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When San Francisco first agreed to host the Olympic torch on its way to the summer games in Beijing, no-one could have imagined such scenes. But since the torch began its journey from Athens, passing through London and Paris, outrage over China's military crackdown in Tibet has resulted in increasingly bitter protests.
In Paris, pro-Tibet groups tackled the runners and used fire-extinguishers to put out the flame. China's blue-suited and heavy-set "flame minders" only aggravated the problem.
The authorities in San Francisco faced a different problem yesterday: more than a third of the city's residents claim some kind of Asian heritage. As a result, many of them took to the streets in support of the Chinese government.
By Tuesday night, San Francisco's Mayor, Gavin Newsom, had cancelled all police leave and put in place a massive security plan for the 80 runners: they would be protected by four-layered formation of officers on foot, on bicycles, on motorcycles and on boats in the San Francisco bay. Nevertheless, one of the runners, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, backed out because of fears over her safety.
On San Francisco's 3rd Street, near the waterfront, not all the Tibetans were happy with the way the protests were turning out.
"We just want to let the world know that we're an occupied country," said Lobsang Tsering, a 35-year-old Tibetan who works at the company in Salt Lake City that makes the Olympic medals. "We keep asking people to remember the Dalai Lama's peaceful message. We don't want violence and we don't hate the Chinese. They're just human beings like the rest of us. All we ask is for them to free our country.
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