Nagano Boosts Security Force For Torch Relay….Chinese Guards Might Participate?
With a little over a week until the Olympic torch relay arrives in Japan, Nagano police have beefed-up their security plans:
Nagano Prefectural Police on Wednesday decided to boost the number of members dispatched to guard the route along Japan’s Olympic torch relay to about 1,500 — more than double the originally planned number.
Based on conditions when the relay is held in Nagano on April 26, police said they would expand the force to a size of up to 3,000 or 4,000 members, providing extra heavy security.
The National Police Agency and Nagano Prefectural Police have sought assistance from neighboring prefectural police headquarters and riot unit members in nearby precincts, and they are reportedly considering dispatching an extra 1,000 members along the route.
It also looks like China’s paramilitary police runners are coming to Japan:
Meanwhile four people from the Beijing Olympic organizing committee entered Nagano on Wednesday. They have asked that six “security runners” be sent to Japan, to take turns in pairs running alongside the Olympic flame. Committee officials said that the members’ job would be overseeing the Olympic torch, and added that they would not directly participate in security.
Previous reports of Japan “banning” the Chinese security runners quoted officials who said they would not welcome the men in a security role. The Japanese press reports I have seen so far have yet to mention the official response to the Chinese request, and it is conceivable that the Chinese guards torch team will make an appearance in their blue track suits to “oversee the torch.”
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They know the world is opposed to their regime and the Beijing Olympics. I hope that torch never makes it to Beijing.
shazzb0t: said “They know the world is opposed to their regime and the Beijing Olympics.”
I couldn’t help but asked what “world” you think you are living in
So I’m guessing that if ever some protesting person tries to grab the torch, these “Chinese torch team members” will just “oversee” what’s happening (i.e. just stare at the torch and not do anything). A rose by any other name…
This really is an issue of national sovereignty. Chinese police (or any other country’s police force) have no jurisdiction or authority whatsoever in foreign soil.
I wonder how Japan will deal this. The “change-the-name” approach is just too crude. And I don’t know if they’ll buckle down to Beijing.
Two (British, French) down and another one (Japan) is coming up to go down. It doesn’t take much to lose the sovereignty. That’s going to be how the world will be; kowtowing the Chinese brutal master. The world let it happen and can’t blame it on anybody. Get used to it.
The sovereignty issue apparently cropped up after the London and Paris legs of the relay, so I don’t think that France and Britain expected it. Japan however, has an “early warning” so to speak, so it’ll look worse if it happened to them as well. Although, yeah, I’m expecting some tiptoeing around the issue through mere rewording to happen, although I’m not sure how they’ll do it. If Japan does buckle, hopefully it won’t be sign of things to come.
Jin Jing, one of the torch bearer in France (who lost her one of her leg as a child) was struggling to defense herself on a wheelchair against the violent Tibetan protesters who tried to grab the torch from her, did you see any Chinese flame attendents beating up those protesters?
See this URL for details: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/10/18491850.php
What a shame the Torch run has become….I was fortunate to be a torch bearer in 1996….the Lantern lady landed at the LA Coliseum in a helicopter…she past the flame to Raefer Johnson…who lit the caldron what a signt with the USC Trojan band playing the Olympic Theme….Raeffer handed the torch to Jesse Owens grand daughter….to be part of the Olympics will stay with me forever…these are the world olympics not the US nor China….let support all athletes….