The Olympic torch relay kicked off its first leg in Beijing today, free from some of the unwelcome protests at the torch-lighting ceremony in Greece last week. Olympic organizers made sure that everything ran smoothly, and bumped up security as a precaution.
From the Beijing vantage point, preparations are in place, and inside the city everything seems to be under control before the Games. Once the relay leaves the city, it's a slightly different story. Other legs of the Olympic torch relay probably won't be quite so uneventful.
The torch route is still slated to make its way through Lhasa, and while security there will probably be even more extensive than in Beijing, at the very least many international sympathizers will use this opportunity to emphasize their grievances with Beijing.
Cities like San Francisco will probably have their own demonstrations against Chinese policies in Tibet and Darfur. The Save Darfur Campaign has already run their own torch relay to raise awareness, and has planned events when the torch arrives in San Francisco.
Other human rights groups have organized other alternative torch relays, including the Human Rights Torch Relay that wants to raise awareness of issues ranging from Falun Gong treatment, to Burmese political concerns to forced abortions. Another Tibetan Torch Relay has also taken off.
On the whole, most expect the large community of overseas Chinese approving of the Olympics to drown out dissenters. Of course, considering that protests and disruptions tend to be much more newsworthy than pristinely-run events, the media reports might not reflect the reality of the situation.
When the Olympic torch goes to Almaty, Kazakstan tomorrow, it will probably receive a warm reception with relatively little interruption. But even these smooth events on the torch relay are doing little to assuage the cries of protesters, which seem to be getting louder.