Olympic Torch fiasco

Olympic Torch Relay




The Chinese media are reporting that the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco was "successful" under enthusiastic reception of the American public, including the Chinese Americans and overseas Chinese.

Olympic torch relay concludes in San Francisco without major incidents_English_Xinhua

Another report ran with the story that thousands of people began gathering along the route of the Olympic torch relay early Wednesday morning to show their support for the torch run

Xinhua News

One torch bearer was reported as hearing a lot of cheers along the route.

Is this the same torch relay which I watched on Western news channels. The one, in which the Olympic torch disappeard for half an hour and then, was paraded through the empty streets guarded by what appeared to be the whole of the San Fransisco policeforce. A game of hunt the Olympic torch was played out in front of the worlds media when the torch was then taken on board a bus and driven away from the site of the closing ceremony where both protestors and supporters had gathered to wait for his arrival. The closing ceremony allegedly took place first on a motorway overpass then the airport. Times Onlinereports The Olympic flame’s procession through San Francisco drew world-wide ridicule and the authorities seemed to panic and abruptly changed the route, cutting it by half and scrapping the closing ceremony. The International Olympic Comittee and the Beijing authorities were determined to avoid the protestors that had gathered to lend their their voice to the Free Tibet camapign, but that raises questions again about censorship and rights to free speech. In a democratic country such as The USA people reserve the right to demonstrate and protest however it seems that the government also reserve the right to drown out the voice of the people. Shame on you!!

Protest photos