BEIJING - Police detained eight foreign activists and a British journalist attempting to cover their protest, as the latest in a series of demonstrations spurred jumpiness about dissent during the Olympics.

Seven of the activists were Americans; the eighth was a half-Tibetan woman with Japanese citizenship, said Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, the group that organized the protest.

John Ray, of London-based ITV News, said he was detained as he rushed to the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park, south of the main Olympic stadium, where two protesters were blocking the main entrance and unfurling a ''Free Tibet'' banner on a park bridge.

Five other activists blocked the entrance of the park, which features a Tibet-related exhibit, and handcuffed themselves to each other and to bicycles around them. A sixth protester explained the reason for the demonstration, Tethong said.

The demonstration was the largest in a string of brief protests in Beijing since the games began last week. Most of the demonstrations have involved fewer than five people; foreign participants have been deported.

At a regular briefing Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang issued a stern warning.

''No matter Chinese citizens or foreigners, in China if you want to have processions or demonstrations, you should abide by Chinese laws and regulations,'' Qin said.

Other developments Wednesday

* The Dalai Lama said the world should be firm with China on human rights and freedoms but must also try to bring it into the ''mainstream of world democracy.'' The Tibetan spiritual leader's 12-day visit to France, coinciding largely with the Beijing Olympics, is devoted mostly to spiritual matters. The Dalai Lama had two opportunities to discuss the issue of tensions in Tibet - at a news conference and at a meeting with French lawmakers.

* China said some evidence suggests terrorist groups may have been involved in a series of attacks in the Muslim territory of Xinjiang, far from the Olympics in Beijing. Since the assaults began nine days ago, killing 31 people, authorities have been playing down the possible connection with terror groups that may be operating in Xinjiang, a sprawling region of deserts and mountains bordering eight Central Asian nations.