Beijing torch stop offers brief respite for China

By Nick Mulvenney

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will be hoping for a respite from Tibet-fuelled criticism and protests when the Beijing Olympic flame arrives in the Chinese capital on Monday.

The respite might be very brief, however, as the fallout from the recent deadly anti-Chinese riots in the Himalayan region look set to plague the international leg of the 130-day relay, which starts when the flame heads for Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

Lit at a protest-disrupted ceremony in Ancient Olympia last week, the flame will arrive from Greece by charter plane at about 9 a.m. (0100 GMT) before being officially welcomed at a ceremony on Tiananmen Square in central Beijing.

Security will be tight on the square, the focal point of democracy protests that were crushed in 1989, to ensure chief Beijing organizer Liu Qi is not embarrassed a second time.

His speech at last week's lighting ceremony was briefly disrupted by pro-Tibet protesters.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang last Thursday made very clear China's opposition to any protests surrounding the torch relay.

"We condemn these shameful acts which violate the spirit of the Olympics and the common aspirations of people worldwide," he told a regular news conference.

"We believe the torch relay, with the support of people worldwide, will be smoothly held."