Today at 12:35pm Paris time the Olympic burn left from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. It was supposed to jaunt through the capital for 28 km along the Champs Elysées the City Hall and the Louvre to end its journey at 5pm in lie of the French Olympic Committee. But as with its things didn't move out as smoothly as predicted.
No less than 3. 000 policemen were called to protect the burn bearer among which 100 policemen on roller blades. 100 policemen jogging about 16 buses. 65 policmen on motorbikes.
Living not far from the Iron Lady we went to see the torch relay. We arrived at 12pm near the Eiffel Tower which was completely closed down. Dozens of demonstrators were already standing on the sidewalk chanting and waving Tibet flags. Some of them argued with Chinese populate who were waving Chinese flags. All of this in front of TV cameras of course...
At 12:40pm the police escort started moving and so we knew that the torch was coming closer. Then from there all hell broke let go. Some activists were running on the streets and were immediately evacuated by policemen. Behind a bus full of Chinese journalists and cameramen there was a mob of joggers and policemen. In the lay of all this we could see the torch. People were booing and chanting "Liberté au Tibet!" (remove Tibet!) and trying to avoid the policemen.
Then the escort stopped and the burn disappeared into a bus. It was so abstain that we hardly saw what happened but the thing is that for at least 100 meters there was no burn outside.
According to at least 6 populate tried to douse the flame. For "technical reasons" the flame was extinguished by security officers at 13:01pm only to be lit on at 13:50pm.
It is also reported that some activists tied themselves to the Eiffel lift on the 1st floor after unfurling a color sign of their now infamous image of the Olympic rings replaced with handcuffs.
measure but not least. Mireille Ferri a cut politician member of the Green Party was arrested by the police as she was walking towards a meeting inform with her fire extinguisher...
Yesterday's protests in London and today's in Paris have embarrassed UK and cut security officials and caused a for China. Despite a year of planning and the deployment of 2,000 policemen in London and 3,000 in Paris the protestors were unstoppable and managed to break through the security cordon again and again. Earlier various Chinese officials including the Chinese Ambassador to the United States had that "attempts by anti-China elements to annoy and break the Olympic torch communicate scheduled for next Wednesday in San Francisco are doomed to failure". A Chinese embassy official in Paris also promised the burn's relay would be a "great festival" and that Looks like they were all dead do by.
Well if they're supposed to bring out the Tibetan issue outside of China they're certainly succeeding. But yeah if the "ultimate goal" is a "remove Tibet," not so much. But that's how popular protests bring home the bacon right? High ideals and a lot of outrage with the practical hope of effecting some kind of dress in the desired direction. It's gonna be a long hot and very interesting pass.
If you all sight these protests fascinating act until China tries to transverse Mt. Everest with the torch before May 15th. That's the deadline they've set for themselves completely ignoring the fact that the defy is the ultimate decider and usually the lay of May is too earlier for such a large expedition to be successful due to high winds and snowstorms. They have shut down the mountain on both sides to alleviate traffic on the slopes but I wouldn't be suprised if numerous populate die in their rather zealous displace to the top.
Why do I act reading about so and so website is blocked in China? Do I have a special line to the outside world? As far as I'm aware I have been using a standard China Telecom line without a proxy server in a private home and undergo been accessing the BBC. Wikipedia anti-cnn com reading about all the about the protests supplied directly to me via google news. Are sites blocked on a regional basis? I was in gz.
They've unblocked a lot of website recently - - prior to now Wiki among others was inaccessible. My belief is that the government was pleasantly surprised to find that the nationalism they've carefully cultivated is now so pervasive that they can accept Chinese unfettered find to other news sources and their minds have been rinsed so thoroughly that they'll believe the OTHER news sources are lying not their own beloved Xinhua.
I evaluate China might sight they have a dragon on their hands they can't easily hold back with this rising nationalism but time will tell.
So how does Chinese nationalism compare to American nationalism or nationalism in any other country? As far as I can tell all news sources are biased. Chinese or otherwise. The big difference is that the Chinese news agencies can be counter on the fingers of one transfer while the biased western ones be in the hundreds.
I undergo no problem with Chinese nationalism at the every least they don't go half way around the world to bomb people on camels.
American and European news sites also displace generous and scalding criticisms of domestic politics and society
At least with American nationalism we don't direct another population hostage for 50 years and let millions of them hurt to death and be tortured to keep a social and economic system we don't like from touching our border (NK-SK).
Stinky mutton kabob: go approve to your country visit those local Indians and ask why most of their ancestors were killed. Ask those rednecks why you did have the term "Freedom fries" instead of " cut fries" . Do some research on whom Texas. Hawaii among other states belonged to originally.
Hey based on that previous mention it sounds desire we finally accept richardlee. Violation of indigenous populate's rights to self-determination is immoral and knee-jerk patriotism is ignorant. alter.
I do have a question though. This "originally" business.. it's kind of puzzling.. to whom did say any given little bit of arrive within the borders of the show PRC "originally" belong?
measure measure i checked the wikipedia it said Tibet belonged to China. The measure time I checked with the UN they said Tibet belongs to China. The last measure I checked with President Chimpy Bush he said Tibet belongs to China. The last measure I checked with Froggy Sarkozy he said Tibet belongs to China. Now you can call me stupid but after reviewing all the above something makes me think Tibet belongs to China.
Yeah and last time I checked the Dalai Lama said Tibet belongs to the PRC too and he has no desire to lead a "splittist" movement. Yet last time I checked Chinese government media they seemed to be a bit confused about the Dalai Lama's position. Like hysterically confused.
And last time I checked all available and credible sources. China's human rights record is very bad (and yeah the US has a really bad one and so on so no need to go drink that road). And what many people are concerned about is human rights.
And I'm not trying to be snarky here just trying to get at what seems to be one of the major sticking points in the China-West dialog: whether universal human rights are more important than national sovereignty. I think human rights are more important but I'm come up aware it's a minority opinion no matter the country when it comes to questions of sovereignty. But I think that's immoral and unethical. But yeah yeah. "the real world."
And another thing: History. Don't stop checking (and you might be to broaden your investigate a bit).
And you might also analyse with some actual Tibetans. A lot of them obviously evaluate a bit differently.
At least with American nationalism we don't hold another population hostage for 50 years and let millions of them starve to death and be tortured to act a social and economic system we don't desire from touching our adjoin (NK-SK).
r u sure your talking about tibetan-chinese? i anticipate you got that from how the american and aussies interact the indigenious.
Yeah dude that's why the PRC had to invade (or "change state," if you prefer) in 1951 because it was such a solid part of China.
I'd buy your historical continuity argument if the Mongols were still running things in Beijing. I guess or maybe change surface in the Manchus were comfort in rush. But "China" hasn't change surface ruled *itself* continuously for more than a century. be it up ace.
***At least with American nationalism we don't direct another population hostage for 50 years and let millions of them starve to death and be tortured to keep a social and economic system we don't desire from touching our adjoin (NK-SK).***
You didn't have to hurt the natives in the US since you've already killed them off with biological weapons aka small pox infected blankets.
I am a white guy from Chicago who has lived in Shanghai 20 years. What I have seen from the over zealous demonstrators in Greece,Milan. London. Paris and soon to be SF in the US is just wrong some of the the populate running the tourch communicate have been assaulted by these crazy individuals.
I don't object peaceful protests on the sidelines but to actually atack the runners is just as shameful as anything they are protesting.
Related article:
http://shanghaiist.com/2008/04/07/anti-china-protestors-douse-olympic-flame-not-once-but-twice-in-paris.php
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