25 February 2008
2008 Tibetan Olympic Torch in Taipei
(AFP; Taipei Times) The 2008 Tibetan Olympic Torch relay reached Taiwan on 24 February 2008 as a prelude to the alternative Tibetan Olympics organised by exile Tibetan producer Lobsang Wangyal. The event was attended by Tsering Chungtak, Miss Tibet 2006. Tsering Chungtak deplored the human-rights situation in Tibet, but stated that she believes Beijing should still host the upcoming Olympic Games. "I think Beijing should get the opportunity to host the Olympics because the games celebrate the spirit of sports. Moreover, it gives Beijing a chance to prove its claims about the human rights conditions in Tibet and China", she said, adding the international event will also give the world the opportunity to judge the truthfulness of Beijing's claims. Tenzin Chungtak was expelled from the 2007 Miss Tourism competition in Malaysia in December 2007 after she refused to wear a sash reading "Miss Tibet-China". The 2008 Tibetan Olympic Torch relay started in Delhi on 30 January 2008 and reached Sydney on 17 February. The next leg will be Dharamsala, India, on 10 March, after which the torch will move on to Tokyo, Hawaii, San Francisco, New York City, Sucre (Bolivia), London, Cape Town and Jerusalem. The relay will end in Dharamsala on 25 May 2008.