Torch relay inspires show of patriotism in Hong Kong

Torch relay runner, Hong Kong actor Andy Lau runs past cheering Chinese as he is surrounded by security personnel and police officers during the Olympic torch relay in a downtown street in Hong Kong Friday, May 2, 2008. The eight-hour relay through canyons of skyscrapers was expected to be a big challenge for Hong Kong 's leaders and police. The torch is finally back on Chinese soil, and Beijing wants no repeat of the protests and chaos that dogged the flame during its 20-nation overseas tour. (AP Photo/Melanie Ko)

HONG KONG—Hong Kong's near flawless Olympic torch relay Friday might help ease Beijing's suspicions that the former British colony doesn't love the Chinese motherland enough.

Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents dressed in red -- the Communist Party's favorite color -- lined the streets and cheered during the flame's tour through this bastion of capitalism.

There were no massive protests demanding more democracy in the city that Britain handed back to China 11 years ago. Human rights groups and pro-Tibet activists didn't try to block the relay, as others have during the flame's overseas odyssey in 20 nations.

Instead, for many in Hong Kong, it was a day to celebrate and be proud to be Chinese. Many carried Chinese flags or wore big red stickers on their shirts saying, "Go China!"

After the relay, Hong Kong's No. 2 leader, Henry Tang, praised the turnout of more than 100,000, saying people created an "ocean of red that has washed over Hong Kong."

Hong Kong has long been different from the rest of the China. Much of its population was born in mainland China but fled to Hong Kong to escape the poverty and turmoil of the first decades of Communist rule.

In the final years of the British era, many residents scrambled to apply for citizenship in the U.S., Britain and Canada, among other countries.

The city still holds annual vigils marking the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing in 1989. Activists have also held massive street demonstrations for more democracy.

All this has caused Beijing to wonder about how deep the patriotic feelings run among Hong Kong's 6.8 million people. The Chinese leadership does not let the city's voters directly elect top leaders, and officials partly blame a lack of trust.

When it returned to Chinese rule, Hong Kong was promised a wide degree of autonomy under a "one country, two systems" formula. The arrangement allows civil liberties -- like the freedom of speech -- that those in the rest of China can only dream about.

That's why the day before the torch relay, actress Mia Farrow was allowed into Hong Kong to give a speech criticizing China's ties with Sudan. On Friday, she staged a one-woman protest on the sidelines of the relay, lighting her own torch to honor those killed in the fighting in Sudan's Darfur region.

"As the games approach, China has the opportunity to change the course of history," she said, urging Beijing to use its influence to stop the bloodshed.

At times Friday, the strong feelings for China boiled over and caused conflicts with pro-Tibet and democracy protesters.

One large group of torch supporters confronted pro-democracy activists, yelling "running dog," "traitor" and "get out." One heckler said, "Do you think this is Paris?" -- a reference to the disruption of the relay in the French capital.

About 80 police surrounded the protesters and eventually put them in a police van for protection.

Pro-Tibet university student Christina Chan was threatened by 30 torch supporters who pushed and shoved a dozen officers protecting her. Several onlookers heckled Chan, shouting "What kind of Chinese are you?" and "What a shame!"

Chan, who had a Tibet flag, said, "Why can't we just respect each other and express our views?"

As the crowd became more hostile, police put Chan in a van against her will.

"What right do they have to take me away? I have a right to express my opinion," she said.

The flame heads next to Macau for a relay Saturday.

Also Friday, state media reported that China has named the 50-member national team charged with carrying a separate Olympic flame to the summit of Mount Everest.

The team, including mountaineers and support staff, is composed of Han Chinese, ethnic Tibetans, and other ethnic minorities such as Hui, Tu and Tujia, said Zhang Zhijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Mountaineering Team, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Climbing the 29,035-foot summit "is a collective job; nobody can do it alone," said Zhang, who spoke to reporters at Everest base camp. The timing of the ascent depends on the weather.

The Everest ascent is considered sensitive because the mountain slope lies in Tibet, where protests against Chinese rule were put down by soldiers and police in March. Reaction to the crackdown sparked unruly protests during the torch relay.