Protests against "Tibet independence" supporters in some western countries erupted in a few Chinese cities on Saturday.

The protests were seen in Beijing, Hefei of the eastern Anhui Province, Wuhan of the central Hubei Province, Qingdao of the eastern Shandong Province and Kunming of the southwestern Yunnan Province.

Protesters gathered in front of shops of the French supermarket Carrefour in the cities, chanting slogans of "boycott Carrefour", "oppose Tibet independence" and others.

They also handed out leaflets to passengers.

A dozen of young people on Saturday morning held a protest march in front of the French Embassy and the Beijing French School in the Chinese capital, which lasted less than half an hour.

Pan Yuming, an engineer and one of the protesters in Kunming, said they wanted to express their anger at western support for "Tibet independence" and did not want to cause social disturbance.

Many participants in Kunming persuaded elders and kids to leave the crowd and maintained order during the protest.

Online and text messages began to call for boycotts of Carrefour and other foreign retailers to protest western supports to "Tibet independence" secessionists after the disruptions of the Olympic torch relay in Paris and other foreign cities.

Chinese torch bearer Jin Jing, a wheelchair-bound fencer, held the torch tightly from her wheelchair while a few mobs tried to snatch it away in Paris on April 7. She had to bend her body to protect the torch, but the mobs did not stop in their attempt, leaving her bruised and scratched on her chin and right leg.

French ambassador to China Herve Ladsous told Chinese media on Friday that he felt "regretful" for the disruptions of the Olympic torch relay in Paris, and hoped to meet Jin Jing.

(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2008)