Pro-Tibetan protesters deported from China return to Canadian soil

"It was pretty clear I wasn't authorizing it," Andersen said.

The Edmonton man was among seven pro-Tibet demonstrators who returned home Monday after Chinese officials kicked them out of the country on Sunday.

Andersen, who's a member of Students for a Free Tibet Canada, arrived at Edmonton International Airport just after noon on Monday, and rummaged around in his backpack in search of the flag that got him into this situation in the first place.

"With the Olympics going on you see all these athletes carrying their flags - their flags pinned on their bodies," Andersen said, holding the flag in front of him. "The one flag you can't pull out is the Tibetan flag because it's illegal to possess one in China."

He said undercover Chinese security officials were trailing them before he and fellow demonstrators were tackled when they brought out the flags.

"At one point I looked back and there were eight of them behind us," said Andersen, 28.

"We highlighted what the Chinese government does to anyone who dissents. They crush dissent immediately."

Maude Cote, a founding board member of Students for a Free Tibet Canada, and Padma-Dolma Fielitz, a German woman with Tibetan ancestry, were also arrested with Andersen.

Andersen said Fielitz was dragged across the floor by the officers. He said that at one point an officer had his hand around her neck while they tried to take away her flag.

A short time later, Mike Hudema, a prominent spokesman for Greenpeace in Alberta, was detained along with four other people from Edmonton, their luggage thoroughly searched before being questioned individually.

The five Canadians who were detained at a Beijing hotel before subsequently being deported were identified as Hudema, 32, Jasmine Freed, 28, Paul Christopher Baker, 29, Denise Ogonoski, 26, and William Nelson 32.

Although he's been involved with Greenpeace in the past, Andersen said he wasn't collaborating with them in Beijing.

Tsering Lama, national director for Students for a Free Tibet Canada, said she couldn't say how many people belonging to her organization are in Beijing. She said support for the cause goes beyond formal groups, using the heavily attended pro-Tibetan demonstrations during the Paris and London legs of the torch run earlier this year as examples.

"Those were all individuals that had nothing to do with Students for a Free Tibet," Lama said. "(The demonstrators) felt that there was an injustice and decided to take it upon themselves to act."

During the lead-up to the Olympics, Tibetan activists tried to ramp up pressure on China, especially in the wake of violent protests in Tibet back in March.

Many Tibetans believe China forcibly annexed their territory when Chinese troops invaded in 1950. China insists Tibet has always been part of its territory.

Although Andersen doubts he'll ever be able to return to China, he said there are plenty of others there right now to keep on protesting for the duration of the games.

"China chose to politicize the Olympics by taking the torch to Tibet in an effort to assert their dominance over the country," he said.