China, which has cracked down on political dissent ahead of the Olympics and promised to deal harshly with illegal demonstrations, is taking the highly unusual step of setting aside space in three Beijing parks for protests during the Games.

The creation of designated protest areas was announced Wednesday. One of the parks that will have a protest spot is in the city's main diplomatic area. Another is in the university district near some Games venues, but away from the main stadiums.

'Chinese law protects legal assembly,' Liu Shaowu, the security chief of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, said during a news conference.

It remains unclear how much freedom any would-be demonstrators will actually have, as Chinese law requires anyone who wants to stage a protest to first receive a government permit. Few Chinese citizens go through the process.

Beijing Games officials said they didn't know if demonstrators in the designated protest areas would also need permits and referred questions to the city government and police. Neither responded to requests for comment.

Human-rights advocates complained that the protest areas are too far away from Olympic venues. They said people with real grievances likely would be too intimidated to show up.

'It's a fig leaf,' said Nicholas Bequelin, China research director for the New York-based activist group Human Rights Watch. He said the move appeared designed to allow China and the International Olympic Committee 'to pretend they respect rights to demonstrate when in fact they don't.'

Beijing's decision to set aside protest spots came after prodding from the IOC. Giselle Davies, an IOC spokeswoman said in an email that 'the Chinese authorities were encouraged to' find 'ways to manage any protests.'

Also Wednesday, human-rights groups said Chinese authorities arrested or detained several activists. Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong was taken away by public-security officers and had his home searched, according to China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group. Mr. Zheng is helping evictees in Shanghai and had complained last month authorities were warning petitioners to stay away from Beijing during the Olympics.

Internet dissident Du Daobin also was arrested for violating his probation terms, said Reporters Without Borders. Mr. Du was jailed for subversion for writing online essays in support of other dissidents. He is the third Internet dissident to be imprisoned in the run-up to the Games, said the Paris-based group.

China's leadership this year has faced a wave of occasionally violent antigovernment protests across Tibetan areas in western China. There also have been antigovernment demonstrations among Turkic-speaking Muslims in the northwest. In addition, China's government has faced criticism from foreign human-rights activists on everything from its treatment of its own people to its support for unpopular governments in Sudan, Myanmar and North Korea.

Large and raucous pro-Tibet demonstrations marred parts of the international Olympic torch relay in Europe and the U.S., and Chinese officials are determined not to allow similar disruptions of the Games.

Last week, Beijing organizers said spectators would be barred from bringing banners, flags and posters with messages of a religious or political nature into Games sites. Even banners saying such things as 'Go China,' won't be allowed, according to a report by state-run Xinhua news agency.

The rules prohibit flags of nonparticipants in the Games -- which would preclude any for Tibet. Similar rules will apply even in Hong Kong, which is hosting the Olympic equestrian events and traditionally enjoys greater political freedoms than mainland China.

These rules appear to be a relatively narrow interpretation of Article 51 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits 'political, religious or racist propaganda' in Olympic venues.

'I think the Games have moved from a coming-out party to a hunkering-down,' said Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based professor for Chinese studies.

He added, 'The real question for China is, what happens after the Games? Do the Games represent a turning point? I doubt it. I think we've seen the real face of the regime, and that is a government interested in self-celebration.'

But some analysts are cautiously optimistic. Xu Zhiyong, a law lecturer at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, said plans to allow even limited protests could be a promising sign.

'In the past, it's been very difficult to obtain any permits for demonstrations. Basically very few were approved,' Mr. Xu said. 'Going forward, however, it may change.'

In the past few months, Beijing authorities have rounded up dissidents. To keep potential foreign troublemakers out of the country, China has tightened up on visa issuance. Stricter enforcement of immigration rules also has thinned the ranks of foreigners living in the capital.

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, vagrants and beggars also have been pushed out of Beijing. Security checkpoints have been set up and manned by armed police.

All the security isn't directed only at potential protesters, but at foiling any potential terrorist attacks on the Games. Chinese officials have said repeatedly that the Olympics are in danger of attack by Muslim separatists from the northwest territory of Xinjiang.

In April, police arrested 35 people in Xinjiang in connection with what authorities said was a plot against the Games. Officials say Muslim separatists were planning to kidnap athletes, journalists and tourists. Raids on the group turned up bomb-making materials and leaflets calling for 'holy war,' police said.

On Monday, explosions on two buses in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming fanned fears of a terrorist assault on the Games. But police say they have found no link between the blasts, which killed two people, and the Games and are still searching for the culprits.

中国采取了非同寻常的举措，在北京的三个公园专门设置了供游行示威人员在奥运会期间表达自己意愿的地点。此前，中国一直在打击不同政见者，并表示将严厉处理非法示威活动。

设置专门示威区域的消息是周三宣布的。这三个公园分别是丰台区的世界公园、海淀区的紫竹院公园和朝阳区的日坛公园。其中日坛公园位于北京市的使馆区附近。紫竹院公园位于大学区，靠近部分奥运场馆，但距离主要的体育场较远。

北京奥组委安保部部长刘绍武在新闻发布会上说，中国法律保护合法的集会。

尚不清楚想要举行示威的人员实际能获得多大的自由，因为中国法律要求任何示威活动首先都要获得政府许可。很少有中国公民能通过这一程序。

北京奥组委官员表示，他们不清楚在这些指定的区域示威是否也需要得到批准，建议记者咨询北京市政府和公安部门。这两个部门均未回复记者提出的问题。

人权活动家抱怨说，示威区域距离奥运场馆的距离太远。他们指出，真正想要表达不满情绪的人可能会由于害怕而不敢去示威。

纽约人权组织人权观察(Human Rights Watch)的中国研究负责人尼古拉斯?贝克林(Nicholas Bequelin)谈到，这只是一块遮羞布。他说，此举的目的似乎是帮助中国和国际奥委会装出他们尊重示威权的样子，可事实却是恰恰相反。

北京设置示威区域的决定是在国际奥委会的督促下作出的。国际奥委会发言人吉赛拉?戴维斯(Giselle Davies)在一封电子邮件中表示，中国政府受到了鼓励，开始寻找管理示威的途径。

同样是在周三，人权组织表示，中国逮捕或关押了几名活动家。据中国维权律师关注组(China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group)称，上海律师郑恩宠被公安人员带走，他的家也受到了搜查。郑恩宠一直在帮助上海的拆迁户，上月他曾抱怨有关部门警告上访者不许在奥运期间前往北京。

记者无国界(Reporters Without Borders)称，持不同政见的网民杜导斌也因违反了缓刑期间的规定而遭逮捕。他是因在网上撰文支持其他持不同政见者，以煽动颠覆国家政权罪而被捕的。总部位于巴黎的记者无国界还指出，他是第三位在奥运会临近时入狱的网络持不同政见者。

今年，中国领导人遭遇了西部藏区的反政府暴力示威，以及西北部维族人的反政府抗议活动。此外，不管是对待本国人民的态度，还是对苏丹、缅甸和朝鲜等不受欢迎政府的支持，中国政府在众多问题上都受到了外国人权组织的批评。

北京奥运圣火在欧洲和美国的部分地方传递时，沿途发生了多起支持藏族人的示威抗议，中国政府决心不再让类似事件破坏奥运会的举行。

北京奥组委上周表示，禁止观众携带宗教或政治性质的条幅、旗帜和海报进入奥运赛场。官方媒体新华社的报导称，即便是带有“中国加油”字样的条幅也是不允许的。

规定还禁止携带非奥运会参赛国或地区的旗帜入场，这将杜绝任何支持藏独的行为。甚至在政治上更为自由的香港也将执行类似规定。香港将举办本届奥运会的马术比赛。

这些规定似乎是对《奥林匹克宪章》第51条的相对狭隘诠释，这一条款禁止在奥运场馆内进行政治、宗教或种族宣传。

驻北京的中国问题专家摩西(Russell Leigh Moses)认为，本届奥运会已经从希望展示自己的盛会变成了一种龟缩。

他说，中国面临的真正问题是，奥运会过后会发生什么？奥运会代表着一个转折点吗？我对此持怀疑态度。我觉得我们看清了这个政权的真面目，这是一个热衷于自吹自擂的政府。

但一些分析人士则持谨慎乐观的态度。北京邮电大学的法律讲师许志永谈到，即便是允许有限示威的计划也是一种进步的标志。

许志永说，在过去，示威申请很难获得批准，基本上没人能够获准；不过今后这种情况可能发生变化。

过去几个月里，中国政府一直在加强对持不同政见者的控制。为了阻止潜在的麻烦制造者入境，中国收紧了签证的发放。而加大对在华居留规定的执行力度也削弱了外国人以往享有的优待。

数十万外来务工人员、流浪乞讨者也被“请”出了北京。城市周边还设置了检查点，有武装警察把守。

所有这些安全措施针对的不仅仅是可能出现的示威者，也包括可能对奥运会发动袭击的恐怖分子。中国官员多次表示，奥运会可能受到新疆东突分子的袭击。

今年4月，警方在新疆逮捕了35名据称策划袭击奥运会的嫌犯。有关部门表示，东突分子计划绑架运动员、记者和游客。警方透露，搜捕行动起获了制造炸弹的材料和要求发动“圣战”的传单。

周一，中国西南部昆明市的两辆公交车发生了炸弹爆炸，这引发了人们对恐怖分子袭击本届奥运会的担忧。但警方表示，没有发现爆炸事件同奥运会存在联系。这两起爆炸导致两人死亡，目前警方仍在追缉嫌犯。