Born On A Cusp

China acts to counter the negative publicity from protests that marred the Olympic torch’s stops at various cities, and sends a team to take the flame to the summit of Mt Everest.

News sites show screen grabs from official Chinese television showing the team of mountaineers reaching the peak this morning, 9.20 local time. They held up banners and the Olympic logo, cheering, “Beijing welcomes you!” and “One world, one dream”, the official slogan of the Beijing Olympics.

The torch’s international relay was met with highly publicised protest actions in several cities — Paris, San Francisco, and London — by activists critical of China’s human rights record.