China is hardly rolling out the red carpet for Olympic protesters, but it will give them access to some green space miles from the main sports venues. A Beijing Olympic official, Liu Shaowu, said yesterday that several parks have been designated for protesters, according to the Associated Press. “We have already designated specific areas where people or protesters who want to express their personal opinions can go to do so,” Mr. Liu said, according to the AP. However, the official added, protesters need to apply for and receive permission in advance.

An academic who lobbied the government to set up the zones told the AP it was likely that foreigners would be allowed to protest in all the parks, while Chinese nationals would be allowed to use only the most distant one.

Human rights groups criticized the protest zone plan, but Mr. Liu noted that similar protest pens were set up in Athens in 2004 and Salt Lake City in 2002. It is unclear what will happen to demonstrators who stray from the designated parks.

FUMES PROMPT CHAOTIC FLIGHT FROM BROADCAST CENTER

Olympic organizers are blaming improperly discarded paint for noxious fumes that led to the chaotic evacuation yesterday of the main broadcast center set up in Beijing for the games, the Associated Press reported. Although the brand-new facilities have been billed as state of the art, occupants of the building said no alarms sounded and there were no official announcements. “Ladies were running up and down the corridors saying, ‘Get out of the building,” John Barton of the Asia-Pacific Broadcast Union told the AP. “I stepped out of my office, and I thought it was some kind of joke — no sirens, no speakers, nothing.”

Occupants of the building initially considered the fumes to be a gas leak, but officials blamed paint fumes that were drawn into the building’s air vents. Olympic organizers told the AP that evacuation plans would be in place by Tuesday. The games open on August 8.