Olympic torch's arrival in Tibet postponed

BEIJING - Organizers of the Olympic torch relay said Monday the flame's arrival in Tibet would be postponed, but declined to give an exact date for the torch's journey through the region, which has been shrouded in secrecy.

The torch was originally supposed to travel through Tibet on June 18 or 19 before heading to China's largely Muslim region of Xinjiang and Qinghai province. Instead, it will travel through Xinjiang this week and then head to Tibet, said Li Lizhi of the Beijing Olympic torch relay center of the organizing committee for the games.

Li refused to give an exact date for the torch's arrival in Tibet.

It was not clear why the change was made, but the route through Tibet has been kept secret. Foreign journalists are still forbidden from entering Tibet, where a violent uprising in ethnic Tibetan areas throughout China in March led to a security clampdown in the region.