China's leaders greeted the Olympic torch in a heavily policed ceremony on Tiananmen Square in what could be the most secure and protest-free leg of the 130-day event, which has become a lightning rod for demonstrators since it started last week in Athens.
Standing in front of the Forbidden City's iconic portrait of Chairman Mao soon after the torch arrived Monday in a police convoy, Beijing Olympic chief Liu Qi declared that 'the bringing of the flame will spread the message of peace.'
Tiananmen, scene of the 1989 student uprising, was cordoned off, nearby subways were closed and state television's live broadcasts were delayed, giving controllers enough time to cut away in case of disruptions -- such as when protestors interrupted Mr. Liu's speech in Greece last week.
Thousands of performers including schoolchildren, retirees and dancers in colorful ethnic costumes cried 'Go, China!' and paraded before banners trumpeting messages such as 'Transcendence, Integration, Equality.'
Chinese leaders such as President Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, his possible successor, also made numerous references to the torch relay's theme, 'Journey of Harmony.'
But disharmony appears to be a certainty during the torch relay, which spans five continents and is billed as the longest in Olympic history. Falun Gong practitioners and Darfur activists say they intend to hijack the event to publicize their causes. Tibetans unhappy with Chinese rule want the relay route to skip Lhasa.
Those who are pro-China are now joining the fray as well. Over the past week, supporters both in and out of China have been posting blog entries supporting the Olympics and the country and deluging Western media in China with hate mail for perceived bias in their coverage of the Tibet crisis.
In an op-ed article in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle, Wang Lingchi, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, appealed to protestors to avoid turning the torch relay into a 'special-issues sideshow,' as interest in Olympic ideals 'will fade, and the international community will be the poorer for it.'
Tibetan activists in New Delhi and the Washington area were scheduled to hold demonstrations Monday protesting the Chinese government's recent crackdown in Tibet and other areas of China with large Tibetan populations in the wake of antigovernment riots in Lhasa on March 14. More than 400 people have been arrested as Chinese authorities struggle to contain the unrest.
So far, China's Olympic officials are adamant that the torch relay proceed as scheduled, including a challenging ascent up Mount Everest on the Tibet side.
Officials aren't saying exactly when the ascent will be, but the relay will involve splitting the flame in two, with one flame proceeding on a route that includes cities where there are expected to be heavy protests, such as London, San Francisco and Paris. The flame destined for Everest will be encased in a special lantern and carried up the mountain possibly in late April or early May. After that, the two flames are scheduled to be reunited in Tibet in an ambitious plan that is rapidly turning into a logistical and security challenge for organizers.
A media team is scheduled to tail the torch to the Everest base camp. The torch is then supposed to receive television coverage beamed from the mountaintop by state-owned China Central Television. A Beijing Olympic spokesman said two CCTV cameramen have been training in mountaineering for two years to cover the ascent, which to some signals China's symbolic rise in global prominence.
None of the dignitaries' speeches at Monday's torch-reception ceremony in Beijing reflected these controversies. Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the International Olympic Committee task force for Beijing, said 'from today, the torch will travel creating anticipation,' and wherever the flame goes it will 'ignite passion' for sport.
Separately, Chinese authorities announced they had arrested four suspects in arson and murder cases stemming from the antigovernment riots that engulfed the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. Jiang Zaiping, vice chief of the Public Security Bureau in Lhasa, said investigators arrested the suspects responsible for arson attacks on three shops -- including the clothing outlet where five young women were burned to death, the Tibet Daily newspaper reported Monday.
A total of 414 suspects have been arrested in connection with the antigovernment riots, Mr. Jiang was quoted as saying. An additional 298 people have turned themselves in, he said, according to the Associated Press.
中国多位领导人周一参加了在天安门广场举行的奥运会火炬欢迎仪式，现场戒备森严。而在为期130天的火炬接力活动中，这恐怕将是最安全和抗议者最少的一站。自从奥运圣火上周在希腊雅典点燃后，这项活动便成为抗议者的目标。
当奥运火种在护送下抵达北京后不久，北京奥组委主席刘淇在天安门城楼前宣布，“熊熊燃烧的奥运圣火将传递和平友谊的心声”。
在仪式举行期间，现场周围被隔离开来，附近的地铁站也暂时关闭，而国家电视台的现场直播也作了延迟处理，这样便可以腾出足够的时间来将干扰仪式的突发事件从画面上删除，正如上周在希腊有抗议者打断刘淇发言时的那种处理方式。
包括学生、退休老人和舞蹈演员在内的数千名表演者身着各色民族服装，高喊“加油，中国”的口号并进行了文艺演出，他们身后的标语上写着“超越、融合、共享”。
包括胡锦涛和习近平在内的中国领导人出席了仪式，并在讲话中多次提及火炬接力活动的主题──“和谐之旅”。
本届奥运的火炬将在全球五大洲传递，是奥运会历史上距离最长的火炬接力活动。而现在看来，活动过程中将难以避免地出现不和谐音符。例如法轮功习练者和达尔福尔活动人士都表示要半途杀入接力活动来宣传他们的主张。而藏独组织则要求取消火炬接力的拉萨站。
支持中国的人士也加入其中。自上周开始，就有国内外的支持者在博客上声援北京奥运会和中国。此外，一些西方媒体受到了抗议邮件的轮番轰炸，他们被批在对西藏骚乱事件的报导中出现了明显的偏向性。
广告加州大学(University of California)伯克利分校从事族裔研究的教授王灵智上周日在《旧金山纪事报》(San Francisco Chronicle)发表观点文章，呼吁抗议者不要将火炬接力活动变成“特殊问题的路边秀”。他称，奥运理念将因此“失去光彩，国际社会的利益将因此受损”。
在新德里和华盛顿的藏独活动人士周一组织了示威游行，以抗议中国政府最近在西藏及其他地区镇压反政府骚乱的行动。为了平息局势，中国政府已经逮捕了四百余人。
到目前为止，中国的奥运官员一直坚持表示，火炬接力活动将按计划进行，这其中包括奥运圣火登上珠穆朗玛峰。
中方未透露火种将于何时登上珠峰。不过火炬接力将分两路进行，一路将途径许多抗议活动的“高危”城市，例如伦敦、旧金山和巴黎。而另一路登珠峰的圣火火种将装入特制灯笼内，然后带到珠峰上，时间可能是在4月底或5月初。然后按计划两路火炬将在西藏合二为一，不过现在看来，这项雄心勃勃的计划无论在后勤上还是安全上都变得极具挑战性。
按计划，一组报导人员将跟随火炬到达珠峰登山大本营。中央电视台(CCTV)将对圣火登顶进行电视报导。对一些人来说，圣火登顶是中华民族崛起的一大象征。北京奥组委的一位发言人表示，为了报导这一盛况，两名央视摄影师已进行了两年的登山训练。
从周一奥运火炬欢迎仪式上贵宾们的讲话中，察觉不出上述争议的存在。国际奥委会北京奥运会协调委员会主席维尔布鲁根(Hein Verbruggen)在讲话中称，“从今天开始，火炬的传递将创造希望”，火种无论在哪里都将“点燃运动的激情”。
另一方面，中国政府宣布参与3.14拉萨反政府骚乱中纵火杀人案的4名嫌疑人已被逮捕。《西藏日报》周一引述拉萨市公安局副局长江再平的话报导说，3起商店纵火杀人案的主要嫌疑人已被逮捕，其中包括导致5名少女被烧死的一起服装店纵火案。
美联社报导引用江再平的话称，目前警方已逮捕了414名参与反政府骚乱的犯罪嫌疑人，另有298人自首。
