UNREST IN TIBET
"A tiny number of Tibet independence elements sought to disrupt the relay of the Olympic Games sacred flame through London," Xinhua quoted a spokesperson for the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay office as saying of the London events.
"We strongly condemn this vile behaviour."
Beijing Organising Committee Director of Media and Communications Wang Hui told a news conference:
"The smooth progress of the torch relay cannot be stopped and will definitely be a big success."
Tibet's capital, Lhasa, was hit last month by Buddhist monks' protests against Chinese rule which gave way to rioting. Since then security forces have poured in to reimpose control there and in other restive Tibetan areas.
Exiled Tibetans accuse China of systematic oppression of the Himalayan region over decades, and of the killing, torture and unjust imprisonment of those who oppose Beijing's rule.
CALLS FOR BOYCOTT
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged President George W. Bush on Monday to boycott the Olympics opening ceremonies unless China improves human rights.
Clinton, in a statement, cited clashes in Tibet and the lack of pressure by China on Sudan to stop "the genocide in Darfur."
Bush has resisted pressure to change his plans to attend.
As well as Tibet, activists are also focusing on Sudan, where critics say Beijing has not done enough to help stop violence in Darfur.
The U.N. children's agency UNICEF said on Monday it had withdrawn from the North Korean leg of the Olympic torch run because it would not help draw attention to the plight of children in North Korea.
China accuses Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, of organising the unrest. Tibet's Communist Party chief Zhang Qingli has called him a "jackal in Buddhist monk's robes".
Chinese popular opinion backs official claims that followers of the Dalai Lama timed the unrest to disrupt the games. He has denied this and said he wants autonomy, not independence.
Speaking at a Beijing news conference after meeting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said she had called on China to reopen dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
China says 19 people died in the Lhasa unrest, mostly at the hands of Tibetan rioters. Representatives of the Dalai Lama say about 140 people died in broader unrest across Tibet and nearby areas, most of them Tibetans killed by Chinese security forces.
