HONG KONG:HONG KONG enthusiastically welcomed the Olympic torch as it returned to Chinese soil after an eventful round-the-world relay, dogged by protest over Beijing's tough stance on Tibet.
China's tough crackdown on riots in Tibet in March has become a flashpoint for global anti-China protests that have disrupted the Olympic torch relay and led to calls for state leaders to boycott the Beijing Olympics, which open in three months.
Seemingly bowing to international pressure on Tibet, Beijing has agreed to meet envoys of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader. The Tibetan government-in-exile said senior envoys of the Dalai were travelling to China to meet the authorities over the crisis.
The Chinese government, which sent troops to Tibet in 1950 and says it liberated the region from feudal serfdom, blames the exiled Buddhist leader's "clique" for unrest in Lhasa and other Tibetan areas, saying he is a violent "splittist".
Enthusiastic crowds in red T-shirts braved the rain to cheer the arrival of the "sacred flame" in Hong Kong. Free Tibet protesters were jeered and heckled and police briefly detained eight activists. There was tight security, including the by now familiar phalanx of burly Chinese security guards in their trademark blue and white tracksuits joining local police in guarding the flame.
Patriotic Chinese responded to the torch controversy by turning out in force during the relay events abroad, which led to clashes in Seoul in South Korea.
In China there have been demonstrations against perceived bias in the western media in reporting of Tibetan unrest, while there have been protests outside French business outlets such as supermarket chain Carrefour, because French president Nicolas Sarkozy has said he may not attend the opening ceremony.
President George Bush said he was pleased Beijing and representatives of the Dalai Lama were willing to meet.His decision to give the Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama in October was welcomed with wild enthusiasm in Tibet, greatly energising the autonomy movement.
A group of conservative and liberal lawmakers in Congress called for a boycott of the opening ceremony because of China's human rights record.
The remainder of the torch relay is expected to go smoothly, although tight security is expected for its run through Tibet in mid-June.
A sister flame waits in base camp on Everest for good weather to begin its run over the world's highest peak.
