Bush rebukes China, torch feted in Tiananmen

By Simon Denyer and Andrew Cawthorne

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush issued one of his strongest rebukes to China on human rights on Wednesday, two days before Beijing hosts an Olympics it hopes will showcase its modern face and economic might.

Euphoric crowds chanted "Go Olympics, Go Beijing" as the Olympic flame was carried through Tiananmen Square on the last leg of its troubled relay before Friday's opening ceremony.

At that ceremony, beamed to an estimated one billion television viewers around the world, a Sudanese-born athlete who fled government-sponsored militia will carry the U.S. flag, in what could be seen as an embarrassment to Sudan and ally China.

Bush says he is attending the ceremony for sport and not for politics, but he plans to pause en route to express "deep concerns" over religious freedom and human rights in China.

"America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists," he will say in a speech in Bangkok on Thursday, excerpts of which were released in advance.

A handful of foreign protesters took their chance to grab the spotlight before attention shifts to the sporting contests.

Police rushed to detain two Britons and two Americans who unfurled "Free Tibet" banners from poles near the main "Bird's Nest" stadium, and stopped other public protests during the day.

The mood in Beijing, though, was one of mounting excitement, with most of the 10,500 athletes from 205 countries now in town.

The first competition, women's soccer, began with three matches. The United States, gold medalists four years ago, slumped to a 2-0 defeat by Norway.

Men's soccer, which has drawn Brazil's Ronaldinho, starts on Thursday. Argentina's Lionel Messi could be on his way home after his Spanish club Barcelona won the right not to release him.

At the weekend, the eagerly awaited swimming competition begins in the new "Water Cube" pool, another shimmering landmark for the Olympics. American Michael Phelps is seeking to smash compatriot Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds in one Games.

Phelps tried to puncture some of the hype. "You guys are the ones talking about it ... I'm not," he told reporters.

FLAGS AND POM-POMS

In Tiananmen Square, Beijing's symbolic heart best-known abroad for the crushing of 1989 protests, one of China's most famous sportsmen, 7ft 6in basketball player Yao Ming, said he was overwhelmed as he held the flame above a sea of beaming faces.

"After lighting it, my mind went blank, and then I just wanted to hurry up running ahead," Yao told state media.