I got to see the Olympic Torch relay. I also got to see several people arrested and very scattered anit-China pro-Tibet protests. Several people got into the fountains at Trafalgar Square. It was snowing and you could tell they were freezing. There was a large contingent of Chinese there with banners in Chinese supporting the Olympics. Some of the signs talked about One Dream.
There were a couple of pro-Tibet protesters across the way from me. They were spoted by the police and a couple of policemen showed up behind them. I will say that when the pro-China people got pushy with the ant-China people the police immediately stepped in and broke it up. One policeman very aggressively pushed one pro-China guy back.
I got some really great video which I hope to upload at some point.
I went to the National Gallery and the wandered around for awhile. I went back to the London Eye and went up in it. I thought it would be really cool to get pictures of London at night. It wasn't completely dark but it was very cool.
I have a funny story to relate about two groups of bobbies and the snow fall of today but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
2 comments:
You may have learnbed by now that the scattered protests you observed were part of a frequently chaotic mess along the entire length of the torch path. An AP story in Monday's paper notes: protesters trying to board the torch bus at Wembley, somebody breaking through and grabbing the torch from a celebrity carrier who valiantly hung on, another demonstrator trying to put out the torn with a fire extinguisher, Tibetan protesters confined to some sort of free she3ech pen in Bloomsbury Square, the Chinese ambassador's run being switched to Chinatown where he would not be hassled, fights between Trafalgar and Big Ben, and a mob that blocked progress at St. Paul's. Wheee! — Ed
Yes, it seems the Chinese are getting a little more than they bargained for. It seems the protests have caused the cancelling of ceremonies in Paris for the torch.
I only got a little of what went on from the news but it does seem like a big mess.
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