Beijing permit public protests in three designated city

BEIJING: Beijing will permit public protests inside three designated city parks during next month's Olympic Games, but demonstrators must first obtain permits from the local police and also abide by Chinese laws that usually make it nearly impossible to legally picket over politically charged issues.

The arrangement announced Wednesday marks a break from normal practice in China's authoritarian political system and seems loosely modeled after protest zones created at previous Games and at many recent international political gatherings that have attracted large numbers of protesters.

But it remained unclear whether international advocacy groups on issues like Tibet, Darfur and human rights would be able to secure the bureaucratic approvals needed to use the protest zones or whether they would be arrested if they held demonstrations elsewhere in Beijing. With only 16 days until the Olympics opening ceremony, the ruling Communist Party is tightening security across the country and has shown little appetite for domestic political dissent as several dissidents have been jailed, monitored or placed under house arrest in recent months.

Liu Shaowu, director of security for Beijing's Olympics organizing committee, said Ritan Park, Beijing World Park and Purple Bamboo Park would be designated for protesters during the Games and that the approval process would be regulated by Beijing's public security bureau.

"The police will safeguard the right to demonstrate as long as protesters have obtained prior approval and are in accordance with the law," Liu said during a news conference.The issue of how much space, if any, China would allow for legal demonstrations became especially charged after the international Olympic torch relay was marred earlier this year by violent protests in London and Paris and angry confrontations between pro-China supporters and advocates for Tibet. Chinese leaders want the Games to showcase the country's achievements and are wary of protests being broadcast to a worldwide audience.

Under Chinese law, citizens must apply to the local public security bureau five days in advance of a scheduled protest. Applicants must appear in person and offer detailed information about their topic, any possible slogans and the expected number of demonstrators. The law prohibits protests that are deemed harmful to national unity and social stability or that agitate for ethnic separatism. These prohibitions can be interpreted so broadly that most legal protests are not approved.

"We never get it no matter how many times we try," said Jiang Tianyong, a lawyer and legal rights advocate who has been rejected numerous times. "This is only a show for foreigners. Otherwise, I'd love to see these three places be kept after the Olympics, so we can let our voices be heard, too."

Xu Zhiyong, another legal rights advocate, agreed that obtaining approval for legal protests is usually very difficult. But Xu applauded the Olympic protest zones as an improvement that should be acknowledged.

"As a first step toward opening up space for dissent, it is appropriate," Xu said. "There should be many people who are willing to use this space, petitioners and people who have experienced injustice."

Illegal protests are common in China, especially in rural areas or smaller cities where peasants and laid-off workers hold demonstrations about issues like local corruption or illegal land seizures. In recent weeks, Chinese media have reported on different demonstrations around the country, including one in Guizhou Province that involved about 30,000 people.

Usually, these demonstrations are localized and almost never represent attempts to directly challenge the leadership in Beijing. The police usually disperse the crowds and local officials sometimes relent on some demands, even as protest leaders are often detained or sentenced to prison.

Somewhat similar protest zones were used at the 2004 Athens Olympics, while cities hosting other international events have sought to isolate demonstrators in designated areas.

Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, criticized the broader trend in creating protest zones during international events. He described Beijing's protest zones as inadequate and said Chinese citizens would be very reluctant to use them, given the political priority that the party has placed on the Olympics. He said the police might use video cameras and collect names of demonstrators.

"Chinese people know better than to go demonstrate in a protest zone during the Olympics, except maybe a few people with nothing to lose," he said. They know the risk of retribution is very high."

He added: "It is not a step toward allowing Chinese citizens to demonstrate freely. They are using this as a fig leaf to cover the fact that they are organizing the Games in a very repressive environment."

Liu, the Olympic security director, did not spell out the consequences facing protesters who attempt to demonstrate without permission, or in a non-designated area. But he said that the Olympic charter prohibits protests at venues and that protesters should be steered toward the designated zones, in part to ensure that the Games themselves are not disrupted.