Hong Kong - British officials in Hong Kong were Thursday preparing to meet a Hong Kong government minister to ask why two Britons planning to take part in anti-China protests during the Olympic torch relay on May 2 were refused entry. British consul-general Andrew Seaton is due to meet Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Friday afternoon to ask why Free Tibet Campaign spokesman Matt Whitticase and another unnamed Briton were detained at the airport on Tuesday.
A British consulate spokesman told Thursday's South China Morning Post that Seaton wanted to "seek clarification" over why the two Britons were refused entry to the former British colony.
European Union representatives are expected to join in the meeting between Seaton and Lee, the newspaper said, following the refusal to allow protesters from other European countries into Hong Kong in recent days.
Whitticase has returned to London and was due to give a press conference over the internet on the situation in Tibet later Thursday while the unnamed Briton was still being detained in Hong Kong and receiving medical treatment for high blood pressure.
The Britons are among a number of foreigners refused entry to Hong Kong ahead of Friday's torch relay, which will be the first appearance of the Olympic flame on Chinese soil after its troubled round-the-world tour.
On Saturday, Danish sculptor and human rights activist Jens Galschiot and his two sons were also denied entry to Hong Kong and sent on a plane back to Europe by immigration officials.
Hong Kong guarantees the freedom to protest under its 'one country, two systems' arrangement with Beijing which gives people more political freedom than in the rest of China.
However, the Hong Kong government appears anxious to ensure that protests like those seen in London and Paris do not disrupt the Olympic torch during its 30-kilometre relay through the city on Friday.
Immigration officials have refused to comment on any of the cases so far, insisting it will not comment on individual cases, but have said in statements they must "uphold effective immigration control so as to ensure Hong Kong's public interest."
US actress Mia Farrow, who has criticized China over its links with the Sudan, was due to arrive in Hong Kong later Thursday. The Hong Kong government has refused to say whether or not she will be allowed in.
