Chinese Newspaper Fires Early Warning at Olympic Protesters

Any attempt to use the Beijing Olympics to discredit China or force it to change policy is doomed to failure, the leading Communist party newspaper insisted in a commentary piece yesterday.

The public relations counterattack comes in a rough week for the Olympic organizers, who have had to admit previously concealed fatalities on their construction sites and counter reports that the Dalai Lama backs Olympic-related protests.

Activists from Hollywood to Taipei are trying to link the games to Darfur, Taiwan, religious liberties and freedom of expression. The commentary in the People's Daily - the mouthpiece of the party - says China faces "accusations from all over the world, including misunderstandings, sarcasm and very harsh criticism".

Such anti-Chinese attacks, it says, are miscalculated. "The noise they made might bring some troubles to the organization and planning of the Beijing Olympics, but they will not discredit China."

The commentary criticizes "stars who write protest letters" - an apparent reference to Mia Farrow, whose call for a boycott of the Olympics unless China does more to halt the slaughter in Sudan is thought to have influenced Beijing to take a more active role in Darfur.

The article also condemns "those who dream of using the Olympics to support Taiwan independence". The president of the island, Chen Shui-bian, is planning a referendum on whether to join the United Nations. China sees this as a provocative move towards independence, but many in Taiwan assume Beijing will be reluctant to start hostilities ahead of the Olympics.

The People's Daily article says this is a misunderstanding of national priorities. "No country in the world will compromise its core interests to host the Olympics," it said, accusing critics of hurting the feelings of 1.3 billion Chinese people.