Olympic torch on home soil in Hong Kong

HONG KONG, May 2 (UPI) -- The Olympic torch began the 20th leg of its international relay Friday on home soil in Hong Kong, making its way to Beijing, the site of the 2008 Summer Games.

The first torchbearer in the eight-hour Hong Kong segment was Lee Lai-shan, Hong Kong's first Olympic gold medalist, reported Xinhua, China's official news agency. She won gold in the women's mistral boardsailing class at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

"Today, the Olympic torch relay resumes on Chinese soil after its global journey across five continents. It is a great and solemn honor for Hong Kong, Asia's world city, to be the first city in China to welcome back the Olympic flame on behalf of our proud nation," Donald Tsang, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said before handing the torch to Lee.

The torch's route has been shortened, curtailed and hidden from public view as it worked its way from Greece to China across five continents. Raucous protesters turned out in Paris, London and San Francisco, demonstrating against China for its record on human rights and its military crackdown on Tibet. Officials in some countries, fearing similar demonstrations, provided ticket-only viewing of the relay.