As a proud Australian citizen, ACT resident and all-round lover of sport, I was delighted to see a vibrant turn out for the Olympic torch relay.
However, in choosing to express my freedom of speech by displaying a human rights logo, I did not expect to be mobbed, physically abused and verbally harassed by an overwhelming swarm of riotous Chinese supporters.
At one stage I was confined to a group of seven, surrounded by Chinese flags aiming to contain our presence by concealing or beating down our flags, wayward swings landing on our faces and shoulders. Little safety was provided by security or police when outside of the immediate vicinity of the torch, allowing Chinese supporters to chant phrases such as "go home", "one China" and "how much were you paid?".
Curiosity about this last comment led me to ask as to why they would make such a statement. Aggressive responses were: "we were paid to do this".
Such comments changed my understanding of what the Chinese supporters were really there for and how things might be done in China. From my experience, the attention was never on the well-advertised concert at Stage 88, or the torch for the most part, as both were largely inaccessible for those not sporting the colour red.
The attention from the masses of red was directed at bullying the largely passive minority groups, of which the general public is included.
The "spectacular success" depicted by the media is a matter about whether the torch relay took place without too many negative incidents, or whether Australian citizens were able to peacefully and publicly express an opinion without being harassed or bullied by a bigger and more powerful mob who may or may not have also been Australian citizens.
Caitlin Roy, Waramanga
It was enough to swell Canberrans' hearts with pride: a sea of red flags in the finest tradition of "spontaneous" communist demos. Ah, those were the days. Ted Quinlan was visibly moved, in claiming a brilliantly successful day, marred only by some capitalist bourgeois running dog who tried to burn a communist flag. He was arrested, and quite right too. If he'd done it in Beijing, the comrades would have known how to deal with him. And send his family a bill for the bullet.
Dr Alan N. Cowan, Yarralumla
I attended the torch relay in Canberra carrying a small sign saying "China sends weapons to Robert Mugabe".
I was harassed by a group of Chinese students, in particular a tall man who followed me around trying to drape a Chinese flag over me. I walked to another part of the relay route and stood by myself with my sign.
A large group of Chinese students surrounded me and nearly smothered me with their flags. I tried to run away from them but they wouldn't let me go, they just made a tighter circle around me. In the end a policeman had to rescue me from them.
At no time did I attempt to cross the barricades or get near the torch. These Chinese students are thugs who do not respect the rights of anyone to have their say. They will probably get good jobs with the Chinese Government when they finish their studies.
Annie Carroll, Acton