The Olympic torch has reached the top of Mount Everest. The torch is separate from the one that toured most of the world and became the focus of protests about China's role in Tibet. For the Chinese, reaching the summit is the climax of a massive, long-planned publicity campaign leading up the Olympic Games in August.

China hopes the spectacle of the flame atop the world's highest mountain will erase the memory of protesting Tibetan exiles being dragged away by police as the torch was taken from country to country. But some activists say that by taking the flame up Everst, China is trying to show its dominance over Tibetans. And, they say, the Chinese government has turned the mountain into a police state.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.