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Beijing's torch was lit amidst protests
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May 02, 2008, 18:15
The Olympic torch was run through Hong Kong today in a festive return to China after a troubled world tour, but tensions flared as patriotic crowds heckled protesters and police briefly detained eight activists.
The torch's five-continent journey has been dogged by demonstrations, mostly over China's crackdown against protests in Tibet, which have deeply embarrassed Beijing and provoked retaliatory rallies at home and abroad by patriotic Chinese.
Seemingly bowing to international pressure on Tibet, Beijing said last week it would meet envoys of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader. Today, the Tibetan government-in-exile, which is based in India, said its officials would arrive in China tomorrow for "informal" talks. China has blamed the exiled Buddhist leader's "clique" for unrest across Lhasa and other Tibetan areas, which it says was aimed at upstaging the Beijing Olympics in August.
In Hong Kong, security around the flame was tight, with roads closed, crowds kept at a distance, and at times as many as 16 Chinese torch security guards in blue and white track suits and police on motorcycles alongside the torch bearers. All along the torch's route, tens of thousands of cheering citizens packed sidewalks and strained for a glimpse of the flame as it winded its way across the territory by foot, dragon boat and horseback, as well as by yacht across the city's iconic harbour.
Despite the outpouring of support, small bands of demonstrators confined to protest pens along the route demanded Beijing honour its Olympics human rights promises, but were confronted at times by bristling crowds.
Early in the day, torch supporters surrounded and shouted profanities at a small group of demonstrators calling for religious freedom and brandishing a Tibetan flag. Police tried to prevent them from raising the flag and led the eight protesters to a van, along with a Chinese man who'd tried to snatch away their flag. They were later released and told they had been taken away for their own safety.
Solemn honour
Authorities in the former British colony have drawn criticism for taking an uncharacteristically tough line including blocking several people from entering the city, among them three pro-Tibet campaigners and a Danish artist and rights activist.
"It is a great and solemn honour for Hong Kong, Asia's world city, to welcome back the Olympic flame on behalf of our proud nation," Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang said at the relay's start.
A march by a pro-democracy group which holds an annual commemoration for the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing in 1989, was shadowed every step of the way by crowds of chanting Olympics supporters who tried to slow their progress.
Elsewhere, Chinese university students waved national flags in front of protesters' banners, and shouted and sang the national anthem to try to drown out the calls for democracy.
In the US, conservative and liberal members of congress joined forces to urge a US government boycott of the opening ceremony of the Games, accusing China of gross human rights violations.
After Hong Kong, the torch goes to the Chinese gambling hub Macau and then starts its journey through the mainland. A sister flame is awaiting good weather to summit Mount Everest. Many expect the flame to now have a smooth run on Chinese soil with the possible exception of its Tibet leg in mid-June, leading up to the August 8 opening ceremony in Beijing. - Reuters
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