China Is Pitching A Protester Shutout

The score so far: China, 77; protesters, zero.

Ten days into these Games, Chinese authorities have disclosed how many applications they have received to hold demonstrations in special protest zones, but they noted that none have been approved and most requests have been withdrawn.

Officials have gotten 77 applications from 149 people, including three from overseas, since Aug. 1, according to a spokesman from the municipal public-security bureau quoted in the state-run Xinhua news agency. He said that 74 had been withdrawn because their problems 'were properly addressed by relevant authorities or departments through consultations.'

Two were suspended because their applications were incomplete or they wanted to include children, which is illegal under China's laws. The final one was denied because it violated an undisclosed Chinese law.

International human-rights groups, pro-Tibet activists and groups seeking to pressure China on its involvement in Darfur had hoped to use the Olympics as a vehicle to get their messages across. But little of that rhetoric has made it to Beijing, thanks to a government crackdown on dissent through a campaign of harassment and the denying of visas, human-rights groups and Chinese petitioners say.

Some groups said they decided not to apply, figuring the government would deny the request. Activists for a free Tibet staged protests near the Olympic grounds for a few minutes before police stopped them. Religious activists held a few quickly suppressed protests.

'The move to set aside protest areas is in line with Beijing's promises to the International Olympic Committee to adhere to the Olympic traditions, such as free expression outside the sporting venues,' said Mo Yuchuan, director of the Research Center for Constitutional and Administrative Law of the Beijing-based Renmin University of China, according to Xinhua. 'The measure is also expected to help reduce the risk that unexpected demonstrations of large scale would harm the public interests,' he added, according to the report.