Flame of Shame: The Great San Fransisco Torch Fiasco

If you were to go by Xinhua's account of event, you might well think that the San Fransisco leg of the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch procession was a seamless event that went of without a hitch. However, as any China watcher will know: what you read in Xinhua doesn't alway marry up with what actually happened.

Indeed Xinhua's headline: "The "Olympic torch relay in San Francisco was concluded Wednesday afternoon, without major incidents" doesn't exactly lend itself well to what turned out to be a 'Fiasco in Frisco'. An event which saw one ceremony delayed, another canceled and replaced with a significantly down market affair held in near secrecy, the procession itself cropped to a fraction of its original size, and the torch's route changed in a number of embarrassing ways. And that's without even mentioning the various high visibility protests that went ahead whether or not the torch was where it should have been.

Bad Start

Things were looking bad for Beijing from the get-go. The opening ceremony at AT&T Park was delayed by 20 minutes due to crowd problems, and things got steadily worse from there.

Now You See It, Now You Don't

Taking note of the fact that that several thousand pro-Tibet and anti-China demonstrators had gathered outside the venue - described by SF Mayor Gavin Newsom as "a disproportionate concentration of people in and around the start of the relay" - Fan Fransisco officials concluded that it would be too much of a risk to try and run the gauntlet as had been done in London and Paris.

Instead the torch was rerouted at the 11th hour to avoid embarrassing scenes and clashes with the crowds.

Organizers had originally intended that the torch procession follow the line of the San Fransisco water front. Instead it was routed through the less prestigious downtown area. Affording local residents a good view of events, but denying protesters their right to protest the procession in any direct way, and supporter the chance to support it.

The first runner left the podium and but instead of heading along the agreed route they were redirected into an nearby industrial building after which the torch was transfered to a motor vehicle and transported nearly 2KM away from he starting point, in an effort to avoid protesters along the original route.

According to a statement given by San Francisco Police Chief Fang Yuwen; known locally by her English name Heather Fong, the rerouting was made necessary due to the arrival of several thousand protesters congregate along the procession route. Some of whom had begun to cross crowd barriers in defiance of local police.

However, this rerouting prove not to sufficient to spare Beijing's blushs. Far from avoiding protesters, San Fransisco officials were about to hand the torch over to one.

The Van-Ness Avenue Incident

At Van-Ness Avenue, the Olympic torch was passed to Majora Carter. Carter, an African American environmental sustainability campaigner from New York had no history of involvement with Sino-Tibetan issues. However, unbeknown to Chinese officials, Carter had been approached by representatives of a Pro-Tibet group shortly before the event and had agreed to make a statement on their behalf after having been moved by their plight

Seconds after being handed the torch Carter pulled a Tibetan flag and held it aloft, a  loss of face to both Beijing and to San Fransisco authorities. After a brief scuffle, both the flag and the torch were taken from Carter, and were passed on down the line.

Carter's protest, and the ensuing humiliation that it carried with it, were excised from Xinhua's official coverage of the procession. 

Second Rate Relay?

In addition to rerouting the torch procession, San Fransisco authorities also opted to significantly reduce its scale, slashing almost 50 percent off of the route's length. This comes despite the fact that the route was already considerably shorter than the routes taken in either London or Paris. Meaning that the San Fransisco torch bearers were forced to share their coveted positions with other participants, with two people being forced to run each leg rather than the one allowed for by tradition.

Third Rate Closing Ceremony?

If the opening of the ceremony was inauspicious, then the closing was even further from ideal.

The relay San Fransisco procession had originally been scheduled to end with a grand ceremony in Justin Herman Plaza. However, due to the presence of several thousand protesters in the area it was decided that the ceremony should be, and that a much lower key event should be held and that it should be done at too short a notice for demonstrators to be able to have a notable presence. With officials preferring to suffer a much reduced ceremony rather than risk being shown up by protesters at the grander ceremony that they had originally planned.

Officials finally decided to hold the closing ceremony on a roadway near San Francisco International Airport. The torch itself was rushed through the proceedings and was not put on display as had been intended.

Other Incidents?

Despite being shorten, surrounded by security, and having been rerouted away from the protesters, there were a number of incidents during the procession. In one incident, pro-Tibetan activists managed to break through sidewalk crowd controls and attempted to seize the torch, though they were prevented from doing so by security forces close to it.

Scuffles also broke out amongst the crowds as they waited for the procession, with pro Tibet demonstrators coming to blows with overseas Chinese, and with security forces.  In one incident demonstrators mobbed the bus carrying the torch to the opening ceremony, and in another separate incident a number of them attempted to storm a bus in Bryant Street that was thought to be carrying the torch to another location.

According to accounts carried by local media outlet KTVU, violence also flared when a 200 strong group of ethnic and overseas Chinese students from UC Davis became angered by the sight of a car bearing a number of Tibetan flags near Pier 39, and set upon its occupants. Both of whom were shaken but not seriously injured.

Police Failings

While China watchers criticized officials for attempting to subvert the US right to demonstrate by issuing them permits in one place and then moving the procession to another, some were also critical of the way that the permits were issued. Specifically, that San Fransisco authorities issued protest permits that placed Pro-China and Pro-Tibet groups side by side, rather than at some distance. They also criticized authorities for their failure to provide sufficient police to keep opposing groups apart.

 Although no serious injuries were reported, there were a number of potentially serious incidents, including some in which a chemical agent, thought to be pepper-spray or a similar substance, was fired at those present.

Mystery Few?

To date, China watchers have been unable to identify the "handful of forces" that Xinhua: China's state run media agency, claimed were present with the intention of disrupting proceedings. It has been conjectured that this may be a diminutive term used to describe several thousands Pro-Tibet and Anti-China activists who were present throughout the event.

As is traditional, China's state media glossed over the route changes, the demonstrations, the downsizing of both the closing ceremony and the procession itself. Instead quoting Zhou Wenzhong: the Mainland Ambassador to the US as saying that the event was "successful".

As is also traditional, Xinhua chose to refer to demonstrators as being Pro-Tibetan groups, or to give them no named cause. Specifically avoiding the fact that protesters were drawn from several different backgrounds. Including those protesting against Beijing's domestic repression of Mainland Chinese, and against China's foreign policy decisions.

While it has become unavoidable for Beijing to acknowledge the presence of anti-Chinese sentiment over Tibet, Beijing is still highly reticent about publicly acknowledging that many of the other complaints made against it. For example, that many foreigners support increased land rights on the Mainland.

Video

Care of Reuters

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