China denounces Olympic torch protest

By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday denounced protests that dogged the Beijing Olympic torch relay through London, while state media announced impending trials of people accused of rioting in the Tibetan capital.

Protesters opposing a security drive in Tibet and demanding the mountain region's independence turned Sunday's London leg of the torch's journey into an obstacle course of angry disruptions -- not what China wanted for its "journey of harmony".

At least 35 people were arrested and the wedge of police guarding the Olympic torch at one point were forced to hustle it on to a double-decker bus when about 100 protesters tried to seize it.

Chinese state television focused on the larger crowds of well-wishers who lined the route and British sports celebrities holding the torch, showing nothing of the protests.

But an official quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency was bluntly angry.

"Today a tiny number of Tibet independence elements sought to disrupt the relay of the Olympic Games sacred flame through London," said an unnamed spokesperson of the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay office.

"We strongly condemn this vile behavior."

Tibet's capital, Lhasa, was hit last month by Buddhist monks' protests against Chinese rule that gave way to deadly rioting on March 14, and since then security forces have poured in to reimpose control there and in other restive Tibetan areas.