The Olympic torch relay just finished its safest tour in Pyongyang and will soon return to Chinese soil. From Xinhua via Chinadaily.com:
The Olympic torch relay in Pyongyang, the 18th leg of its global tour, was completed at around 15:00 local time as the last torch bearer kindled the Olympic cauldron in the Kim Il Sung Stadium.
Chong Song Ok, crowned at the 1999 world athletics championships and hailed as “Marathon Queen” by DPRK media, ran up to the cauldron in the Kim Il Sung Stadium. When she kindled the Olympic cauldron with the flame, the spectators burst out a storm of applause.
Chong told Xinhua that marathon is a symbol of the Olympic Games and as a former marathoner, the Olympic torch relay has a special meaning to her.
Meanwhile Hong Kong prepares for the Olympic torch’s arrival from the Financial Times:
The Olympic torch’s return to Chinese soil this week will at last give Beijing the opportunity to host the relay on its own terms, after a controversial global tour that saw the flame’s progress hounded by pro-Tibet protesters.
In Hong Kong, one of only two cities in China where freedom of speech and assembly are protected, members of the pro-Beijing business and entertainment establishments want to whip up a patriotic outpouring by organising a “dress red day” to welcome the torch on Friday.
A slide show of images from the Olympic torch relay in Pyongyang, photos from bbs.163.com:
