San Francisco bracing for protests on Olympic torch route

Hundreds of activists carrying Tibetan flags and wearing traditional clothes gathered in United Nations Plaza, a pedestrian area near San Francisco's City Hall, to denounce China's policy toward Tibet and the recent crackdown on protesters there. They then marched to the Chinese Consulate as part of a daylong Tibetan Torch Relay.

"This is not about us battling the torchbearers," Lhadom Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, told the crowd outside the consulate. "This is about the Chinese government using the torch for political purposes. And we're going to use it right back."

San Francisco was chosen to host the relay in part because of its large Asian population.

David Lee, executive director of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee and a professor of political science at San Francisco State University, said while many Chinese agree with critics of China, on the whole, Chinese-Americans feel a sense of pride that the Beijing Olympics chose San Francisco as the only relay site in North America.

At a news conference Tuesday, business owners asked for calm.

"We are begging for five hours of peace," said Sam Ng, president of the Chinese Six Companies, a prominent benevolent association.

---

Contributing: Deborah Bulkeley, Deseret Morning News