Tibet leg of Olympic torch relay cut

The Beijing Olympic flame will spend just one day in Tibet next month rather that the three days originally scheduled, an official with the torch relay department of the Beijing Organising Committee said on Monday.

The relay, which was disrupted on its international leg by anti-Chinese protests over Tibet, was scheduled to go to Shannan Diqu on June 19 and Lhasa on the following two days.

"According to my knowledge it's been cut to one day in Lhasa," Li Lizhi said by telephone from Jiangsu province.

"I don't have all the details but there will be no visit to the Shannan Diqu prefecture. It's because of the earthquake, some problems have arisen."

The relay schedule has already been changed after the withdrawal of Taiwan last year to accommodate last week's three days of national mourning for the earthquake and to shift the Sichuan leg from next month to August 3-5.

A separate Olympic flame visited Tibet earlier this month for an ascent of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain.

Media covering that event were closely controlled and prevented from visiting Lhasa, scene of the March 14 riots that sparked unrest in ethnically Tibetan areas of western China.

The relay continues in the wealthy eastern coastal province of Jiangsu on Monday and Tuesday.

Money was being collected for the relief effort for the May 12 Sichuan earthquake, which is already known to have claimed more than 60,000 lives.

"There's plenty of Olympic passion," said Li. "But people along the route are also holding up placards saying 'Come on Sichuan'."