Two days later, the CNN commentator Jack Cafferty made derogatory remarks on China, calling the Chinese "the same goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stood by China.

IOC President Jacques Rogge has told the West to be fair with China and to stop hectoring China over human rights.

"That is the big mistake of people in the West wanting to adding their views," he told Saturday's Financial Times.

Kim Jong Kil, chairman of South Korea's Olympic Committee, expressed his belief that the Beijing Games will be the most successful in history.

"It is not appropriate to disrupt the flame's relay, let alone boycott the Beijing Olympic Games," Kim said.

The sacred Olympic torch will continue its journey in Hong Kong on May 2 and in Macao on May 3. The relay on the Chinese mainland will start on May 4.

(Xinhua News Agency May 1, 2008)