E-Paper
Chronology: Olympic torch's global route
The Olympic torch relay has endured the most tortuous journey of its history, dogged by anti-China protests that in turn prompted patriotic rallies by overseas Chinese.
The Olympic flame started its journey through Hong Kong on Friday, the first leg of its China tour after its controversial 20-nation world tour.
The torch relay has endured the most tortuous journey of its history, dogged by anti-China protests that in turn prompted patriotic rallies by overseas Chinese.
Here is a recap of its international voyage.
* March 24, 2008: Human rights protesters breach security to try to disrupt the torch-lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, home of the ancient Olympics.
* March 30: Small group of Tibet activists try to stop flame entering Athens stadium for handover to Chinese officials.
* April 6: Thousands of protesters wave Tibetan flags and shout anti-China slogans as the relay passes through London.
One man gets his hands on the torch before being wrestled to the ground. The torch is hurried on to a bus when about 100 protesters rush towards it.
* April 7: Paris officials extinguish the flame at least twice and carry the torch by bus when protesters try to seize it.
* April 9: San Francisco changes torch route at the last minute, wrong-footing thousands of protesters and counter-protesters lining the original planned route.
* April 17: Thousands of exiled Tibetans take part in a parallel relay, as the torch is paraded in New Delhi. Some 15,000 Indian police and guards keep watch.
* April 19: In Bangkok, about 200 China supporters taunt scores of pro-Tibet demonstrators along the route.
* April 24: More than 10,000 Chinese Australians stage the biggest pro-Beijing rally of the relay in Canberra. Chinese six-deep line the 16-km (10-mile) route.
* April 26: Chinese students scuffle with pro-Tibet protesters and Japanese nationalists during the relay through Nagano.
* April 27: Thousands of Chinese outnumber South Koreans along the flame's route in Seoul. At one point, Chinese students kick an elderly South Korean protester and hurl rocks at a group holding banners chastising Beijing.
* April 28: Tens of thousands of North Koreans greet the torch in textbook rallies in Pyongyang, the relay's first trouble-free leg.
* April 29: Chinese and Vietnamese hail the torch's peaceful night-time journey through Ho Chi Minh City.
