BEIJING (AP) – Proposals to take the torch relay through Taiwan and Tibet for the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be evaluated this month by the IOC, a run that would take the race through politically charged territory.

Beijing organizers will present the proposed route to the International Olympic Committee at meetings in Beijing over the next 10 days. Beijing officials say the IOC is expected to announce the route on the final day of talks on April 26.

For China, the torch relay route could be used to underscore Chinese claims to Tibet, a Himalayan region under Beijing’s control since 1950, and Taiwan, the self-ruled island that split from the mainland in 1949.

Taiwan has offered a compromise proposal to bring the torch from an IOC-member country – South Korea, Japan or a nation in Southeast Asia – to Taiwan and then to Hong Kong, which is part of China but for historical reasons has a separate IOC membership.

Such an arrangement could be acceptable to both sides. Taiwan could claim it is part of the international route, not the domestic route through China, while a Taiwan-Hong Kong hand-off would allow Beijing to obscure the difference.

Organizers declined Monday to confirm the route. Chen Kuo-yi, secretary general of the Taiwan Olympic Committee, said last week his group had told Beijing organizers it would accept such a plan. Reports in Japan also said Taiwan had reached an agreement with China.

China’s plans, leading up to the opening ceremony on Aug. 8, 2008, present other logistical difficulties.

The Tibet route takes the torch to the top of Mount Everest. Three months ago, officials said climbers were in training to carry a specially designed torch which burns in the low-oxygen air.

at Everest’s summit. Some environmentalists have opposed the venture.

The IOC’s coordination commission, which oversees Beijing’s preparations, is holding three days of meetings beginning Tuesday. The IOC executive board meets next week.

In addition to the torch route, the IOC will be looking at organizers’ plans for athletes, media, Olympic sponsors, fans and the Paralympic Games.

IOC officials have consistently praised Beijing for being far ahead of schedule in building venues.

However, last month Beijing organizers acknowledged the architectural jewel of the games – the National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest – was facing minor delays. It was supposed to be finished by the end of the year, but now is scheduled for completion in early 2008.

Twenty-six test events are set for this summer. The new venues are part of a mammoth project to rebuild Beijing, which is reportedly spending between $40 billion and $160 billion on infrastructure, including subways, roads and sprawling blocks of new glass towers.

AP-ES-04-16-07 1347EDT