Despite the tight security in Beijing, foreign activists staged two separate demonstrations to protest China's human rights record. Four foreigners were detained for displaying giant banners near the main Olympic "Bird's Nest" stadium, calling for a free Tibet.
One of the banners carried the slogan "One World, One Dream: Free Tibet," while the other read "Tibet will be Free." The slogan is the same as that of banners that members of New York-based Students for a Free Tibet unfurled last year on Mount Everest and the Great Wall.
The activists -- two from the United States, and two from Britain -- were members of the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet.
China's harsh crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet and other regions in March sparked international criticism. The worldwide relay of the Olympic torch was marred by a handful of chaotic demonstrations.