A Scorching Reception for the Olympic Torch Relay

You don't really think of an Olympic torch relay as a full-contact sport, or even a particularly newsworthy event.  Generally speaking, a select few athletes and dignitaries run with a flame down the street, and happy fans cheer them on. 

This year, however, the Olympic torch relay has been more exciting than ever, though probably not for the reasons the Chinese hosts would like.  The Olympic torch passed through London and Paris yesterday and today, under tight security. 

London, which will host the 2012 Olympics, should have been a great city for the torch relay, but instead, Tibetan activists drowned out the loyal group of Chinese supporters.  Part of the relay was even redirected through London's Chinatown, where it received a warm, happy reception, but much of the rest of the 31-mile journey wasn't as pretty. 

Here are some of the highlights:

• 25 arrested within the first two hours
• a man tried to steal the flame when it was getting passed from the first to second torchbearer
• three more people tried to steal the torch, and were arrested
• one man did steal the torch, and was arrested by 6 police officers
• 37 of about 1,500 protesters were arrested

Paris wasn't much better, and had to beef up security to 3,000, well-surpassing London's 2,000 police. 

The flame had to be extinguished at least 5 times for security reasons, and the last leg of the torch relay had to be called off due to security concerns.  At least 28 people were taken into custody, and a few had to be immediately escorted off by police after trying to steal the flame. 

Considering that Paris is home to Reporters Without Borders, the group responsible for disrupting the torch lighting ceremony in Athens, and that French President Nicholas Sarkozy hasn't ruled out a boycott of the opening ceremonies, the Parisian reception wasn't a total shock.  San Francisco organizers are already gearing up for their own set of protesters, and have re-routed the torch relay accordingly.

While protesters might be expressing their frustration with a small, elite number of Chinese policy-makers, these events are interpreted very differently by the Chinese population.  Many view these demonstrations as anti-China, which has led to increased nationalism and a distrust of foreigners.  Some even think that their government hasn't gone far enough, and should have exerted a stronger force in Tibet.

Several Olympic organizers, both from China and abroad, have criticized the timing of these protests.  If you think about it, the Olympic Games would have very little connection with Tibet if China weren't the host country this year, so why couldn't they demonstrate at another time? 

On the other hand, what better chance do these activists have to make their viewpoints known?  Would the international media really care if people chose to demonstrate at an arbitrary date that didn't coincide with a major international event?  Probably not.  

There are so many different perspectives on the nature of these protests, and China's Olympic hosting duties, but what do you think?

Are the protesters right?  Should foreign countries boycott the Olympics?  Or do these demonstrations take away from athletes worldwide?  Will they alienate Chinese citizens from the international community?  Email your thoughts to chinaconnectionblog (at) gmail.com and I'll post some of your opinions soon.