China to Set Up Protest Zones During Games

[ckramer]

Source: wsj

BEIJING -- China, which has cracked down on political dissent ahead of the Olympics and promised to deal harshly with illegal demonstrations, is taking the highly unusual step of setting aside space in three Beijing parks for protests during the Games.

The creation of designated protest areas was announced Wednesday. One of the parks that will have a protest spot is in the city's main diplomatic area. Another is in the university district near some Games venues, but away from the main stadiums.

"Chinese law protects legal assembly," Liu Shaowu, the security chief of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, said during a news conference.

It remains unclear how much freedom any would-be demonstrators will actually have, as Chinese law requires anyone who wants to stage a protest to first receive a government permit. Few Chinese citizens go through the process.

Beijing Games officials said they didn't know if demonstrators in the designated protest areas would also need permits and referred questions to the city government and police. Neither responded to requests for comment.

Human-rights advocates complained that the protest areas are too far away from Olympic venues. They said people with real grievances likely would be too intimidated to show up.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121682693339577465.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

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Now let's see what DUers have to say. Hahaha!

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I'd say they took a page from **'s book, but we all know ** doesn't read

[Indenturedebtor]

2. I'm sure the parks will be full of people protesting western countries and Taiwan n/t

[Fearless]

3. And then they've got to remember to ship them over to the RNC convention...

They're gonna need them.

[billyoc]

4. Fuck China.

[The Croquist]

5. The Soviets did the same thing in 1980.

They called them Gulags and put them in Siberia.