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Olympic Flame Reaches Mount Everest

By ANITA CHANG,
AP
Posted: 2008-05-08 07:35:14
Filed Under: World News
BEIJING (May 8) - A Chinese mountaineering team took the Olympic flame to the top of the world Thursday, a spectacular feat dreamed up to underscore China's ambitions for the Beijing games.

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Ngawang Chagxi, Xinhua / AP

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Chinese climbers light the Olympic torch Thursday at the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. The feat was meant to be the highlight of the of the around-the-world torch relay and fell exactly three months before the Summer Games were to begin in Beijing.

The climbers could be heard struggling for breath in a live television broadcast as five torchbearers each shuffled a few feet before passing on the flame to the next person. A colorful Tibetan prayer flag lined the path and fluttered in the wind.

The final torchbearer, a Tibetan woman named Cering Wangmo, stood silently on the peak with her torch while other team members unfurled small Chinese and Olympic flags. They then clustered together, cheering "We made it," and "Beijing welcomes you."

"One World, One Dream," team captain Nyima Cering yelled as his torch was lit, repeating the slogan for the Beijing Olympics. "We have lit the torch on top of the world," another climber said.

The 19-member team, dressed in red parkas emblazoned with Olympic logos, broke camp at 27,390 feet before dawn and reached the summit of the 29,035-foot mountain a little more than six hours later.

The stop at the top of Everest was meant to be the highlight of the Beijing Olympics torch relay. China has billed the Beijing Olympics as a glorious showcase of its rapid development from impoverished agrarian nation to industrial powerhouse.

But the Everest relay has been criticized from the outset because of China's often harsh rule over Tibet - where the mountain is located - and it drew even more intense scrutiny after Tibetans across western China erupted in anti-government protests in March.

Organizers hoped the dramatic image of the torch atop Everest would counter some of the damaging publicity from protests that marred the international leg of the torch relay.

Tibetan activists accuse Beijing of using the climb to reassert its control over Tibet. China says it has ruled Tibet for centuries, although many Tibetans say their homeland was essentially an independent state for most of that time.

Politics aside, taking the torch to Everest's peak and broadcasting it live was a technological feat. China's state broadcaster CCTV spent heavily to build a television studio at base camp and to construct transmission points at four camps on the mountain face.

The team used torches designed by rocket scientists to take the flame along the final icy incline leading to the peak of Mount Everest.

Fueled by propane, the flame burned brightly in the frigid, windy, oxygen-thin Himalayan air thanks to technology that keeps rocket motors burning in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The flame was carried most of the way in a special metal canister. As the team neared the summit, they used a wand to pass the flame to the torch.

The Everest flame is separate from the main Olympic torch, which on Thursday was on the opposite side of China, in the southeastern province of Guangdong, the heart of Chinese manufacturing. The main torch was not taken up Everest because a delay due to bad weather would have thrown the schedule off for the whole relay.

The main flame will cross every region and province of China, returning to Beijing on Aug. 6, two days ahead of the opening ceremony.

The 19-member final assault team was comprised of both ethnic Han Chinese and Tibetan members, underscoring another government theme - ethnic unity. The team captain and the final torchbearer were both Tibetans.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-05-08 07:01:04
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205 comments

fireaxe5150 04:59:06 AM May 12 2008

Hey Americans! Like china? then you must also love communism,supreme rule and murder and torture. and by the way,you must also like Wal Mart for its cheap chinese made goods.remember when Wal Mart bragged that it sold only merchandise made in the USA? Not anymore.go ahead and buy the sweatshop shoes and who knows what else. China IS COMMUNIST. aND THEY ARE NOT VERY NICE PEOPLE. Hoo ra for Mt. Everest, its just a show from a country that takes lives and freedom and earth very lightly. BOO ON YOU CHINA.

wingfung8 03:26:15 AM May 11 2008

And finally, last not least... let's give our big hands to all the great and sacrifice Mothers, they deserved our respect and love big time, including those poor polygamy sect mothers in TX., hope they can re-united with their beloved children very soon....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all and good night / good morning !!

wingfung8 01:41:08 AM May 11 2008

And the TX sect's mothers and children's forced separation, you may say all these people had been violated the law or one way and other. Well, that exactly why those who broke the Chinese and deserved it. Let me tell you, the only two nations I knew so far, the regular cops on beat without carry arms are Mainland China and England. And these two countries's cop are generally light manner and friendly. I spent about 15 years lived in England, and I was very pleased with their polite attitude. Although I never live in mainland, and I didn't step into my mother land until some 20 years ago first time, yet I felt like home immediately, for people are friendly and very humble. As long as you can removed that evil veil and accepted the world needs harmony and peace, then you'll understand what I'm peaching.

wingfung8 01:22:09 AM May 11 2008

Now, let's also lightly touch about human right in U.S. I know America came a long way still trying to work out about racial fairness. But if the Black people not fight back hard and sometime used little violence, who know they might still being slave to the rich white. Just think about Rodney King case, and the recent happenings, thirteen cops repeatedly kicking and hitting three guys on the floor, and even more brutal, the recent clear verdict of cops showered 50 and 30 round of shots to three blackmen. I can tell you, a white gal has told me, when she was stopped by a cop in L.A., the cops ordered her to hit the ground, and the cop had had landed his knee on her face against the ground and twisted her arms to handcuff her. And don't forget she's a girl !!

wingfung8 01:00:15 AM May 11 2008

Since to-morrow it's Sunday, I will clarify one more thing about human rights.
We all should know, when in Rome do the Roman do. That's why we can't compare everything to other countries. Those native Chinese who broke their own country's law by purposes, just think about they're born and raised under that same law, they already knew the consequence. And usually is about politic, and most of the time, the court just wanted them to admitted the guilt and agreed not to offend again will get light punishment. Yet these kind dumb ass have subtle purposes, they rather stay in jail and hoping outsiders can help to make a big deal out of it.

wingfung8 12:39:21 AM May 11 2008

Talk about worry and you sincerely cared about the athletes's health. Surely, anyone going to a different place, can get sick more easily. I'm also a health professional, in general Chinese life expectance are longer than American.
Just think about the junk foods we indulged every day, and the soda our kids drink. And over weight can shorten ones life, can caused diabetes, high blood pressure, can contributed to joint and bones problem, and heart, kidney and liver will also weaken, and even more easier to develope cancer etc...
So for the athletes to catch virus or diseases will be most unlikely. But should Americans continue to live this way, then it's much riskier than in China.

wingfung8 11:51:50 PM May 10 2008

Now let's back up a little, I've been lived in a few, but all big cities in this land. And they all have traffic congestion problem, just imagine when you got stuck during rush hour in summer every day commute to work. Do you think that's healthy?
Worse yet in L.A. summer usually no rain, when you drive along the freeway, I beg you can't open your window, for the smog and air sometime can made your eyes hurt so bad and you can't see and you can't breathe. You can say I'm lying, yet take it or leave it all up to you. Or ask someone who live there long enough to find out.

wingfung8 11:35:21 PM May 10 2008

I guess you'll never be able to teach a dull head, cause he think he know all by just sitting at home or barely just spent a few days in that country. Let me give you fools some comparison between these two countries based on your criticism.
(1) Air pollution, Beijing isn't a heavy industry city, the air problem during fall season is due to the sandy dust from a distance away desert, yet it only occurred when has strong wind heading to south direction. (2) Germ and bugs, only existed in short period of time during hot summer. and inside city normally no problem these days. Have you been to Minnesota and those lake State in summer time? I beg you'd want to run, if you never live there.

wwchak 09:34:07 PM May 10 2008

I cannot wait till August to see the most spectacular Olympic game in China, it will be fantastic. It is a best choice to rewaard the game in China. Terrific. Bravo, Hurray.

nanvancamp 07:00:35 PM May 10 2008

FRANKLY, MY DEAR, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN....SINCE THE COMMITTEE AWARDED CHINA WITH THE HONOR OF HOSTING THE OLYMPICS I HAVE LOST ALL INTEREST. JUST BEING THERE IN THEIR POLLUTED ATMOSPHERE WILL DO HARM TO OUR ATHLETES........NEVER MIND THE FILTH AND GERMS AND BUGS THEY WILL BE LIVING WITH.....................

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