No legal protests in Beijing’s protest areas

China was praised by the International Olympic Committee when it announced that protest areas would be set up for the Olympics. According to the BBC, a total of 77 applications have been received to stage protests during the Olympic Games period. Want to guess how many applications have been approved?

Zero.

Apparently no application has managed to meet China's strict rules on who can and cannot stage a protest. According to a spokesperson from Beijing's public security bureau, the majority (74) were withdrawn because the problems they raised could be better dealt with by "relevant authorities or departments through consultation."

How very convenient. Rather than having to say “No” to protests, the Chinese have rigged it so that they never have to say “Yes” either.