Four British tourists arrested over Beijing pro-Tibet protest

Four British tourists arrested over Beijing pro-Tibet protest



Chinese police have arrested a group of British tourists for staging a pro-Tibet protest near the Olympic stadium.

Chinese police say the protest occurred at about 6:00am (local time).

Four foreigners, three men and one woman, were involved in displaying a pro-Tibet independence banner in English near the Olympic stadium.

The protesters gathered near the main Bird's Nest Stadium, where the Games will open, and two of the men climbed electricity poles to unfurl the banner, the Xinhua news agency said.

The report said police rushed to the scene after 12 minutes and took them away.

The Beijing Games torch relay was dogged by protests over Chinese rule in Tibet when it made its way through Paris, London and other cities earlier this year.

This morning, the torch began the final stage of its relay through Beijing, under tight security ahead of the Games opening on Friday.

China has accused followers of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, of stirring riots and protests in Tibetan regions in March in a bid to upstage Olympic preparations.

The Dalai Lama has denied the claim and said he does not oppose the Games.

But groups campaigning for an independent Tibet have said the Beijing Olympics should be an opportunity to voice criticism of Chinese policy.

It has been reported the protesters were in China on tourist visas.


Condemnation

China's Olympic organisers expressed their strong condemnation over the protest.

"As far as we know, four foreigners gathered illegally and we express our strong opposition to that," Beijing Olympic organising committee spokesman Sun Weide said.

"We firmly oppose any attempt to politicise the Olympic Games. We have related laws in China. We expect foreigners to respect those laws."