More protests even as Olympic torch hits home soil

The Olympic flame will be paraded through Hong Kong on Friday to a largely welcoming public and isolated protests, its first leg on Chinese soil after becoming a beacon of controversy on a 20-nation world tour.

The Hong Kong government has vowed to have the 8-hour torch run, which starts at 10 a.m. (10 p.m. EDT) and involves 120 bearers, go smoothly. In recent days, it has blocked several people from entering the former British colony, including three pro-Tibet campaigners and a Danish artist and rights activist.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association and other human rights advocacy groups condemned the curbs and blamed Beijing's invisible hand for tainting the city's free and open image.

American actress Mia Farrow was questioned by immigration authorities before being allowed into Hong Kong on Thursday, after being told torch relay disruptions would not be welcome.

Farrow has been pushing for China to do more to stop violence in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan, and planned to host a news conference on Friday to raise awareness ahead of August's Olympic Games in August.

In Kowloon, near where the torch relay was to start, about 25 democracy protesters and a large group of mainland Chinese students faced off in a shouting match as police kept a close watch.

Debby Chan, with the Tiananmen Mothers campaign, which is pushing for the government to give a truthful account of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters on June 4, 1989, 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."

Chinese university students waved national flags in front of the protesters' banners, and 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, named Yu Xiang.

The torch was dogged by problems along its international route, and its relays in Paris and London were marked by protests by human rights and pro-Tibet demonstrators.

Overseas Chinese rallied, however, and at later runs, including in Sydney and Seoul, Chinese students and others were out in force.

In Hong Kong, despite the protests, authorities and business groups have been at pains to emphasise the city's pride, enlisting tens of thousands of citizens to join numerous celebrations.

The hosts also plan to jazz up the torch relay, carrying the flame on a dragon boat and on horse-back, a nod to Hong Kong's hosting of the equestrian event in this summer's Beijing Games.