Two Canadian activists planning to protest during Hong Kong's leg of the Olympic torch relay were among a handful of foreigners promptly deported upon arrival at Hong Kong's international airport Tuesday, the activists say.

The torch is set to arrive in Hong Kong on Wednesday after completing its international journey around the world that's been marred by protests against China's human rights record and its recent crackdown on Tibetan protesters.

The two Canadians — Tsering Lama, 24, of Toronto and Kate Woznow, 27, who lives in New York — are organizers for the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet.

The activist group says the two Canadians were detained and questioned for three hours after arriving at Hong Kong International Airport.

Woznow told the Associated Press by phone before takeoff that immigration officials questioned her about her trip but gave no reason for turning her back.

She accused the Hong Kong government of caving in to pressure from Beijing. "I really thought that Hong Kong authorities were different from Beijing," she said.

Students for a Free Tibet spokeswoman Lhadon Tethong said Woznow was put on a return flight to New York, while it was unclear where Lama, an ethnic Tibetan from Toronto, was headed.

Two others deported

The two were planning to hold a joint press conference with London-based Free Tibet Campaign to coincide with the start of the Hong Kong leg of the run on Friday.

Another pro-Tibetan protester with Free Tibet Campaign, Matt Whitticase, was also turned away in Hong Kong.

"The Chinese government has shut out international observers and media from Tibet, and now they have even stopped individuals from speaking out in Hong Kong about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Tibet," Woznow said in a press release. "They clearly have much to hide."

A fourth person, Zhang Yu, general secretary for the Independent Chinese PEN Center, was also detained for at least seven hours at the airport before being put on a plane back to Paris late Tuesday, Hong Kong Journalists Association general secretary Mak Yin-ting said on Wednesday.

Zhang, who is based in Sweden, planned to attend a four-day writers and artists conference calling for freedom of expression that coincided with the torch relay, said Mak.

The grounds for deportation were not immediately clear since Hong Kong officials have said repeatedly they won't discuss individual cases.

The Hong Kong leg of the torch relay is expected to be closely watched since it is the first part of the flame's six-continent tour on Chinese soil. The Beijing Games are set to begin on Aug. 8.

Nepal also deported mountaineer

Hong Kong, a former British colony now under China, is expected to face demonstrations since it grants visa-free entry to many Westerners.

Officials plan to deploy about 3,000 officers to guard the flame when it travels through on Friday. On Tuesday, the torch completed its international portion of the journey when passed peacefully through Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Also on Tuesday, the government of Nepal said it had deported American mountaineer William Brant Holland for violating regulations by bringing a "Free Tibet" banner to Mount Everest base camp. It also ordered a BBC news crew out of the camp.

A separate torch is being taken up Mount Everest in Tibet by Chinese and Tibetan mountain climbers.

Even though the relay will take place on the Chinese side of the mountain, Nepal has posted dozens of soldiers on its side and banned climbing near the summit between Thursday and May 10 to try to prevent protests.

With files from the Associated Press