BEIJING (Reuters) -
Chinese Internet users have rushed to
send thousands of red national flags overseas to support the
troubled global torch relay ahead of the Beijing Olympics,
state media said on Wednesday.
Beijing's postal authority had been mailing the flags
express and free of charge to overseas Chinese in cities along
the route, including Canberra, where the torch relay is to be
held on Thursday, the China Daily reported.
Anti-Chinese protests, largely over Beijing's handling of
deadly riots in Tibet in March, have marred the relay in
London, Paris and San Francisco, with many exiled Tibetans
trying to snatch or extinguish the torch.
The chaotic scenes and perceived biased Western media
coverage of the Tibet riots and the torch disruptions have
sparked an outpouring of patriotic fervor among Chinese in and
outside China.
Counter-protests by overseas Chinese, many of whom are
students, have since taken place in Europe and the United
States. They have also rallied to support and guard the torch
at remaining legs of the international relay.
The flag-donating campaign was launched by major Chinese
websites, the China Daily said.
"We have received 13,000 national flags since last Friday,
when the appeal was made online," it quoted Jiang Ziniu, media
relations director for news portal Sohu, as saying. Some
overseas Chinese have also ordered flags from manufacturers in
the country directly, it said.
"Local flag-making factories are operating at full capacity
to meet the demand," the English-language newspaper said.
After Canberra, the torch goes to Nagano, Seoul, Pyongyang
and Ho Chi Minh city before entering Chinese territory on April
30. It will then travel across the vast country for three
months. The Beijing Games open on Aug 8.
(Reporting by Guo Shipeng; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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