The Olympic movement risked being dragged into a diplomatic row between China and Taiwan last night after Taipei refused to accept China's planned route for the 2008 Olympic torch relay, which runs through the island.
Within hours of Beijing's announcement of what would be the longest torch relay in Olympic history - an 85,000-mile, 130-day route that would cross five continents and scale Mount Everest - Taiwan rejected the plan.
Taipei had said it was happy to participate as part of the international route, which will take in dozens of other cities, including London, San Francisco, Dar Es Salaam, Islamabad and Pyongyang. But the Taiwan stop is scheduled to be followed by Hong Kong and Macau, suggesting that it is part of the Chinese domestic route, which will wind through the country before culminating at the National Stadium on August 8. Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive party said last week it would not accept a place on the relay if the torch entered or left the island via mainland China or Hong Kong and Macau.
"It is something that the government and people cannot accept," Tsai Chen-wei, the head of Taiwan's Olympic committee, said. "This route is a domestic route that constitutes an attempt to downgrade our sovereignty."
In an attempt at compromise, Beijing noted that the stop before Taipei would be Ho Chi Minh City. "I sincerely hope that Taiwan compatriots can enjoy the glories and joy of the torch relay," Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic organising committee, said. Mr Jiang repeatedly referred to Taipei, Hong Kong and Macau as overseas Chinese cities, a characterisation likely to upset Taiwan.
The torch is also to pass through Tibet, where demonstrations are likely. Four Americans were detained by Chinese authorities on Wednesday after they unfurled a banner on Mount Everest calling for Tibet's independence. The possibility of protests caused "reflection" among members of the International Olympic Committee executive board, officials told Reuters. The theme of the relay, which will take in large parts of the Silk Road trading route that once linked China with Europe, is "the journey of harmony".
"This is a major means of taking the Olympic spirit around the world," said Liu Qi, head of the Beijing organising committee for the games.
The flame will be lit in ancient Olympia, Greece, on March 25, travel to Athens and then on to Beijing on March 31. From Beijing it will go through Central Asia and into Europe, on to the Americas, through Africa then back to Asia.