Olympic torchbearers proud to participate

SAN FRANCISCO -- Many of those chosen to carry the Olympic flame through the city next week say they welcome the Beijing-bound flame to the city -- as well as the protesters who object to it.

Dozens of groups are preparing to protest the Chinese government during the flame’s visit next Wednesday. But torchbearers say they are as proud of their city’s reputation as a global player with deep ties to Asia as its tradition of political activism.

Running the torch through a gauntlet of demonstrators raising issues from Chinese rule in Tibet to its trade with oppressive regimes of Myanmar and Sudan is part of the San Francisco experience, they said.

“The protests are justified and appropriate -- it’s cool that they’re happening,” said Todd Hallenbeck, 25, with the Pacific States Marine Fishing Commission. “But it doesn’t change how I feel about the honor of bearing the torch.”

Ever since the torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, and carried around the world, it has been a flashpoint for protesters. The lighting ceremony was marred by a demonstrator who ran up behind a Chinese official. In Istanbul, Turkey, six Uighur Muslims -- an ethnic minority in China -- were detained after they rushed up to a torchbearer shouting slogans.

But those carrying the flame in its only North American stop weren’t concerned about their personal safety, they said.

“The protesters, if they resort to violence, would belittle any message they’re trying to carry,” said torchbearer John Caldera, an American Legion commander and longtime AIDS survivor.

Officials say the city plans to support all peaceful messages expressed at the relay.

“It’s the ultimate affirmation of what makes this city and this country so great,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom, who announced the torchbearers’ names at an event Friday. “We have the right to free expression -- all of us -- as long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others.”

Lisa Hartmayer, 29, a nurse at the UCSF Medical Center, agreed.

“This is an amazing city where people can voice their opinions,” said Hartmayer, another designated torchbearer. “Any other way, it wouldn’t be right.”

The mayor also used the opportunity to turn the focus of the relay from China’s approach to dissidents and its foreign policy back to the Olympic spirit.

“It’s not the US’s torch, not Beijing’s torch, it’s the Olympic torch, and I’m very honored” to have it stop in San Francisco, Newsom said.

The mayor pointed out that great care was taken to avoid politics in choosing 41 men and women from among more than 530 applicants. Another 39 torch bearers will be appointed by the relay’s sponsors and by U.S., international and Beijing Olympic committees.

Helen Zia, a writer and human rights activist who plans to carry the flame next week, said the games are an opportunity to engage with the world. “The worst outcome would be for China to be pushed back into isolation, instead of engaged,” she said.