Police Remove Hong Kong Torch Protesters 'for Own Protection'

Police removed human rights protesters from the streets of Hong Kong this morning as the anger of pro-China supporters flared on the first day of the Olympic torch's domestic journey.

Several activists were bundled into a van and driven away after furious pro-Olympic demonstrators waving Chinese flags tried to break through the police line protecting them, haranguing them and attempting to seize their placards and Tibetan flag - which is banned in China.

Around 50,000 spectators gathered to celebrate the approach of the games and set the flame on the road to Beijing. Most were in upbeat mood despite the rain.

"It is a great and solemn honor for Hong Kong, Asia's world city, to welcome back the Olympic flame on behalf of our proud nation," the region's chief executive, Donald Tsang, said at the relay's start.

But the presence of a small number of human rights campaigners sparked hostility near the start of the route.

Pro-China demonstrators barracked and jostled activists, grabbing at their placards - though a few tried to defuse the confrontation.

While activists elsewhere chose to take refuge in police vans, student Christina Chan resisted her removal, despite officers' insistence they were seeking to protect her.

"We have the right to express our views in Hong Kong. We haven't done anything wrong? Why are we being taken away?" she said.

Asked if she was concerned about her safety, she told reporters: "I'm more worried about people not having any room in Hong Kong to talk about anything that's contrary to the government's opinion anymore."

Hong Kong enjoys political freedom not available on the mainland under the "one country, two systems" formula.

Police released Chan and her fellow activists shortly after removing them. She said she planned to protest again today as the torch continues its journey through the city.

Another man, cab driver Ng Pun-tuk, who was holding a placard urging dialog between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama, was surrounded by bystanders who swore at him, jostled him and called him "mentally sick" and a traitor.

"I was just expressing my opinion. What right do they have to treat me like this? They are uncivilized," he said.

Debby Chan, of the Tiananmen Mothers campaign, said: "We also support the Olympics, but we just want to make the additional point that China must live up to its human rights promises."

Nearby, a separate group of around 25 democracy protesters and a large group of Chinese students faced off as police kept watch. Pro-government demonstrators shouted and sang the national anthem to try to drown out the calls for democracy.

"We are here peacefully to express our ideals that we love China and the motherland," said one, Yu Xiang.

Security was extremely tight and around 3,000 police were guarding the route. Crowds were kept at a distance and at least 16 of the blue-and-white track suited "torch protection squad" surrounded the torch-bearers.

Several people - including pro-Tibet campaigners and a Danish human rights activist - were barred from the region in the run-up to the relay.

The actor Mia Farrow was allowed to enter yesterday after reassuring officials she had no intention of disrupting the torch parade or even protesting near it.

She has come to the territory to press China to use its influence on the Sudanese government to halt the bloodshed in Darfur.

The torch will go to Macau, another special administrative region, tomorrow, before starting its journey through the mainland to arrive in the Chinese capital on August 8. A separate flame is in Tibet, awaiting good weather so that it can be carried to the top of the world's highest mountain, Everest.

The protests along the international leg of the "journey of harmony" deeply embarrassed Beijing and prompted counter-demonstrations by patriotic Chinese people.

Several hundred people demonstrated outside branches of the French store Carre four on the mainland yesterday, in protests sparked by the disruption of the relay in Paris.