04-24-08

法国前总理批评巴黎授予达赖喇嘛荣誉 (Former French PM Criticizes Paris Honor for Dalai Lama)

一位法国前总理就授予西藏流亡精神领袖达赖喇嘛荣誉市民批评巴黎市长。拉法兰星期四在北京对中国官方媒体说，巴黎市市长贝特朗-德拉诺埃的举动是一个政治错误。

他指的是巴黎市长批准巴黎市议会决定授予达赖喇嘛荣誉法国公民称号。他说，这一举动损害法国修补与中国紧张关系的努力。

A former French prime minister has criticized the mayor of Paris for honoring Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. In comments to Chinese state-media today (Thursday) in Beijing, Jean-Pierre Raffarin said Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's
action was a political mistake. 

He was referring to the mayor's approval of a Paris city council decision to grant the Dalai Lama honorary French citizenship -- a move he said had hurt France's efforts to mend strained ties with China.

中国的支持者和抗议者云集澳大利亚奥运火炬传递 (Chinese Supporters, Protesters Gather in Australia for Olympic Torch Relay)

澳大利亚的奥运火炬传递星期四在首都堪培拉成功地完成，没有发生重大事件。大约80名火炬手沿着16公里长的戒备森严的路线传递火炬。当局加强了安全部署，防止在伦敦和巴黎发生的混乱抗议活动重演。

数以千计挥舞中国国旗的支持者远远超过高举西藏旗帜或抗议北京人权记录标语牌的抗议者的人数。当局说，双方之间爆发了肢体冲突，至少7人被捕，其中包括一名从人群中跳进了火炬接力通道的男子。

The Australian leg of the Olympic torch relay was successfully completed today (Thursday) in the capital city of Canberra without major incident. About 80 runners carried the torch along the heavily guarded 16-kilometer route. Authorities increased security to prevent a repeat of chaotic demonstrations that marred the torch's relay in London and Paris. 

Thousands of supporters waving Chinese flags easily outnumbered protesters carrying Tibetan flags or placards criticizing Beijing's human rights record. Authorities say clashes broke out between the two groups, and at least five people were arrested, including one man who leaped from the crowd into the path of a torch carrier.