai Lama Begins US Visit

Amid Tibet, Olympic turmoil, Seattle peace conference first stop for spiritual leader

(Newser) - The Dalai Lama arrived in Seattle today to begin a five-day series of speeches and workshops on peace and compassion, the Seattle Times reports. He told a group of Tibetan supporters at the airport that he was saddened by yesterday's protests in San Francisco surrounding the Olympic torch, and reiterated...

IOC Head: We Can Weather Torch 'Crisis'

Dalai Lama supports Chinese Olympics —and open protests

(Newser) - The protests following the Olympic torch around the globe are a “crisis,” but the International Olympic Committee has faced worse, its chief said today. The Games, he said, would “rebound," the BBC reports. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama said China “deserved” to host, CNN reports. "...

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