The Chinese guards of the Olympic flame seen fending off protesters in London and Paris are elite members of the paramilitary units which crushed dissent in Tibet, it has been disclosed.

By Richard Spencer in Beijing
April 9, 2008
telegraph.co.uk

Officially described as “volunteers” by Beijing, the 30 blue track-suited guards were recruited from specialist squads in the People’s Armed Police (PAP), a one-million strong force dedicated to maintaining public order.

The PAP has moved into Tibet and Tibetan-settled areas since the protests against Chinese rule began last month. It has been accused by Tibet support groups of opening fire on demonstrators.

The Free Tibet Campaign called on Britain to explain why PAP forces were allowed to take charge of the torch relay operation.

The hand-picked members of the “The Olympic Holy Flame Protection Unit” are all above 5ft 9in and underwent a rigorous training programme at the PAP special police academy in Beijing last August.

Each has the rank of lieutenant apart from their commanding officer, a major, and each scored highly in military and “political tests” - the latter a euphemism for ideological training.

“According to the customs of the past Olympic Games, the flame has to be given some protection measures,” a spokesman said. “The mission of the attendants is to protect the safety of the flame.”

But images of Chinese security forces directing operations on the streets of London have caused alarm. Lord Coe, chairman of the London Olympic Committee, was overheard by Channel 4 News saying: “They tried to push me out of the way three times. They are horrible. They did not speak English… I think they were thugs.”

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BOYCOTT THE OLYMPICS IN CHINA 

Hundreds of Tibetans have died in unrest in Lhasa and elsewhere in the Chinese-ruled Himalayan region, the India-based Tibetan parliament-in-exile said in a statement Monday. “The massive demonstrations that started from March 10 in the capital city of Lhasa and other regions of Tibet, resulting (in the) death of hundreds of Tibetans, and subsequent use of force… needs to be brought to the attention of the United Nations and the international community,” the statement said.

Hundreds dead in Tibet unrest: parliament-in-exile

China’s Chen Guangcheng, this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Emergent Leadership and whose image is projected on the screen receives an applause from his co-awardees and the audience Friday, Aug. 31, 2007, in Manila, Philippines, as he was unable to attend because he is currently serving a prison term. The wife of the blind Chinese activist denounced China for its human rights record and for being prevented from leaving the country to receive the Philippine humanitarian award for her husband. The Ramon Magsaysay Awards, which honor individual’s achievements, is Asia’s counterpart to the Nobel Prize. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)

Wife of Chinese Activist: I Was Held

By SCOTT McDONALD – Aug 31, 2007

BEIJING (AP) — The wife of an imprisoned blind Chinese activist said Saturday that she was dragged off a bus and held for hours to stop her from traveling to Beijing to speak out on his behalf.

Yuan Weijing said she was on a bus from Shandong province in eastern China on Friday when it stopped and she was pulled off by a group of government workers.

The alleged action comes after Yuan was blocked last week by Chinese authorities from leaving for Manila, Philippines, where she was to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize, for her husband, Chen Guangcheng. Friday was also the day a speech by her was read at the awards ceremony, in which she accused Beijing of violating human rights.

Chen, 36, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison in 2006 after he documented cases of forced abortions and other abuses by family planning officials in his native Shandong.

“I think the purpose of this was to prohibit me from speaking out,” Yuan said by phone from her village of Dongshigu in Shangdong. “Three men and one woman got on the bus and they dragged me to get me off the bus.”

She said she was going to Beijing to highlight her husband’s case and to seek legal help after her passport was taken away when she was trying to go to the Philippines.

Yuan said she was held for about 12 hours and taken back to her house in a mini-bus. She did not give details, but said she recognized those who dragged her off the bus as being from her local government office.

Yuan, 31, was taken back to her home early Saturday, and she said about six people were standing in front of her house and that another four were blocking the entrance to the village.

A duty officer at the Shandong police office, who refused to give his name, said he had not heard of the case.

In Yuan’s speech read at the awards ceremony, she blasted China’s record on human rights.

“In China, our government is often the biggest violator of people’s rights,” Yuan said in the speech. “Because Guangcheng engaged in helping peasants safeguard their rights, he became the target of a retaliatory strike by some corrupt government officials.”

Chen was convicted on charges of instigating an attack on government offices in Dongshigu. Police said he was upset with workers sent to carry out poverty-relief programs.

Yuan said her husband was convicted “based on trumped-up charges and a flawed trial process” in which villagers allegedly were kidnapped and tortured to testify against him.

Chen and a fellow Chinese citizen jointly won the Magsaysay emergent leadership award. Chen, blinded by a fever as a child, helped farmers file court cases, led protests against a river-polluting paper factory and documented abuses.

Chung was recognized for his AIDS Orphans Project, which provides school fees for children who have a parent with AIDS.

Each winner received a gold medallion with an image of the former Philippine president for which the award is named plus $50,000.

ap.google.com