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April 10, 2008
Olympic-Torch Protesters Given Slip In San Francisco
from Wall Street Journal
The Olympic torch made its long-anticipated one-day visit to the U.S. Wednesday with the expected protests and some hoodwinking of demonstrators by authorities.
Even more visible in San Francisco than the often violent anti-China protests that have struck the torch run elsewhere was the backlash of hundreds of Chinese-Americans and other pro-China supporters who rose up to protest the protesters. Media attention has not only spotlighted the protests but galvanized support for China among Chinese-Americans and Chinese nationals living in the U.S.
The torch relay began by abruptly going off script. As befuddled demonstrators looked on, the authorities sent the first runner out in another direction than had been planned, like a rock star slipping out the back door. In a cat-and-mouse game between protesters, officers and reporters, the first runner headed out, then veered from the planned route, which authorities apparently feared was too crowded or blocked.
The runner ran to a nearby pier, then vanished into a warehouse. Later torch runners emerged -- cushioned by torch guards and phalanxes of police -- taking another route. Protesters frantically called each other on mobile phones trying to keep up with the route, which had turned inland.
Mayor Gavin Newsom had said earlier that he reserved the right to change the route of the relay at any point, even during the race, if there was a possibility that protesters would interfere. Mr. Newsom has said he is trying to balance the rights of protesters with people who want to enjoy the torch relay in safety.
As colorful flags flapped in a stiff breeze off McCovey Cove next to the San Francisco Giants' AT&T Park, police patrolled the waters where fans used to float awaiting Barry Bonds' home runs. Even before the relay began, crowds chanted 'China, China, China' and 'Olympics! No Politics!'
They shouted at, and sometimes jostled, demonstrators objecting to Chinese policies on human rights, Tibet and Darfur. Police struggled to separate the two sides and had detained a protester even before the relay's planned six-mile trip along the waterfront began. About 100 additional police in riot helmets arrived just as ceremonies began.
Earlier, many of the pro-China demonstrators invoked slogans about how sports shouldn't be sullied by politics, but the protests seem to have awakened a broader feeling of angry nationalism among many of the pro-China demonstrators. San Francisco's large Chinese-American population includes many who fled communist rule in China and support Taiwan, and many whose roots in America predate them and who hold no truck with the current Chinese government. But many immigrants are Chinese nationals who left for economic rather than political reasons and resent the protesters trying to spoil their fast-growing country's preamble to the Olympic Games.
At dawn Wednesday, for example, two groups of mostly Chinese exchange students -- one from the University of California at Berkeley and the other from Stanford -- arrived in busloads. 'We are friendly rivals,' said Siqi Mou, an 18-year-old freshman from Stanford, who added her group of about 150 students had responded to Internet pleas from fellow Chinese exchange students in the U.S. to turn out and support the Chinese Olympics.
'We want to encourage Americans to visit China and see the real China,' said Yinjie Tang, a 33-year-old Chinese national who is a postgraduate student at Berkeley. 'We want to let everyone know that, while not perfect, the human-rights situation is improving. Give us time to improve our human rights.'
Since its ceremonial lighting in Greece on March 24, the torch has taken a tumultuous journey across several cities, fending off protesters in London, Paris and elsewhere. San Francisco, with its robust tradition of counterculture dissent, was expected to be the climactic stop. From here the torch will briefly touch down in South America and Africa, then move to Asia, where it is unclear what the reception will be.
In San Francisco, two 'Save Darfur' supporters from the Bay Area, Bruce Grossan and Rick Williamson, were swarmed by dozens of China supporters. A group of Chinese youths surrounded the two, covering their end-genocide sign with several big Chinese flags. Mr. Williamson said he and Mr. Grossan were hit several times with the flagpoles. City police quickly gathered up the two men and asked them to move away from the youths. 'I can't insure your safety,' said one SFPD officer.
Tibet and China supporters clashed nearby. 'You know nothing about Tibet!' said one Chinese man to a young girl in a 'Free Tibet' shirt.
In a press area at the start of the relay, torch runner Raj Mathai, a sportscaster for the local NBC affiliate, stretched. He said security for the runners has been so tight that at a planning meeting for them Tuesday, they convened in a conference room at a San Francisco hotel, then moved to another after just 10 minutes. Mr. Mathai said he and the other runners were advised that, if attacked, they should fall back and let police and security officials protect them. 'I am no longer nervous,' Mr. Mathias said. 'But I am anxious.'
Betty Yuan, head of the Northern California Chinese Culture-Athletic Federation, said earlier this week that she has been getting dozens of phone calls, many from Chinese-Americans upset with news reports of protesters.
She says she believes the majority of people supports the Olympic torch. 'The people that are going to the protest, they just are little but they make big noise,' says Ms. Yuan.
Community leaders, many of whom have protested themselves around issues like civil rights, say they don't dispute the protesters' right to demonstrate, nor do they agree with all of China's policies. But they fear that 'anti-China' sentiments will morph into 'anti-Chinese' violence.
'This is America. We cannot stop [protesters]. The only thing we can do is show up to show our support,' says Ms. Yuan, adding 'But we will outnumber them.'
Stephanie Kang / Jim Carlton / Bobby White
http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080410/bus085017.asp?source=email
Posted by google at April 10, 2008 09:47 AM