Olympic protests

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They Protested as Anthem Played, Now Learn Punishment

It will be worse next time, Race Imboden and Gwen Berry are told

(Newser) - The American athletes who protested as the national anthem was played when they received gold medals at the Pan Am Games have been punished. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has placed Race Imboden, a fencer, and Gwen Berry, who competes in the hammer throw, on 12 months' probation, NBC...

US Urges China to Free 8 Yanks
 US Urges China to Free 8 Yanks
Aug 24, 2008 2:33 PM CDT

US Urges China to Free 8 Yanks

Pro-Tibetan demonstrators to be released next weekend

(Newser) - Washington is seeking the release of eight US protesters held by China during the Olympics, Reuters reports. Two were collared Thursday for posting a "Free Tibet" banner near an Olympic event; six others were members of Free Tibet Reporters detained the day before. Beijing vows to release all eight...

China Detains Americans Protesting Over Tibet

AP photographers also roughed up

(Newser) - Six Americans protesting China's rule over Tibet have been given 10-day detentions, in a rare instance of such punishments being meted out to visitors, the New York Times reports. Such extrajudicial detentions are common for Chinese dissidents, but foreigners at the Olympics have until now been quietly and instantly deported....

China Arrests Free Tibet Demonstrators

Authorities take away American protesters in Beijing park

(Newser) - Chinese police arrested five American protesters who blocked the entrance to a park in Beijing while shouting "Free Tibet!", Reuters reports. The demonstrators were associated with Students for a Free Tibet, who said there were eight in total. It remains unknown where the protesters have been taken.

Swimmer Takes Fur Protest to Beijing

American is first athlete to protest at Games, but display is low-key

(Newser) - Amanda Beard became the first athlete to protest at the Olympic Games today, revealing a huge nude photo of herself outside the athlete’s village in Beijing. Eschewing Darfur or Tibet, the US swimmer blasted fur clothing in the ad for PETA. “The Olympics are a great forum for...

Crouching Tiger Star Stumped by China Protests

Zhang Ziyi dismisses 'negativity' of human-rights protesters

(Newser) - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Zhang Ziyi is perplexed by the pre-Olympic protests over China's human rights record, the AP reports. She told a Vogue interviewer she doesn't understand why people were being "so negative" ahead of the Beijing Games. "The Games are about friendship," Zhang said....

Beijing to Set Up Olympic Protest Zones

City tense, locked down over fears of attack

(Newser) - Beijing will set up specially designated zones for protesters during next month's Olympics, a security official said today, in a sign that China's authoritarian government may allow some demonstrations during the games. "This will allow people to protest without disrupting the Olympics," said the director of the Shanghai...

NBC Chafes Under Olympic Restrictions

Chinese government clamping down on media access ahead of games

(Newser) - NBC paid a record $900 million to cover the Beijing Olympics, but it and other networks are already nervous about how much Chinese officials will actually allow them to cover, reports the New York Times. If political protests erupt, networks will also face the dilemma of covering them and angering...

1,000 Tibetan Monks Jailed to Prevent Protests

Entire monasteries cleared as Olympics start date approaches

(Newser) - The Chinese government has jailed more than 1,000 monks in an effort to prevent protests during the Olympic Games, reports the Times of London. Three large monasteries are empty near Lhasa, where hundreds of monks and supporters held protests amid gunfire in March. The government is holding the monks—...

Quake May Have Saved Beijing Games

'Few people care about the torch relay these days'

(Newser) - By pushing human rights and torch relay news off the front pages, China's massive earthquake may have revived an Olympics deemed "in crisis" only 2 weeks ago by the IOC chief, the AP reports. "I'm sorry to say it, but this has turned things around," said another...

Torch Embarks on Calmer China Tour

Citizens vow not to protest as stars carry flame

(Newser) - The Olympic torch flickered in mainland China today in what will likely be a respite from its troubled worldwide tour. Security measures are in place for the relay, but Chinese citizens aren't in a protesting mood, the AP reports. “Even if no police were here, we would protect the...

Torch Gets Huge Welcome in Hong Kong

But cheers drown out protests in first Chinese leg of relay

(Newser) - Thousands of people waving the Chinese flag cheered the Olympic torch on its relay through Hong Kong, shouting down scattered Tibetan protesters in their midst, the BBC reports. There were a few scuffles as the torch wound its way through the streets in the first leg of the torch relay...

Torch Protests Continue in S. Korea

Anti- and pro-China factions face off

(Newser) - The Olympic torch again met with a clash of protesters today as it arrived in South Korea, Reuters reports. Some South Koreans are angered by Beijing’s human rights record, but the majority are pro-Chinese, wearing their country’s flag and chanting, “No politics, only Olympics.” Despite 8,...

Torch Relay Fires Up Thousands in Japan

Riot police block flame as protesters pepper pro-China crowd

(Newser) - A pro-China crowd peppered with protesters welcomed the Olympic torch relay in Japan today, BBC reports. Japan's national baseball manager kicked off the run in Nagano with 40 riot cops on each side, mostly blocking the view of thousands of onlookers. Cops nabbed one protester for trying to grab the...

Australia Spirits Away Torch Ahead of Relay

Protesters do their thing anyway

(Newser) - The Olympic torch arrived Down Under today, but was immediately whisked off to a secret location to avoid protesters, the AP reports. Tomorrow’s torch relay in Canberra will be open to the public—unlike those in Jakarta and New Delhi—but the route will be lined with yard-high fences...

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...

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...

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