Criticism is mounting over Beijing’s decision to have the Olympic torch relayed in Taiwan as local authorities accusing mainland China of trying to demean the island’s status. The decision to have the torch reach the top of Mount Everest in Tibet does the same. Various groups plan public protests on the torch’s route.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The planned route for the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay has come in for strong criticism. For one, Taiwan, seen by China as part of its territory, has rejected its inclusion on the route, seeing it as an attempt to downgrade its status. And the inclusion of Mount Everest in Tibet is likely to provoke human rights activists into protest action abroad.

The torch is scheduled to travel 137,000km (85,000-mile), relayed by about 22,000 torch-bearers across five continents. It will set off from Olympia, Greece, on March 25, and reach Beijing ready for the inauguration ceremony on August 8, 2008. It will travel along the old Silk Road, touch 20 international cities, and after leaving Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, it is expected to visit Taipei on May 1, Hong Kong on May 2 and Macau on May 3. But in Taiwan the decision has not pleased everyone.

“We don't accept it because [. . .] the Chinese intend to drop our sovereignty position,” said Lu Chung-Jen, director of the cabinet's national council on physical fitness and sports. “In and out of Taiwan, we have to pass via a third country.''

Taipei is concerned that by travelling directly to and from the mainland, China will highlight its claims to the island.

For this reason, Mr Lu said the torch should go on to another country rather than Chinese territory.

But “to politicise the torch relay route goes against the spirit of the Olympics,” said Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of BOCOG, the Beijing Organizing Committee.

Negotiations with the Taipei will continue on the matter.

In May the torch is also expected to travel to Mount Everest on the border between Tibet and Nepal, but the inclusion of Tibet, which mainland China has occupied since the 1950s, is likely to cause local and international protests.

Tibetans accuse Beijing of trying to destroy their culture. Because of the occupation, Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has had to live in exile in India for decades.

Many pro-Tibet freedom NGOs are planning protest activities to coincide with the torch’s passage.

On Wednesday four Americans were detained for staging a protest, calling for Tibetan independence.

The relay will visit each Chinese province, 113 Chinese cities and many big Asian cities, including Pyongyang in North Korea. (PB)

 

• china
• taiwan
• tibet
• olympics
• beijing
• 2008
• torch
• relay
• controversy