China sets aside parks for protests during Games

China has said that it has set aside designated parks for holding protests with prior approval during Olympics.

In a significant move, China on Wednesday said it has set aside designated parks for holding protests with prior approval during Olympics.

Protests are considered a threat to political and social stability in China where Communist party has monopolised power since 1949.

The International Olympic Committee IOC Charter prohibits demonstrations of 8220;political, religious or racial propaganda8221; in any Olympic sites, venues or areas.

Asked whether foreign athletes would be allowed to demonstrate their political views through non-violent means at the opening ceremony, a senior security official emphasized the Olympic Charter.

8220;People participating in the Olympic Games, including athletes and coaches, should observe the regulations of the International Olympic Committee,8221; Liu Shaowu, Director of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games BOCOG security department said.

He, however, said Beijing had designated several parks for protests.

8220;During the Olympics, in order to ensure a smooth traffic, nice environment and good social order, we would like to ask protesters to go to the designated parks,8221; he was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. He also pointed out that it was a common practice in some countries like England.

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Past Olympic Games have seen designated 8220;protest pens8221; as demonstrations of political, religious or racial propaganda are taboo at Olympic sites or venues according to the ICC charter.

The Beijing Olympic torch on its global run had become a magnet for protests by Tibetans and human rights activists after the Chinese crackdown in Tibet in the aftermath of severest anti-government protests in two decades in March.

Fearing 8220;unsurpassed8221; terror threat to the Beijing Olympics, China has ramped up security and put its apparatus in the top gear in the recent weeks, reinforcing measures at all levels for a trouble-free Games.