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Chinese climbers display an Olympic torch, an Olympic flame
lantern, a flag of International Olympic Committee, a Chinese
National flag and a flag of the 29th Olympic Games at the top
of the 8844.43-meter summit of Mt. Everest in southwest
China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 8, 2008.
The last of the five torchbearers, Cering Wangmo, hoisted the sacred flame
at the world's highest summit.
The relay on Mt. Everest started with female climber Gyigyias the first
bearer and Wang Yongfeng as the second. A dozen of climbers celebrated at
the 8,844-meter summit, holding the Chinese national flag, the Beijing
Olympic flag and the five-ring Olympic flag.
Norbu Zhamdu (L) lights the Olympic torch of the first
torchbearer Gegyi with a kindling at the top of the
8844.43-meter summit of Mt. Everest in southwest
China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 8, 2008.
Nineteen Chinese mountaineers left the top of Mount Everest at about 10 a.m.
Beijing Time Thursday after relaying the Olympic torch on the world's
highest peak. Five mountaineers relayed the torch over the last 100 meters
leading to the top for about six minutes, before the last bearer and female
mountaineer Tsering Wangmo stood on the peak with the flame. The
mountaineers stayed at the top for about one hour. A 30-meter relay on the
world's highest peak has started with female climber Gyigyi as the first
bearer and Wang Yongfeng as the second. The last torch bearer, a young
Tibetan girl from Tibet Mountaineering School, had climbed Everest once in
2006.
You can see video and more at cctv, watching the Summit live was cool ....
On to others climbers now :)
Unofficial news: The Chinese has started their summit attempt!
Official news: A total of 19 mountaineers have been selected to bring the
Olympic flame to the summit of Mount Everest (known in the West as Mount
Everest), the mountaineering headquarters announced at a press conference
tonight. They will likely reach the peak between 10:00-11:00 a.m. (0200-0300
GMT) on May 8.
Attack Team
Attack Team Leader: Nimaciren
Attack Team Secondary Group Leader: Luo Shen
Attack Team members: Da Qiong, Jiji, Cirenwangmu, Li Fuqing, Huang Chungui,
Yuan Fudong, Luobuzhandui, Awangzhaxi, Xiaozhaxiciren and Pubudunzhu
Support Team
Support Team Leader: Ciluo
Support Team members: Wang Yongfeng, Cidanjiumei, Bianbazhaxi, Luoze, Yan
Dongdong, Deqingouzhu.
Earlier: Published reports from a climber that the Chinese summited a couple
of day ago and had trouble with the torch has some Chinese mad as heck our
sources tell EverestNews.com. Note EverestNews.com did NOT carry those
reports and have seen NO evidence that the Chinese summited Everest this
season yet. Our sources tell us that climbers were fixing rope high but that
the summit was not reached and that the summit was not the goal. Our sources
tell us that action might be taken against those climbers or against "many"
of the climbers on the South side (Nepal) because of these reports, the
sources state are false. The effects could vary from bans of climbers to a
"few more days of waiting at base camp" before they are allowed to go up.
Climbers have been warned against reporting this year. Things might get
ugly.
In official news the Chinese report that the climbers have been selected and
that all preparations have been completed. There are 50 climbers on the
team. Han Chinese, ethnic Tibetans, and other ethnic groups such as ethnic
Hui, Tu and Tujia are including in the team. We expect the weather to turn
worse for 2-3 days, while summits are possible conditions are far from
ideal.
Earlier: Chinese climbers (and Tibetan climbers of course) are on the move
up Mt Everest. They have 16 torches with them! The Hong Kong reporter who
got altitude sickness and then got in a traffic accident has quite a story
to tell. The ambulance crashed and overturned in a stream. Four people were
on the stretchers in the ambulance (unclear who the others were).
Did we mention Chinese fighter jets were flying above the Summit today....
The North side of Everest is still the wild wild west....
Earlier: The Chinese have left Chinese Base camp with the torch! Note this
is base camp, NOT advanced base camp.... Stay Tuned, the SHOW IS ON !!
Earlier: The Chinese / Tibetan climbers are finding high winds on the North
Side of Everest. If they are watching and listening: Our ACE forecaster tell
us May 3rd and May 6th are the best possible days to summit! The snow level
is light on the North side. Two reporters from Hong Kong got high altitude
sickness and were forced to retreat to the Tingri hospital. One of the two
had a traffic accident during the night retreat. he is slightly hurt but ,
ok....
Ropes are fixed to 8300 Meters. The Chinese in their tradition are expected
to attack the summits in waves of climbers... Stay Tuned!
Earlier: The Chinese / Tibetan climbers have reached 8300 meters! It is
unclear if this is the first summit attempt or not. The Chinese is known for
waves of attempts. Our ACE forecaster tell us May 3rd and May 6th are the
best possible days to summit. Reporters are now in Chinese base camp... Stay
Tuned....
Earlier: The Chinese summit attempt is not expected to start from 8300
meters on April 28th. How much the Chinese are delayed appears to be a state
secret. But summits are now not expected until May ..... As the Summit day
moves back the pressure on South Side commercial guides will grow
exponentially.
11 foreign journalists including Dolf Reist and the BBC have left to join 19
Chinese journalists headed to Everest Base camp.
Earlier: Climbers on the Tibetan side of Everest at 7500 meters. High winds.
Ropes only to 7500 meters. A long way to go....
Earlier: March 15 Started to establish BC
March 31, mobile phone service in the region was on.
April 3, climbers, about 50 in total, started to move to ABC
Route to North Col had been cleared up, rope fixed. Hundreds of porters are
now moving to higher altitude.....
The torch fire will be carried to and lighted up on the Top. 3 summit pushes
was planned. The first bid might be from 8300M on April 28, depending on the
weather condition
Earlier: The Chinese are widening and improving the road to Everest Base
Camp for Spring 2008. Yes it will include asphalt paving on at least part of
the road. While Environmentalists have expressed concern, commercial Everest
operators and Everest climbers have not that we have heard of....
The plans will allow many "tourists" to visit Everest base camp and the
possibly see the torch-bearers of the Olympic Games. The road frankly will
make things safer, hotels are very unlikely...
It does appear the government still has to approve final plans, which appear
to be moving ahead...
05-05-2008 08:19
Chinese central government officials have met with two private
representatives of the Dalai Lama in southern China's Shenzhen city.
During Sunday's meeting, government officials said the Dalai Lama's side
should take credible steps to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop
plotting and inciting violence and stop attempting to disrupt and sabotage
the Beijing Olympic Games.
The Dalai Lama's two representatives expressed their views on relevant
matters. They say they will report what was discussed to the Dalai Lama. The
two sides agreed to hold another round of contact at an appropriate time.
Source: CCTV.com
President Hu
voices hope as Tibet talks begin 4/5/2008: Chinese President
Hu Jintao voiced hope over progress in talks that began Sunday between the
Dalai Lama's envoys and China, following deadly unrest in Tibet that has
marred the nation's Olympic build-up.
The closed-door talks, held in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, are
the first in over a year and come after international leaders pressured
China to reopen dialogue in the wake of the violence.
"I hope some positive results will be achieved in the meeting," Japan's Jiji
press quoted Hu as saying in a briefing to Japanese reporters in Beijing
ahead of his visit to Tokyo this week.
However Hu also cautioned that China, which belatedly offered on April 25 to
hold the talks following appeals by US President George W. Bush and other
leaders, would not take the words of the Dalai Lama's envoys at face value.
"We need to look out for not only what they would say but also what they
would do," Hu reportedly said.
China has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of wanting independence for his
homeland and of fomenting the recent unrest in an effort to shine a world
spotlight on Tibet ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.
The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner has rejected these accusations, but has
accused China of widespread human rights violations of his people and
maintained his push for greater Tibetan autonomy under Chinese rule.
The unrest in Tibet began on March 10 with peaceful protests in the capital,
Lhasa, to mark the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
They escalated into a day of rioting on March 14 in Lhasa, then spread to
other parts of western China with Tibetan populations.
The Tibetan government-in-exile says 203 Tibetans have been killed and about
1,000 hurt in the crackdown.
China says it has acted with restraint and that Tibetan "rioters" and
"insurgents" have killed 21 people.
However state media reported last week for the first time that police had
shot dead a Tibetan pro-independence "insurgent" in what it said was a gun
battle on April 28.
Exiled Tibetan leaders have sought to play down expectations for the
Shenzhen talks, and said their top priority was to end the current crisis in
Tibet.
"Our immediate concern is for the repression to end and all restrictions on
Tibetans should be lifted," the government-in-exile's spokesman, Thubten
Samphel, said Sunday.
Tibetan prime minister-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche emphasised on Saturday
that the talks would be held at an informal level and not be on a par with
six earlier rounds that started in late 2002 and broke off in 2007.
"There will be no discussions over basic China-Tibet issues... as there is
no atmosphere and conditions for these matters under the current situation
in Tibet," Rinpoche told reporters.
However Rinpoche, speaking from the government-in-exile's base in
Dharamshala, India, said the administration was at least happy consultations
were taking place.
Rinpoche told AFP on Sunday that the talks had began on Sunday morning, but
gave few other details other than to say the envoys were due to return to
India on Tuesday or Wednesday.
He said details of the talks, between two of the Dalai Lama's envoys and
officials from the ruling Communist Party's United Front Work Department,
would only be known after the envoys had returned.
China released no details on Sunday.
Ahead of the talks, China issued a series of statements through its
state-run media that railed against the Dalai Lama.
"The plot of the Tibetan independence and international anti-China forces
will never succeed," said one long editorial in the Tibet Daily.
On Saturday, Xinhua repeated what the Dalai Lama must do if talks were to
have any chance of success.
"It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take
credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting
and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic
Games," Xinhua quoted an unnamed government official as saying.
Chinese troops invaded Tibet in 1950 before annexing the region the next
year. The Dalai Lama fled his homeland following the failed 1959 uprising.
Source: BEIJING (AFP) |
