HK torch relay begins with patriots shouting insults at protesters

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Hong Kong, May 2: : Runners carried the Olympic flame through Hong Kong in a steady drizzle Friday, as large groups of flag-waving torch supporters shouted insults at pro-Tibet and human rights protesters, forcing them to seek refuge in police vans.

One angry patriotic mob harassed a small group of pro-democracy supporters, yelling at them, "Do you think this is Paris?" It was a reference to the French leg of the relay that was disrupted by protests.

Another protester holding a Tibetan flag was carried into a police van after she was threatened by 30 torch supporters who pushed and shoved a dozen officers protecting her.

Despite the streetside tensions, the early stage of the relay went smoothly on the rain-soaked roads. No one tried to lock the flame as a chain of smiling athletes, movie stars and tycoons jogged around the city amid heavy security.

Hong Kong's eight-hour relay over highways, bridges and through canyons of skyscrapers was a big challenge for the leaders and police in the Chinese territory. The torch was finally back on Chinese soil, and Beijing wanted no repeat of the protests and chaos that disrupted the flame during its 20-nation overseas tour.

But trouble was likely in Hong Kong, which enjoys civil liberties unrivalled in the rest of China. Hong Kong was a British colony until the city was handed back to China 11 years ago. Although Beijing makes all the big political decisions, Hong Kong was promised a wide degree of autonomy under a formula called "one country, two systems."

Street protests are routine in Hong Kong, and the media frequently criticize leaders, though press critics say self-censorship is common.

In the past week, authorities used a blacklist to stop seven pro-Tibet and human rights activists at the airport. They were questioned and deported, in a tactic authorities typically use ahead of events involving high-ranking Chinese leaders. They decline to explain the deportations.

But actress Mia Farrow was allowed into Hong Kong Thursday to give a speech Friday critical of China's cozy ties with Sudan.

Farrow said immigration officials asked her for assurances that she wouldn't disrupt the torch relay. She said she wouldn't.

Before the relay began, Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang gave a speech that highlighted the city's freedoms.