April 7, 2008
Pictures and videos: Olympic torch protests in London
UPDATE, 20:21: The flame has just been extinguished for a second time amid protests in Paris. Following an earlier disturbance along the banks of the Seine, the flame had been extinguished by officials and put aboard a bus to avoid further protests. The torch was then re-lit and the relay restarted but the procession was again halted and officials once again extinguished the flame and boarded a bus. More to follow shortly...
UPDATE, 19:17: You just knew there was going to be trouble. Reports are coming in from Paris that the Olympic torch has been extinguished by officials following protests. The torch, which is supposed to remain lit throughout it's journey of peace and unity around the world, has reportedly been bundled onto a bus and driven away from the crowds. French TV has apparently cut to a generic shot of the Eiffel Tower. This follows yesterday's attempts by protestors to extinguish the flame in London (see below). There'll be more details as we get them...
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We told you yesterday about the chaos and protests surrounding the London leg of the Olympic torch relay, well now you can see all the fun and games for yourself. In addition to the videos embedded after the jump, the BBC has a blow by blow account of all the major flashpoints on the route as well as video footage of each one, while Londonist has a series of pictures (including the one embedded here) from the beleagured relay and the accompanying demonstrations.
The reaction from China has been pretty much as expected with officials calling the protests an act of 'sabotage'. Shanghai Daily, while stating that 'tens of thousands people lined the route of the relay to cheer the event, far outnumbering protesters', offer us this hard-hitting interview:
Cathy Sing, a London resident, said that she was puzzled by the protesters who said they were supporting the "independence of Tibet." "Tibet has been part of China for several hundred years," she said, adding that the disruption had been well-planned to tarnish China's image.
The latest lucky recipients of the torch are the French who have been urged by the Chinese government not to encourage protests. However, with Paris' Socialist mayor planning to cover his offices with an enormous banner protesting China's human rights abuses and Reporters Without Borders promising 'spectacular' protests, prospects for a peaceful procession of the flame don't appear too bright.
Videos after the jump:
A clip from the Ladbroke Grove incident where a protestor nearly wrestles the torch from TV presenter Konnie Huq:
Al-Jazeera's report on the trouble:
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Any photos/video from Paris?
the western nations' using HUman-right or tibet as tools against China are actually helping China government to gain support, huge support domestically from the Chinese citizens. Now the chinese bloggers or net-citizen are furious to pro-tibet activities and western media and even western countries. Those who once belived that China has its Human right problems, now are more pissed off by the western nations' intention of using Olimpics against China. So it is a good thing for CPC some way, that's why the bad news is now covered by CCTV.
The problem is that these protesters are assuming that by drawing attention to the problems in China they can somehow make a difference, not realizing that rational self-reflection does not exist in this country. Winter falling is right . . . . the protests are just feeding into China's nationalism and xenophobia and massive victimhood complex, which in the long run will only be counter-productive.
Well we all knew that 2008 would be a massive self-love fest for China and it's citizens regardless of what happened. If the Olympics is done well, Beijing is deified. If things go terribly wrong, it's a Western conspiracy and Zhongnanhai is simply a victim. Welcome to the pre-game hype.
gain support, huge support domestically from the Chinese citizens.
Was this a big problem before?
I'll co-sign with Alec's comments.
Winterfalling is right because of the lifetime of brainwashing that so many Chinese get. Contrast their responses to the Tibet issue to the opinions of Americans regarding Iraq.
When you've been taught that you are a victim of everyone else simply because of who you are, and that you are also in some ways superior to those, changing your mindset is nearly impossible.
moneyinabox also hits this issue right on the head.
We all help contribute to the oppression of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Chinese by buying products made in China and by supporting the Chinese gov't by with expat job assignments.
Stinky mutton kabob:
Go home! get out from China!!! loser!
I am here to subvert China from the inside and lay the groundwork for my master plan for the permanent deconstruction of China...and I play a part in improving your water quality. Feel a little pressure China's collective sack?
Well, the Chinese people aren't the only ones being brainwashed either...
Check out:
http://www.anti-cnn.com/
As an American expat in China, I can totally see how people (Chinese/American/whatever) who have never left their own country are completely dependent on what their own media outlets tell them.
While we all know that the Chinese media is gov't controlled, huge media conglomerates abroad (CNN, BBC, etc) also are biased as heck!
And the worst part about it is: the mainstream people think they are getting overall truthful & unbiased reporting from the CNNs and NYTs of the world under the facade that the media is privatized w/o political agenda.
For those of you in China, www.anti-cnn.com is blocked (leading me to believe that its maintained by overseas Chinese). Access it using a proxy --- (ie. tor)
anti-cnn website is not blocked in china, it cannot always get through due to the high volume of visitors.
anti-cnn.com
www.anti-cnn.com
both OK, but the first is easier to get through.
At this moment, that website is under hackers attacking. i guess this time, CNN will not say those hackers are from Chinese government again...
"Winterfalling is right because of the lifetime of brainwashing that so many Chinese get. Contrast their responses to the Tibet issue to the opinions of Americans regarding Iraq."
many american anti invasion of iraq, yes, what are their reason: from the protest slogans and banners you can read the economy is slow, the american soldiers dead.
seemed no one cared about the almost a million civilian iraq ppl killed by the us and uk !
it seeme anyone out of us and uk not matter to them! racist!
concor1, before the Iraq invasion started in 2003, millions protested in the UK and US with slogans like "no blood for oil" and with the awareness of the fact that a US-led war would inevitably kill many Iraqis. Today, figures of over 1 million dead civilians are readily reported in US & UK media (the figures coming from, among other places, the UK's Lancet medical journal's excellent work). There are hundreds of excellent books and thousands of articles online and in print decrying the deaths of so many Iraqis. Many of the people who protest against the war in Iraq are the same people who protest human rights abuses elsewhere, including within China.
You need to do your homework before you open your mouth. Displays of ignorance and arrogance are hardly going to convince anyone to listen to you.
The comments are well said. Spoken by expats within the kingdom. Has anyone else noticed that those supporting China's Olympic coming-out tend to speak of China as one might handle the release of a murderer or a lunatic? It's driving me crazy. The 'China should be encouraged', 'China wants to show the world how it's changed'. 'And to be fair to them, they are trying'. To be fair to them...? 'Give them a chance.' My god, to those 'foreigners' who've gotten out, or maintain perspective while inside without drinking the crazy drink, or those who have never traveled there - it really is a madhouse of distortion. It's like dealing with a nation of Scientologists who believe they are, well, Scientologists - there is no room for real debate or discussion, just circular reasoning. After awhile people are going to dismiss China again, this time for being a land of lunatics incapable of informed argument or thoughts.
apparently this debacle cost £750,000, much cheaper than the proposed costs for the London Olympics and i'll bet far more entertaining. Maybe London can forgo the actual Olympics in 2012 and just hold a torch relay instead?