With the blessing of the entire world, the sacred Olympic flame is being relayed by thousands of torchbearers across five continents. As the supreme image of Olympic spirit, the torch carries a shared dream of the humankind. Through its relay, people of different races in different regions with different beliefs share the civilized concepts of"peace, friendship and progress". It is also precisely for this reason that the 2008 torch relay has been welcomed and supported by nations and their populace in its global journey.

It is regrettable, however, that a handful of people sought to disrupt the relay. Since the Olympic sacred fire set off in Greece, a small number of Tibetan independence elements put up one prank after another in a bid to obstruct the Olympic torch relay. In Greece, some of these Tibetan independence protesters were lying on the road when torchbearers were passing by; in London, they attempted to snatch the Olympic torch from the torchbearer and, in Paris, a"Tibet independence" protestor tried to use a fire extinguisher to put out the Olympic torch.

These pranks of"Tibet independence" elements have laid bare before the people worldwide their desperate moves to secede Tibet unscrupulously. For consecutive days, firm opposition by national governments and denunciations by people along the relay route have once again admonished the Tibetan independence elements: If they want to draw on the international attention to the so-called Tibetan issue so as to"pressurize" the Chinese government to settle it given that chances are left till the opening of Beijing Olympics in early August and to disrupt the torch relay, it is extremely stupid for them to do so, and things would run counter to their desires.

Many netizens issued a warning. The few Tibet independence elements have a wishful thinking. The Olympic torch does not belong to China alone, but belong all the more to the world. Tibet independence elements now stand in the opposite to the peace-loving people across the world, and their evil deeds are sure to be subjected to denunciations by people worldwide.

The Olympic sacred fire is a vital, important symbol of human values with respect to the modern Olympic Games. Every torch relay represents a spread of human civilization. It is precisely because of this sense that people worldwide have all along regarded the Olympic torch relay as a lofty, sacred ceremony.

People will never forget that soccer star Pele was seen with tears swelling in his eyes when he held up the Olympic torch at a torch relay ceremony in Athens four years ago and, people still remember very well to date that Muhammad Ali, the boxing great, who lit the flame at the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta, the U.S., passed the torch with hands shaking from Parkinson's diseases to an Olympic gold medal figure. When Ali hoisted the Olympic torch, people became aware the true meaning of torch relay – to spread the ideals and the spirit of Olympic Games, and pray for the justice, peace, understanding and friendship for the humankind. So any deeds to interfere with and sabotage the Olympic sacred fire constitutes not only a blaspheme of the Olympic spirit and but a grave challenge to the human civilization.

"The violence for whatever reason is not compatible with the values of the torch relay or the Olympic Games," as International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge has said. The Olympic torch has illuminated the bright future of humanity and also reflects upon the"true colors" or essence of the so-called"cause" and"movement" of the Dalai Lama clique. Those pranks of theirs with an attempt to impose pressures upon China and discredit the country by the means to disrupt the torch relay are simply a futile effort.

(People's Daily Online April 9, 2008)