Olympic protests fail to get out of the blocks

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Mure Dickie in Beijing

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
  

Chinese authorities received 77 applications from would-be demonstrators trying to use the special Olympic protest zones set up for Beijing Games, it emerged yesterday, but did not approve any of them.

The admission, coming after some prospective demonstrators were detained by police, underscores Beijing's determination to ensure ”social stability” is maintained during the Games.

The special zones in three Beijing parks were seen by some as a sign of the Communist government's willingness to follow the Olympic practice of providing a venue for peaceful protest.

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However, the official Xinhua news agency quoted an unnamed police official as saying 74 of the applications to protest had been withdrawn ”because the specific problems were resolved through consultations with the relevant authorities or departments”.

Of the others, two were put aside because of ”procedural” problems and one was rejected because it violated China's law on demonstrations, Xinhua said.

Activists dismissed the suggestion that protests were not needed because the underlying disputes had been resolved.

”What is at stake is whether people have the right to demonstrate or not, and the reality is that they do not,” said Nicholas Bequelin, a Hong Kong-based researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Applying for permission to protest in China is daunting. Applicants have to give police full information about themselves, their complaint and even the slogans they want to use.

Police rejected one application by residents of Beijing's Qianmen area to protest over the demolition of their homes for a luxury development.

Two of the residents were later ordered into detention for a month, relatives say.