Torch Gets Huge Welcome in Hong Kong

Thousands of people waving the Chinese flag cheered the Olympic torch on its relay through Hong Kong, shouting down scattered Tibetan protesters in their midst, the BBC reports. There were a few scuffles as the torch wound its way through the streets in the first leg of the torch relay to take place on Chinese soil.

Eight activists brandishing a Tibetan flag were briefly detained and told it was for their own safety. "It was a very dirty trick," one told Reuters. "I think it was a political decision to remove us." (More Hong Kong stories.)