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Tension in Beijing Police beat at least one man outside Tenors concert
BEIJING (AP) -- Police on guard against protests beat and dragged away at least one man outside an opera concert by the Three Tenors on Saturday night. A news photographer also was punched and detained. The performance by Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo is one of the biggest events publicizing Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympics. The concert was meant to show off Beijing and its ability to hold large international gatherings. Hundreds of police and members of the paramilitary Peoples Armed Police ringed the ancient Forbidden City in central Beijing. Sidewalks were closed and police questioned some pedestrians. The event, held on World Olympics Day, comes three weeks before the International Olympic Committee meets in Moscow to select the site of the 2008 Games. Beijing's key rivals are Toronto and Paris, with Istanbul, Turkey, and Osaka, Japan, the other candidates. A crowd of about 30,000 attended the concert. The famed tenors performed on an open-air stage erected in the courtyard of the Meridian Gate in the heart of the former imperial palace, now a museum. Tickets ranged from $60 to $2,000. Outside the front entrance of the palace, which faces Tiananmen Square, police were seen punching one man, then kicking him after he had fallen down. They knocked off his shoes and were trying to pull off his shirt as he was being dragged away. There was no indication why police beat the man. Tiananmen Square is a popular sight of protests by the banned Falun Gong spiritual group. A photographer for the French news agency AFP was punched by police and detained outside the palace. He said the beating left bruises on his arm. The crowd cheered enthusiastically as three Chinese sopranos joined the tenors for an encore of the drinking song from Verdi's La Traviata. Flowers were presented by a group dressed in elaborate traditional Peking opera costumes. Millions more expected to have watched a live national telecast of the show. Sun Hang, a saleswoman for a real estate agency, was typical of the mostly young, newly prosperous audience. "It's great that it will draw positive attention to China, just like the Olympics will," said Sun, dressed in an elegant evening gown. "We want the world to hear our voice." Sisy Chen, a former spokeswoman for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, attended the concert with a group of Taiwanese celebrities and former political figures. She called the event a positive sign for China's continued opening to the outside world. "It shows they have confidence in working with foreigners," she said. "This is the most important issue in moving further toward economic development and democracy."
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