9. (SBU) Olympic Protests: Pro-Tibetan Protesters Removed from China: Advocates for Tibetan independence continue to be detained and deported on the same day by Chinese officials in response to their ongoing campaign of well-organized protests in Beijing. These protesters, along with those detained in earlier Tibet-related demonstrations, all appear to be part of “Team Tibet,” in which “Students for a Free Tibet” (SFT) and other Tibetan advocacy groups have orchestrated a series of actions to unfurl banners and fly Tibetan flags in public areas in Beijing and elsewhere. In cases involving U.S. citizens, the U.S. Embassy has first learned of all three incidents from XXXXXXXXXXXX. To date, the following pro-Tibet incidents–reported by the same caller–have occurred in Beijing:

this is is about me…
08/09/2008–Five persons, including three Americans, detained at Tiananmen Square; American citizens deported to Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

08/08/2008–Three Americans detained at the National Stadium (“Bird’s Nest”) before the Olympic opening ceremony; deported to Los Angeles.

08/06/2008–Four persons, including two Americans, detained near the National Stadium (“Bird,s Nest”); American citizens deported to Los Angeles. 10. (SBU) Hong Kong Protests: According to various media reports, at least six protesters were removed from the Sha Tin Olympic Equestrian venue in Hong Kong in reaction to separate incidents during the dressage competition on BEIJING 00003067 004 OF 005

08/09/2008. Among the six were reportedly two American citizens belonging to the “Students for a Free Tibet” organization. All protesters attempted to display either Tibetan flags or banners calling for an end to human rights abuses in China and were escorted from the arena by venue security. In one incident, the demonstrator refused to leave and was forcibly removed from the area.