Free Republic

Stepping into the van guarded by armed soldiers with five surgeons and nurses, Zheng Zhi didn’t know he was entering into a world that would haunt him for the next quarter of a century. Dr. Zheng, then a resident doctor at one of China’s largest military hospitals, knew little more than they were on a “secret military mission” near a military prison located around the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian. A light blue fabric covered the four sides of the vehicle, shielding it from any curious glances. When the door opened, four burly soldiers carried in a man whose limbs...

BEIJING - 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. 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....

DENVER - Athletes who bust out their “Free Tibet” T-shirts or raise their fists in a show of solidarity on the medal stand will be breaking the rules at the Beijing Olympics. What Olympic leaders will do to those who flout those rules, however, is still anybody’s guess. With the Beijing Games less than 100 days away, the IOC clarified its protest rules Monday, saying that athletes’ external appearance, clothing and gestures would be scrutinized at the Olympic venues.