Beijing’s protest parks strictly for the birds

From The Guardian

BEIJING, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The loudest songs to trouble official ears in Beijing’s Olympic "protest parks" are those of sparrows. The only shouts those of amateur badminton players. China said in July it had set up three demonstration zones to counter criticism Beijing is crushing human rights to prevent disruptions to the meticulously planned Olympics. The only condition was that would-be protesters had to a apply for a protest permit five days in advance. But as the end of the Games approaches, not a single permit has been issued and park managers have not even made plans for handling demonstrators, because they do not expect any. At least one would-be protester was even arrested after applying for a protest permit, a human rights group said.