Olympic Flame's Everest Ascent is Grand but so Far a Secret
Posted on: Wednesday, 30 April 2008, 15:00 CDT
By Charles Hutzler, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING - Chinese mountaineers are making final preparations to take the Olympic flame up Mount Everest in a grand but contentious feat that is being accorded an unusual mixture of fanfare and secrecy.
As China marks 100 days before the start of the Summer Olympics, state-run television has begun the first of what are billed as elaborate and technically difficult live broadcasts from an Everest base camp for the journey up the world's tallest peak.
Chinese Central Television says mountaineers are completing the setup of a staging point at 8,350 metres for the final assault on the 8,849-metre summit.
The is no word on the flame's whereabouts or those of the 31-member team that would go to the summit. Nor is there any news on which members would ascend to the peak or when.
Some media reports speculated the climb might start today as the countdown clock in Beijing marked 100 days to the Aug. 8-24 games - or Thursday - the May Day holiday.
But the Xinhua news agency quotes the expedition's weather expert on the mountain as saying a brewing storm makes a climb in the next three days unlikely.
To commemorate the 100-day mark, Beijing held a mini-marathon outside the nearly completed National Stadium in Beijing, known as the Bird's Nest, and a song gala, where actor Jackie Chan joined other celebrities to sing "Beijing Welcomes You," which was written for the event.
Senior Communist party leader Jia Qinglin urged all Chinese "to pool our patriotic passion to accumulate a mighty force that could overcome all difficulties to in a bid to hold a successful Olympics."
The Everest flame is specially designed to burn in frigid, windy, oxygen-thin Himalayan air.
It is a sister flame to the one that made its way around the world and reached Hong Kong on Wednesday, returning to Chinese territory after a contentious month abroad.
While it may face some protests when it is run through Hong Kong and neighbouring Macau on Friday and Saturday, the torch then moves to less-contested territory for a three-month journey across China.
In a sign of the Hong Kong government's determination for a smooth relay, border control officials have turned away at least seven people, among them two Canadian activists.
Mia Farrow was expected to arrive in Hong Kong on Thursday to raise awareness about fighting in Sudan's Darfur region.
Some are wondering whether the government will try to bar the 63-year-old actress, who is headlining the call for China to press Sudan to let UN peacekeepers into ravaged African region.
Source: Canadian Press
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