Olympic torch lands in China proper, setback on Everest

Macau tycoon Stanley Ho is seen on the giant screen of the Grand Lisboa casino as he carries the Olympic torch during the Olympic torch relay in Macau May 3, 2008. The torch toured the Chinese gambling hub of Macau on Saturday before starting its journey through the mainland. (REUTERS/Russell Boyce)

SANYA, China (Reuters) - The Olympic torch arrived in mainland China on Saturday after a protest-harried overseas relay, while snowfall on Mount Everest dealt a blow to climbers hoping to take a special flame to the roof of the world.

The torch's five-continent journey has been dogged by demonstrations, mostly over China's crackdown against protests in Tibet, which deeply embarrassed Beijing and provoked retaliatory rallies at home and abroad by patriotic Chinese.

Security was tightened in mainland China, where the ruling Communist Party brooks no opposition, so the main threat after the torch left Macau for a run through every Chinese province was likely to be the weather.

Beijing lambasted the Dalai Lama, whom it blames for inciting the Tibet protests, as a criminal on Saturday as representatives of the exiled Buddhist leader prepared for talks with Chinese officials about the most serious unrest in Tibet for nearly two decades.

The torch arrived in the southern Chinese city of Sanya from the former Portuguese colony of Macau.

It was met at the airport by Hainan governor Luo Baoming, a Chinese naval band, and a small, carefully selected, cheering crowd, before being whisked away in a coach.

People in Sanya, a tropical resort city at the bottom tip of the island province of Hainan, could barely contain their excitement at the prospect of the torch's arrival, where the likelihood of large-scale pro-Tibet protests was virtually nil.

"As a Chinese, I feel very proud," said Sanya resident Gao Li, his eyes moist, after unveiling a large red banner reading "2008 Go China" on the beach front, where the torch will pass on its long journey to August's Beijing Games.

"This is a huge event of national importance. We've been waiting for the Olympics for 100 years," he added. "I'm very happy."

Security was low key, though organizers are carefully controlling who will be allowed in to see the torch run start on a man-made island just off Sanya, limiting places to a few hundred selected officials, media and other guests.

Meteorologists expect showers in the coming days across much of Hainan and relay organizers have prepared raincoats for the torch runners, a website of state news agency Xinhua said.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of patriotic torch supporters gathered in Macau at Fisherman's Wharf, waving China flags and shouting "Go Beijing Go" as the flame began its latest leg.

Some students from the University of Macau staged a small protest near the ferry terminal, brandishing "Anti-CNN" placards to criticize the broadcaster's perceived bias in its coverage of the Tibetan riots and crackdown by authorities.

Macau is home to a booming casino industry which is fuelled in large part by money from across the border in China.

EVEREST SETBACK

A bold plan to take a separate Olympic torch to the top of Mount Everest faced a possible setback on Saturday as snow fell on the world's highest mountain.

The climbing team has been at 6,500 meters (21,300 ft) in advanced base camp or higher for at least two days, waiting for better weather to aim for the 8,848-metre (29,030-foot) peak.

"In my experience, in heavy snow you could make a decision to retreat or abandon, but I don't know the conditions up the mountain so it's difficult to say," said Beijing organizing committee consultant Liu Jian.

Flag-waving crowds cheered on Friday as the torch made its way across Hong Kong unmolested. A handful of demonstrations called for better protection of human rights, religious freedom and democracy in China along the route.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Macau, for centuries a Portuguese-run enclave of China, returned to Chinese control two years later. Both now have wide-ranging autonomy.

(Additional reporting by Nick Mulvenney, and John Ruwitch in Macau, editing by Mary Gabriel)