2 Americans, 2 Britons held in Beijing protest
Two American and two British protesters displaying a “Free Tibet” banner were held by police today, state media and an activist group said, as the Olympic torch made its way through the city.
The protesters unfurled Tibetan flags and banners declaring, “One World, One Dream: Free Tibet” and “Tibet will be free,” the group Students for a Free Tibet said in an e-mail message. One banner said “Free Tibet” in Chinese.
The two Britons are Iain Thom and Lucy Marion, and the two Americans are Phill Bartell of Boulder, Colo., and Tirian Mink of Portland, Ore., the group’s website said.
Meanwhile, China officially apologized for the police beating of two Japanese journalists in western China and set new rules that require reporters to make appointments to do reports at Tiananmen Square.
The Japanese government and the Foreign Correspondents Club of China condemned the roughing up of the Japanese newsmen who were covering an attack by alleged Muslim separatists on police in Xinjiang province.
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