Below The Beltway

There were protests in London today as the Olympic torch made it’s way through the city:
LONDON, England (CNN) — Protesters scuffled with police and made attempts to grab the Olympic torch and douse it with a fire extinguisher on Sunday as its arrival in London triggered angry demonstrations over China’s human rights record and recent [...]

Today, the Washington Post reprints the letter that got Chinese dissident Hu Jia sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison earlier this week. In the letter, Jia and fellow dissident Teng Biao address the reality that will be the 2008 Olympic Games in Bejing China:
· Please be aware that the Olympic Games will be held [...]

China may be repressing dissidents in Tibet and Xinjiang and jailing dissidents, but the International Olympic Committee says everything is hunky dory:
BEIJING, April 3 — After nearly seven years of careful preparations, it came down to one final, marathon session in Beijing on Thursday. It was the third and final day of talks between Chinese [...]

Tibetan Buddhists aren’t the only problem that China’s leaders have to deal with, their Muslim population is growing restive as well:
SHANGHAI — Chinese officials said Wednesday that they were grappling with ethnic unrest on a second front, in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where Uighur Muslims protested Chinese rule last month even as Tibetans [...]

H/T: The Moderate Voice

The International Olympic Committee shows some backbone:
China’s Great Firewall must be lifted during the Olympic Games to ensure free access to the rest of the world.
That was the message from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the Beijing organisers of the Games during meetings that will be the last official sessions between IOC inspectors and [...]

It’s rare that I agree with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but she’s absolutely right about this one:
(CNN) — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Bush should consider boycotting the opening ceremony of the Olympics Games in Beijing this summer to protest China’s human rights record.
“I think boycotting the opening ceremony, which really gives respect [...]

Germany’s Prime Minister became the first world leader to announce a boycott of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics:
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, yesterday became the first world leader to decide not to attend the Olympics in Beijing.
As pressure built for concerted western protests to China over the crackdown in Tibet, EU leaders prepared [...]

As the Olympic Torch makes it’s way around the world, it’s being shadowed by a group of protesters who will not be silenced:
The disruption of a Chinese official’s address during the Olympic torch lighting ceremonies in Greece last week was just the beginning of a string of protests planned to coincide with the torch’s trip [...]

The guys over at Raising Kaine aren’t too happy with this statement by Congressman Frank Wolf:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Republican — chafing over President Bush’s plan to attend this year’s Beijing Olympics — wants to legally prohibit U.S. government officials from using federal money to go.
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., cited concerns about China’s record [...]