By ROHAN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 18 minutes ago
AP - Aug 14, 7:24 am EDT
1 of 5 Olympics Gallery BEIJING (AP)—The United States said Sunday it was disappointed the Olympics had not brought more “openness and tolerance†in China and pressed for the immediate release of eight American protesters as the games ended.
The New York-based group Students for a Free Tibet said the eight Americans were deported during the Olympics closing ceremony Sunday but there was no immediate confirmation from U.S. or Chinese officials.
The blunt U.S. criticism—and China’s harsher treatment of foreign activists—came at the end of 17 days of Olympic competition that generally went smoothly for Chinese organizers who had been nervous about security and protests.
No rallies were held throughout the entire Olympics in three parks designated as protest zones after Chinese officials declined to issue permits to 77 applicants, and detained some of them. But mostly foreign activists staged a series of small illegal demonstrations near Olympic venues and at Beijing landmarks.
The foreigners, for the most part, unveiled “Free Tibet†banners before being seized by security officials, hustled into cars and taken away to be put on flights out of China.
A handful journalists trying to cover the protests were roughed up by authorities then released. There were also tensions with the media over China restricting access to the Internet.
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