SAN FRANCISCO, April 9: Security was tightened on the Golden Gate Bridge and elsewhere around the city as officials prepared for massive protests of China’s crackdown in Tibet during the Olympic torch’s relay here on Wednesday, its only North American stop on its journey to Beijing.

The Olympic flame was whisked to a secret location shortly after its pre-dawn arrival Tuesday following widespread and chaotic demonstrations during the torch relay in London and Paris. Activists are protesting China’s human rights record, its grip on Tibet and support for Sudan despite years of bloodshed in Darfur.

The flame is scheduled to be paraded through the city Wednesday on a 10-km route that hugs San Francisco Bay. Already, one runner who planned to carry the flame dropped out because of safety concerns, officials said.

The flame began its 137,000-km journey from Ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing on March 24, and was the focus of protests from the very start.

Hours after it arrived in San Francisco, protesters marched to the Chinese Consulate, calling on China to cease its rule of Tibet.

—AP