It's the heart of the matter ... Jin Jing, a disabled Chinese fencer and torchbearer, closes her eyes and holds tightly to the torch after an assault by a Western man who tried to snatch away her pride and joy. The incident occurred during the Beijing Olympics relay in Paris on Monday. Jin was being pushed by a blind male athlete and another female escort.

China yesterday denounced violent protesters who tried to sabotage Olympic Games torch relays in London and Paris.

International Olympic Committee officials also criticized the disruptions.

"We express our strong condemnation of the deliberate disruption of the Olympic torch relay by 'Tibetan independence' separatist forces," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement posted at www.fmprc.gov.cn.

She told a regular news conference in Beijing that Chinese and American officials had been working together to ensure the visit of the torch to San Francisco today would go "safely and smoothly."

"We also warn groups and elements attempting to disrupt and sabotage the torch relay that their goal - of using the Olympics for their unspeakable ends and to blacken and put pressure on China - is absolutely unattainable."

IOC officials expressed outrage yesterday about the disruption caused by violent protests during the relay in Paris and London.

"I'm definitely concerned about what has happened in London and in Paris," IOC President Rogge said. "I'm deeply saddened by the fact that such an important symbol has been attacked."