Malaysian Torch Relay

A CNN article written today on the Malaysian Olympic Torch Relay was short and left me with a nagging question about the event. The article notes that the relay took place without hindrance by protesters; a contrast to the torch relays in Paris, London, and San Francisco. It also said that 500 pro-Chinese student demonstrators were given transportation to the torch relay and provided with pro-Chinese t-shirts and flags for their participation in supporting their country at the event. The article briefly mentioned 3 of those present with "pro-Tibet" signs as being carried away from the event, suggesting that it was, perhaps, for their own safety.
My remaining question after reading this article is how many pro-Tibet activists were actually present at the torch relay? I feel as though this article may have been a misrepresentation similar to the CNN coverage of the toppling of the Saddam statue in Iraq on April 9, 2003.
Upon investigating the story further in articles by the BBC, the AP, and Reuters, I learned that the CNN article's facts presented some disagreements with the other sources'. One main fact was that the Malaysian torch run was controlled under very tight security; all three mentioned 1,000 police officers were present and Reuters noted that the officers "...[warned] protesters they faced arrest if they tried to disrupt the run..." Both the BBC and the AP mentioned that there was one "notable disruption," a Japanese family that unfurled a Tibetan flag, causing outrage among Chinese supporters. Also, the other three mentioned the extreme weather of the day, a possibility for the reason that there was a smaller turnout for spectators. However, in contrast to CNN's noted 1,500 spectators, Reuters says that 3,000 were present and the BBC said that only 300 were Chinese students, instead of CNN's mention of 500. In addition, the fact that the Chinese students' visit had been organized by the Chinese Embassy was not included in the three other articles.
Though my question of actual pro-Tibet attenders went unanswered even after turning to other news sources, the heightened security at the event was probably the reason for their camouflage into the crowd of supporters, leaving no accurate count. I find it increasingly harder to trust Western News sources after learning about the coverage of the Iraq war by the United States in our Global News class. In examples like this, leaving out these important details lends to an inaccurate report on the whole, unbiased story. In addition, I was disturbed by the inclusion of the fact that the Chinese Embassy funded the Chinese students' attendance at the event, a fact attributed by CNN to only "an Olympics organizer" and "several of the students." This anonymity leaves me with doubt and reminds me of a certain article by the NY Times that we went over in class.

By Brittany Behrman