The jostling and trouble around the Olympic torch on its trip around the world is an expected surprise, if there ever was one. The organizers of the relay and the Chinese Communist government behind them have gone for an all out headbutt with an assortment of protesters.

It started with the Reporters Without Borders’ sabotage of the torch lighting ceremony in Greece on March 24th, when Chairman of the Organizing Committee Liu Qi’s speech was interrupted by a man holding a black banner with handcuffs forming the Olympic rings.
Then, after a hearty reception in Beijing and brief stunt in Central Asia, Turkey and Russia, the relay was met by the cold shoulders of the city officials and clamor of Tibet related protests in London, Paris and San Francisco.

After a somewhat friendlier reception in the Middle East and India, Japan brought about another humiliation. Luckily for the organizers, Ho Chi Minh City and Pyongyang will provide a chance for much easier international photo-ops before the remaining 114 domestic stops of the relay.

The protests abroad were fuelled by the Chinese government’s handling of riots that broke out after the anniversary of Dalai Lama’s unsuccessful upraising of 1959 on March 10.

Yet, even without “March 14,” as the Chinese media refers to the Lhasa riots, they had it all coming. An official statement alleging the “Dalai Lama clique’s”: the term used by Beijing to refer to the self-proclaimed Tibetan exile government: involvement in the protests in Tibet clearly shows that the Chinese government was aware of the initiatives by several exile organizations to disrupt the relay.

The relay is a perfect target for symbolic actions. The 137,000 kilometer long trek is the longest ever and encompasses all inhabited continents (the torch is flown over Antarctica).   The torch is meant to “light the passion and share the dream” of peace, harmony and, frankly speaking, prosperity and the international recognition required to be able to host successful Olympics.

But there are plenty of those who are not ready to kowtow to China in recognition of her increasingly important status: the Tibetans and their Buddhist brethren in Japan, in the rest of Asia and in the recent convert communities in the West; civil and human rights activists in Hong Kong and the overseas Chinese communities; the Falun Gong movement, the one-time government darling, which has since fallen from grace and has been sternly suppressed, especially with the Olympics coming.

And then there are those, who can score a point at home by appearing decisive on China, like Paris’ Socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoë, who is said to be vying for the leadership in his party and a little controversy might help him to reach it.

Much to the surprise of the critics, they were met by, often large, crowds with strong-worded messages to stay off the Olympics and supporting the Mainland.

Over the last weeks the Chinese press has been providing an endless stream of images from all over the world of mostly young people, citizens of the People’s Republic studying abroad and overseas Chinese, with banners in Chinese and local languages criticizing Western media bias on Tibet and calling for cessation of protests around the Olympics.

Although clearly financially and logistically supported by the government back in the Beijing, these protests show the anger and frustration in the Chinese communities even outside of direct reach of the Communist Party. The Olympics is the coming out fest of China, not just the Communist China.

There is great pride in the tremendous economic, social and international achievements of the People’s Republic; a pride that allows them to see past the limitations that the government can still put on the population at will, like the control of communications, the draconian suppression of ethnic minority dissent and the thorough control of the ethnic Han Chinese opposition and criticism.

For the pro-China demonstrators, who congregated on the streets of Berlin, Paris, and other cities around the world for a global show of force on April 19, the People’s Republic is a “normal” country: with its quirks and problems, but just like the rest of them.

China’s normalcy might seem far from what many would like to see, but for now the West will have to learn to live and recognize this vision, because it is here to stay. And those who are in the game to spoil the party: beware!, the hosts will not stand for it.