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Supporters cheer Olympic torch in peaceful Vietnam relay
2008-04-29
Crowds of supporters waved red national flags and cheered the Olympic torch in Vietnam on Tuesday, the last international leg of its harried journey around the world. The relay in Vietnam's commercial centre Ho Chi Minh City. The torch bearers in Vietnam were flanked and escorted by a security convoy of dozens of motorcycles, cars and minivans, watched by thousands lining the streets during the night-time procession, Reuters reported. Young Chinese nationalists, some who live or work in Vietnam and others who came from China wore "we love China" and "we are proud to be from China" on white Beijing 2008 Olympics T-shirts. They screamed as the torch passed by amid a cacophony of loud motorbike and car horns along the route to a military stadium. Disruptions were not expected in the former Saigon, despite a call for demonstrations by overseas Vietnamese groups opposed to Communist Party rule. Vietnam is the last international leg of the torch relay before it heads to China. The torch goes to Hong Kong on Wednesday, beginning the 100-day countdown to the August Olympics. Flags, banners and signs welcoming the torch hung from lampposts along several avenues of Ho Chi Minh City, which is also preparing to mark the 33rd anniversary on Wednesday of the communist takeover of U.S.-backed South Vietnam, and May Day. The Tibetan protests and the sympathy they have engendered abroad has stoked the fires of patriotism in China that tend to flare when sensitivities about the country's standing collide with international events. The around-the-world torch relay has been dogged by anti-China protests that then prompted rallies by overseas Chinese, who are proud that their country is hosting the Olympics and of Beijing's efforts to modernize Tibet. OPEN TRIAL IN LHASA A court in Tibet's regional capital, Lhasa, announced the verdicts of the 30 people at an "open trial" attended by more than 200 people, state television said. The terms ranged from three years to life in jail. It was the first batch of sentences announced since the March 14 violence in Tibet and a Chinese crackdown that led to protests and disruption of the Olympic torch relay, most notably in London, Paris and San Francisco. China has blamed Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and his government-in-exile for plotting the riots, in which at least 18 "innocent civilians," according to Beijing, were killed by Tibetan mobs in Lhasa last month. South Korea is investigating violence at the relay in Seoul over the weekend. Newspapers there ran angry editorials denouncing Chinese students who hurled rocks at groups criticizing Beijing, charging into lines of police, beating pro-Tibet protesters and kicking an elderly man. On Monday, North Korea mustered tens of thousands of people waving flags, plastic flowers and dancing in the streets for the first incident-free leg of the global torch relay. In Hong Kong, about 3,000 policemen will guard the torch during its 8-hour relay. In recent weeks, analysts say Hong Kong authorities have been under pressure from Beijing to tighten its immigration and security apparatus to smother any possible flare-up of trouble during the torch's first touchdown on Chinese soil following its protest-marred global six-week tour. Over the weekend, authorities barred three Danish activists, including sculptor Jens Galschiot, from entering the city for "immigration reasons." They had planned to protest against Chinese human rights violations during the city's torch relay. A senior official admitted the incident might have hurt Hong Kong's free and open image, but said the city should be judged by its positive overall track record of allowing protests.
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