Protesters will have their say

China will allow a modicum of dissent at the Olympics, setting up special protest zones far from the main sports venues, in a shift that supporters and detractors said yesterday is meant to safely channel criticism and avoid disrupting the Games.

The designated protest areas will be in parts of three public parks, none of them closer than several miles from the main Olympic stadium.

In making the announcement, the Beijing Olympic organizing committee's security director, Liu Shaowu, cited the use of protest areas at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The move, however, doesn't mean Beijing is inviting a flood of protests at the Games, which open in 16 days

Tightened visa checks have prevented or deterred foreign groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists from coming to Beijing, although actor Mia Farrow's Dream for Darfur said its visa application was pending. Overseas broadcasters, such as NBC, which paid hundreds of millions of dollars to air the Games, are still wrangling with organizers over restrictions on live coverage around the city.

Still, the decision to permit even small demonstrations marks a turnaround for an authoritarian government that has seemed set on smothering any protests at an Olympics it wants to be a flawless celebration of a modern China.

"This will allow people to protest without disrupting the Olympics," said Ni Jianping, director of the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, who lobbied Chinese leaders to set up the protest zones.

•Doping reportA German television report on the availability of gene doping in China has stunned anti-doping experts. In a documentary by ARD television, an unnamed Chinese doctor offers stem-cell therapy to a reporter posing as an American swimming coach. The report, filmed with a concealed camera, shows the doctor with his face blurred speaking in Chinese and offering the treatment in return for $24,000, according to a translation provided by the ARD television. The documentary, broadcast Monday, did not offer evidence that the unnamed hospital had provided gene doping to other athletes, but anti-doping officials were appalled that the treatment was so readily available. •SwimmingJessica Hardy's Olympic bid could be in jeopardy after she tested positive for a banned substance, a person familiar with the test results told the Associated Press. Hardy's "A" sample from the recent U.S. Olympic trials tested positive, said the source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The Swimming World Magazine Web site first reported the positive doping test. Hardy, 21, earned spots on her first Olympic team in her best event, the 100-meter breaststroke, and the 50 freestyle and 400 free relay. USA Swimming spokeswoman Jamie Olson declined to comment. ... Eric Shanteau, who decided to put off surgery for testicular cancer until after the Olympics, has been cleared to head to Beijing with the U.S. team. The national men's coach, Eddie Reese, said Shanteau just got the results of his final blood tests. They showed no spread of the cancer, which was discovered last month. Shanteau will compete in the 200 breaststroke.

•Basketball LeBron James has made a guarantee: The U.S. men's team will take home the gold. James, a U.S. forward who played on the bronze-medal team in 2004, made a guarantee in a Time magazine story that hits newsstands tomorrow. The Americans are the favorites, but they haven't won a major title since the 2000 Olympics. In other news on James, he will likely miss tomorrow's exhibition against Canada as he recovers from a mild right ankle sprain. •BaseballColorado second baseman Jayson Nix was picked to round out the U.S. Olympic team. USA Baseball also announced three minor leaguers to replace players who initially were picked for the team. Pitchers Jeremy Cummings of Tampa Bay and Brian Duensing of Minnesota will join San Francisco outfielder Nate Schierholtz. They're replacing pitchers Clayton Richard of the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco's Geno Espineli, who were called up by their big league clubs, and injured St. Louis outfielder Colby Rasmus.

Related topic galleries: Major League Baseball, Swimming, Mia Farrow, LeBron James, Chicago White Sox, NBC, Freedom of the Press

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