Chinese hold pro-Olympic protests in European capitals

20 Apr 2008 , AFP

PARIS: Several thousand Chinese on Saturday rallied in Paris, Britain and Berlin in support of the Beijing Olympics and against allegedly biased media coverage of the torch relay and recent unrest in Tibet.

Clad in T-shirts daubed with the slogan "One China, One family" and brandishing signs critical of the western media, up to 4,000 Chinese students and other expatriates gathered in the Place de la Republique in the French capital, according to police estimates.

The protesters, who came from across France, unfurled a banner showing handicapped Chinese athletes who carried the torch during the chaotic relay through Paris last week, as they chanted "Beijing Olympic Games!" and "Go Peking!"

Chinese flags floated beneath heavy clouds along with blue-white-and-red one symbolising French-Chinese friendship.

"We're demonstrating against the disinformation in the French and western media, to promote the Olympic games and to construct a bridge between the French and Chinese people -- and not a wall as the media do," said one of the rally's spokesmen, Thirry Liu.

Several French also joined the Paris rally including Joseph, 60, who said he travelled often to China and that he was "defending the right to the truth."

More than 1,000 people, mainly students, also gathered outside the BBC's offices in Manchester, northwest England, while around 300 staged a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in London.

Several hundred pro-Chinese activists also demonstrated in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz in the business district gripping banners with messages like "Media = untruths," and "China Olympia, one world, one dream."

A protest was also expected to take place in front of the CNN offices in Los Angeles, according to one Chinese protester in Paris.