Torch draws mass support and protest

By James Pomfret

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Olympic torch was run through Hong Kong on Friday 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.

On Friday, the Tibetan government-in-exile, which is based in India, said its officials would arrive in China on Saturday 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 harbor.

Despite the outpouring of support, small bands of demonstrators confined to protest pens along the route demanded Beijing honor 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.

"It was a very dirty trick because I think it was a political decision to remove us 10 minutes before the torch got there," Christina Chan, one of the protesters told Reuters.

Another lone elderly protester holding a placard urging dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama was circled by shouting bystanders who tore his clothing, called him a traitor and said he was "mentally sick".

"I was just expressing my opinion. What right do they have to treat me like this? They are uncivilized!" said the man, 72-year-old cab driver Ng Pun-tuk.

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.