Word: torch
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...torch route was packed with mostly peaceful demonstrators. "They started the Olympics in order to bring different sides together," said a Chinese protester from Dalian, who has lived in Japan for two years as a Japanese company employee. "I like sports. I like Japan. Politics shouldn't be directed at the Games." But politics dogged the torch's journey through Europe and the U.S., sparking protest about China's human rights record and its treatment of Tibet. Japan knew the relay needed to be calm to maintain the recent easing of historical tensions between the Japanese and the Chinese. Chinese...
Thousands of Japanese riot police were mobilized to safeguard the torch along its 18.7 km (11.6 mi) route in the city of Nagano - the host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. The show of force kept most protesters in line. Compared with those of some previous host cities, Nagano authorities managed to maintain relative calm, but the cacophony of slogans shouted by pro-China or pro-Tibet demonstrators, Japanese nationalists and human rights organizations flooded air already full of the colors of Chinese, Tibetan and Japanese flags. "Clearly, the mix of demonstrators shows that Japan is a peaceful nation after...
Cold rain in Nagano on Saturday failed to dampen the spirits of thousands of onlookers as they waited to catch a glimpse of the Olympic torch during the flame's 16th international stop before its arrival in Hong Kong on April...
...credible enough to prompt some of them to move offices. The explosion of rage was initially sparked by what many Chinese perceive as biased international coverage of the bloody riots in Tibet on March 14 and the continuing crackdown by Chinese security forces that followed. Then, as the Olympic-torch relay was greeted by pro-Tibet demonstrations in London, Paris and San Francisco, many Chinese felt their national honor had been besmirched. Recently, their ire has been focused specifically on France. Over the weekend of April 19 and 20, thousands of anti-French demonstrators took to the streets in cities...
...testament to the fever pitch of nationalism that even iconic figures can suddenly find themselves under attack. The Paralympic fencer Jin Jing became a national hero (dubbed "the wheelchair angel" by the Chinese media) for her attempts to protect the Olympic torch from pro-Tibet protesters in Paris. But after she questioned the wisdom of a call by some nationalists on the Internet to boycott the French retail giant Carrefour, Jin found herself the subject of Internet attacks branding her "unpatriotic" and a "traitor...