Protests for Olympics, but not in Beijing

Thousands of Tibetan exiles demonstrated at the Chinese Embassy in Nepal’s capital, Katmandu, shouting, “China thief, leave our country. Stop killing in Tibet.”

Police used sticks to disperse the protesters, some of whom tried to storm the embassy, said police official Ramesh Thapa. More than 1,000 people were detained for violating a ban on demonstrations, he said.

Thapa said they would likely be freed later in the day. It was the largest number of Tibetans detained in a single day in Katmandu.

In the Indian capital of New Delhi, more than 1,000 Tibetan exiles protested near the Chinese Embassy in pouring rain, chanting anti-China slogans and demanding freedom for their homeland.

They waved Tibetan flags and a large banner that said, “Time is running out, stop the Olympics.” Hundreds of police and armed paramilitary soldiers surrounded the marchers and stood by with tear gas canisters and water canons.

More than 2,000 protesters also marched in Dharmsala, a northern Indian hill town that is home to the Tibetan government-in-exile and the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader.

The Beijing Games have become a focus for activists critical of China on issues ranging from its human rights record and heavy-handed rule in Tibet, to its abortion policies and repression of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Beijing considers the games, which it invested billions of dollars and seven years to prepare, a huge source of national pride and is doing all it can to make sure they go off without a hitch – such as ugly television images of protesters scuffling with police.

In China, authorities were on their highest alert in the final hours before the opening ceremony, guarding against anyone who might try to take the shine off the curtain raiser that would be watched worldwide.

Beijing’s landmark Tiananmen Square was sealed off. Foreigners who protested in recent days arrived home after being deported, and Chinese who did the same were in custody. The tight controls imposed by China’s autocratic government have so far ensured the handful of protests in the host city have been small and relatively quiet.

In semiautonomous Hong Kong, Briton Matt Pearce was detained after unfurling two banners on a major bridge. Wearing a mask of a horse’s head and a white shirt bearing the Olympic rings, Pearce hung banners reading, “We want human rights and democracy” and “The people of China want freedom from oppression.”

Hong Kong police said he was being held for questioning on a possible charge of causing a public nuisance.

Forty other protesters chanted slogans urging China to democratise near one of the venues for the Olympic equestrian event, to be held in Hong Kong.

Tibet activists have stepped up their international campaign against Chinese rule in their homeland since demonstrations erupted in the Tibetan capital in March and Beijing responded with a military crackdown.

Those protests were some of the biggest against almost 50 years of Chinese rule. Many Tibetans insist they were an independent nation before Communist troops invaded in 1950, while Beijing says the Himalayan region has been part of its territory for centuries.

Activists planned big demonstrations later on Friday in foreign capitals including London, Paris and Berlin. Rallies were held in Australia and planned in the Philippines and Taiwan.

Authorities this week deported at least seven foreigners who protested at Tiananmen Square and near a major Olympic venue.

Three Americans –  the Reverend Patrick Mahoney, Brandi Swindell and Mike McMonagle – were sent back to Los Angeles after unfurling a banner reading “Jesus Christ is king” in the square and criticising Beijing’s use of abortions to control China’s huge population.

Another group of foreign activists was also deported to San Francisco and Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday after erecting “Free Tibet” banners outside an Olympic venue.

Zhang Wei, a Chinese woman who protested near Tiananmen Square on Monday against her forced eviction from her house, has been detained, her son Mi Yu said.

Mi said Zhang called home on Thursday, confirming her detention. She did not elaborate because police officers were with her, Mi said. Police would not comment.