Beijing torch journey lit by patriotism

The flame for the Beijing Games started its journey through the host city from the Forbidden City, once home of China's emperors, held up by China's first man in space, Yang Liwei.

People cheering "Go Olympics!" stood dozens deep near Tiananmen Square, symbolic heart of the capital, brandishing white Games banners and red national flags reflecting the ardent patriotism that has accompanied the relay.

"I don't think Chairman Mao would ever have imagined this," said Liu Changjiang, a retiree standing near the huge portrait of Mao Zedong, the country's founding Communist patriarch, that hangs near the Square.

"Whatever the international community does, China can do it also. Chairman Mao would have been delighted."

Liu and many others arrived at dawn to wait for the torch, turned into a symbol of defiant Chinese nationalism after protests over Beijing's rule in Tibet dogged the relay in Paris and London.

"It's not just about the sport, it's about the image of China," said Xi Li, one of thousands of officially organised well-wishers near the entrance of the Forbidden City.

After a midday break, the torch will pass through the city's south and will end the day at the Temple of Heaven, where centuries ago emperors offered animal sacrifices for good crops.

'EXCITING FEELING'

Thousands of people not pre-selected by officials to view the relay crowded to get as close as they could, often chatting excitedly in the accents of visitors from distant provinces.

But many were held back from a glimpse by stringent security, with phalanxes of guards in track suits guarding torch carriers.

Liu Shanhua, a 32-year-old salesman, woke at dawn to see the spectacle but was disappointed. "It's still worth it," Liu said. "But I really do wish I had got to see it myself. That would have been a real exciting feeling."

Tens of thousands of troops, police and plain clothes security guards on Beijing streets underscored official worry about security after militants killed 16 border police in China's far northwest Xinjiang province on Monday.

Beijing's residents have been warned they will face sweeping security to prevent any more trouble - and bad publicity - on the last leg of the tour ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.

On Wednesday morning, four foreigners unfurled banners demanding Tibetan independence near the Bird's Nest Stadium, where the Games will open on Friday.

Their banners declared "One World, One Dream: Free Tibet" and "Tibet will be free," the group Students for a Free Tibet said in an emailed statement. The four were detained by police, Xinhua news agency said.

Beggars and hawkers, who usually gather on street corners, were removed months ago and security authorities have also placed dissidents and potential protesters under house arrest.

Wang Haizhen, a middle-aged woman who crept into the capital from neighbouring Hebei province, said she and other aggrieved "petitioners" were being held or closely watched by police.

"The Olympics are fine, but we also want our legal rights too," she said. "Not swapping one for the other."

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