A Little Fig Leaf Of Freedom

Beijing protesters must give 5 days' notice

"BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese and foreign citizens wishing to protest during the Beijing Olympics must apply five days beforehand and not harm China's vaguely defined "national interests," a Games security official said.

Accused by critics of stifling dissent ahead of the Games, China recently said three parks in Beijing may be used for officially-approved demonstrations.

Applicants must personally hand authorities a written application five days before any planned protest. Foreigners must submit a written Chinese application at the Beijing Public Security Bureau's border entry and exit administration, Liu said.
And he reminded potential applicants of the country's broad ban on gatherings that authorities call "harmful." (...)

Chinese police rarely, if ever, give official approval to even small protests. And the country's law on protests contains a sweeping ban on any that authorities say would threaten national unity or stir ethnic discord -- making it especially unlikely that Tibet protesters have any chance of approval.
But the Chinese government apparently hopes that designating the parks as protest zones will blunt claims that critics have no venue during the Games."