A Tibetan rights group says five of its members protested in Beijing's
Tiananmen Square Saturday and were detained by authorities.
The
group Free Tibet says three Americans and one German laid down and
covered themselves with Tibetan flags while a Canadian told the story
of China's invasion and occupation of Tibet.
The group says the protest lasted ten minutes before police led away the three men and two women.
In
Hong Kong, security personnel removed at least one protester from an
Olympic equestrian event Saturday, after an attempt to display a
Tibetan flag.
Christina Chan, who became well-known for her
protests during the Hong Kong leg of the Olympic torch relay in May,
was ejected from the event. It is not known if the university student
was placed under arrest.
China kept tight control in Beijing
Friday, but foreign demonstrators managed to breach security at
Beijing's main Olympic venue to stage a brief protest just before the
opening ceremony of the Games. The U.S.-based group Students for a
Free Tibet says three Americans displayed Tibetan flags for less than a
minute before being detained.
Elsewhere Friday, protests
against China's human rights record were held in a number of countries,
including India, Nepal, Turkey, England, France, Belgium, Germany and
Thailand.
Most demonstrators focused on China's treatment of
Tibetans. Others focused on China's restrictions on freedom of
religion and expression, as well as its treatment of minorities.
In
the Turkish capital, Ankara, a man set himself on fire outside the
Chinese Embassy during a protest by ethnic Uighurs against China's
human rights record.
In Nepal, police detained more than 1,000 Tibetan exiles gathered outside the Chinese Embassy to protest
China's crackdown on anti-government protesters in Tibet.
In
India's capital New Delhi, more than 1,000 Tibetan exiles braved
heavy rains outside the Chinese Embassy, shouting "Free Tibet" and
"Stop the Olympics." Heavily-armed police later stopped protesters
from storming the embassy.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
