現地では当日チベット人支援者や警察官が中国人から暴行を受けていたとの証言が多数あったが、逮捕された中国人は1人も居ない。中国人による暴行が事実上黙認されたことについては「リレー参加者の無傷でのゴールを目標にしたため小競り合いを防げなかったことは否めないが、警察官への暴行については公傷を申請した警察官は1人も居ない」と長野県警察幹部が語っている[159]。
主要な報道機関は現地に居合わせたもののその混乱状況・デモ隊の行動を正確に報道したのか疑念を呈されている。現地でチベット側のデモに参加した日本人は現地の混乱状況の記録写真・映像を残しており、報道機関を介さない現場の記録として後にYouTube、ニコニコ動画等にアップロードされ、物議を呼んだ。[要出典]
2008年5月23日衆議院外務委員会にて民主党の松原仁議員が警察庁の池田克彦警備局長に「警備体制には不備があったのではないか」と質問し問題点を指摘した[165]。
韓国A young man at the relay in Seoul wearing a Daegu University shirt with the phrase "Tibet belongs to China" written on it.
大韓民国: The event was held in Seoul, which hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics, on April 27.
Intended torchbearers Choi Seung-kook and Park Won-sun boycotted the event to protest against the Chinese government's crackdown in Tibet.[166] More than 8,000 riot police were deployed to guard the 15-mile route, which began at Olympic Park, which was built when Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Games.[120] On the day of the torch relay in Seoul, Chinese students clashed with protesters, throwing rocks, bottles, and punches. A North Korean defector whose brother defected to China but was captured and executed by the DPRK, attempted to set himself on fire in protest of China's treatment of North Korean refugees. He poured gasoline on himself but police quickly surrounded him and carried him away. Two other demonstrators tried to storm the torch but failed. Fighting broke out near the beginning of the relay between a group of 500 Chinese supporters and approximately 50 protesters who carried a banner that read: "Free North Korean refugees in China." The students threw stones and water bottles as approximately 2,500 police tried to keep the groups separated. Police said they arrested five people, including a Chinese student who was arrested for allegedly throwing rocks. Thousands of Chinese followed the torch on its 4.5 hour journey, some chanting, "Go China, go Olympics!"[167] By the end of the relay, Chinese students became violent, and it was reported in Korean media that they were "lynching" everyone who was disagreeing with them. One police man was also rushed to hospital after being attacked by Chinese students.[168][169] On Apr 29, the Secretary of Justice, Kim Kyung Han, told the prime minister that he will find "every single Chinese who was involved and bring them to justice."[170] Later in the day, South Korea's Prosecutor's Office, National Police Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Intelligence Service made a joint statement saying that they will be deporting every Chinese student that was involved in the incident.[171]
The event was held in Pyongyang on April 28. It was the first time that the Olympic torch has traveled to North Korea. A crowd of thousands waving pink paper flowers and small flags with the Beijing Olympics logo were organized by the authoritarian regime [172] watched the beginning of the relay in Pyongyang, some waving Chinese flags. The event was presided over by the head of the country's parliament, Kim Yong Nam. The North, an ally of China, has been critical of disruptions to the torch relay elsewhere and has supported Beijing in its actions against protests in Tibet. Kim passed the torch to the first runner Pak Du Ik, who played on North Korea's 1966 World Cup soccer team, as he began the 12-mile route through Pyongyang. The relay began from the large sculpted flame of the obelisk of the Juche Tower, which commemorates the national ideology of "self-reliance" created by the country's late founding President Kim Il Sung, father of current leader Kim Jong Il, who did not attend.
The United Nations Organization and its children's agency UNICEF withdrew their staff from, saying that it wasn't sure the event would help its mission of raising awareness of conditions for children.[173] and amid concerns that the relay will be used as a propaganda stunt. “It was unconscionable,” said a UN official who was briefed on the arguments. North Korea is frequently listed among the world’s worst offenders against human rights.
The event was held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 29. Some 60 torchbearers carried the torch from the downtown Opera House to the Military Zone 7 Competition Hall stadium near Tan Son Nhat International Airport along an undisclosed route. Vietnam is involved in a territorial dispute with China (and other countries) for sovereignty of the Spratly and Paracel Islands; tensions have risen recently following reports that the Chinese Government had established a county-level city named Sansha in the disputed territories[174], resulting in anti-Chinese demonstrations in December 2007 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. However to sustain its relationship with China the Vietnamese government has actively sought to head off protests during the torch relay, with Prime Minister Nguy?n T?n D?ng warning government agencies that "hostile forces" may try to disrupt the torch relay.[175]
Prior to the rally seven anti-China protestors were arrested in Hanoi after unfurling a banner and shouting "Boycott the Beijing Olympics" through a loudhailer at a market[176]. A Vietnamese American was deported for planning protests against the torch[177], while a prominent blogger ?i?u Cay (real name Nguy?n V?n H?i) who blogged about protests around the world and who called for demonstrations in Vietnam was arrested on charges of tax evasion.[178] Outside Vietnam, there were protests by overseas Vietnamese in Paris, San Francisco and Canberra. Le Minh Phi?u, a torchbearer who is a Vietnamese law student studying in France wrote a letter to the president of the International Olympic Committee protesting China's "politicisation of the Olympics", citing maps of the torch relay at the official Beijing Olympic website depicting the disputed islands as Chinese territory and posted it on his blog.[179] One day before the relay was to start, the official website appeared to have been updated to remove the disputed islands and dotted lines marking China's maritime claims in the South China Sea.[180]
