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 20 August 2008 20:54 BST

Olympic torch begins Chinese mainland leg

Sunday, 04 May 2008 12:54
Olympic torch starts journey across Chinese mainland after touring 19 cities on five continents

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The Olympic torch has officially begun its journey across the Chinese mainland.

Sanya City's Olympic Square was the starting point for the flame, which has already toured 19 cities on five continents.

At 19:00 local time (12:00 BST) the ceremony began with speeches from Jiang Zelin, secretary of the CPC Sanya municipal committee and Luo Baoming, governor of Hainan province.

According to the official torch relay website, a total of 208 celebrities and personalities including Jackie Chan will take the flame through a 30.09km route, before it reaches Wuzhishan City tomorrow. The entire Chinese leg has been named the Journey of Harmony.

But international unrest between China and other countries continues to overshadow the flame's progress, after it emerged yesterday that the Dalai Lama had sent envoys to the country in an effort to reopen talks.

The Associated Press news agency reported that Tibetan representatives are expected to arrive in the city of Shenzhen and convey the spiritual leader's concern over continued attacks by the country.

Although there was no official comment from China about the talks, the Tibet Daily newspaper revealed details of another comment directed at the Dalai Lama.

"The Dalai clique's hopes of achieving Tibetan independence are increasingly dim and at this time when their hopes have been destroyed, the Dalai clique launched a bloody violent event - their last bout of madness," the editorial from the state-run newspaper said.End of story


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