BEIJING - China deported a group of foreign pro-Tibet activists as the Olympics ended, in what a campaign group described yesterday as a bid to prevent their plight from blemishing the last day of the Games.
Eight Americans, one Tibetan-German and one Briton were quietly flown out of Beijing as a world television audience was watching the spectacular Olympic closing ceremony in the Chinese capital.
“Chinese authorities informed us last night that the eight (American) individuals, detained August 20 and 21 respectively, were deported by Chinese authorities,” a US embassy spokeswoman told AFP.
The spokeswoman said they were flown out Sunday night aboard an Air China flight to Los Angeles.
“We urge China to take positive steps to address international and domestic concerns about its record on human rights and religious freedoms,” she said.
The Tibetan-German, Florian Norbu Gyanatshang, was also deported and arrived in Frankfurt early Monday, according to the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe.
Meanwhile, the British embassy in Beijing confirmed that the Briton among the 10, Mandy McKeown, had also been released.
“She has been deported. As we speak, she is flying back to Europe,” an embassy spokesman told AFP.
At least six of the 10 had been given 10-day detention sentences for carrying out pro- Tibet protests in Beijing, but they were deported before completing the terms.
The detentions had triggered high-level pressure for their release, with US Ambassador Clark Randt intervening personally on behalf of the eight Americans.
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