New Zealand's home of art deco architecture, Napier, is the second last New Zealand city to host the Human Rights Torch before it travels to Los Angeles on January 1.
The popular tourist destination was buzzing with life on Sunday as the torch wound through the main street and through the busy market, calling for human rights in China before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Napier City councillor Tracy Wright received the torch on behalf of the town's people.
Cr Wright said she would not tell athletes not to go to the Beijing Olympics, but they need to know that China is very different from New Zealand.
"New Zealand is a democracy where people are free to believe and say whatever they choose. The people in China don't have that same right," she said.
She said the athletes should understand that [China] is facing a very difficult situation, and there are a lot of human rights violations.
"I don't think I can tell anyone not to go. It's individual choice, but I think that it's good to make people aware of what is happening there - to know when they go there that things are very different.
"Maybe it will make them appreciate the democracy and the freedom that they have in their own country and make them careful about protecting that and make sure that we continue to have those freedoms here," she said.
Tracy and Hou Piripi led the torch through Napier's busy market and spoke out about the human rights abuses under China's communist regime. "We are in 2007, going into 2008, and they still don't have the freedom of choice and they are still under the communist regime. They are being treated so terribly I can't believe it is still going on today in such a huge capacity," Mrs Piripi said.
She said the use of child labour and the appalling labour conditions in China were enough to remove China's right to hold the Olympics, let alone the organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners.
"Where is the integrity of the people who run the Olympics, who know these atrocities are going on there. How can they sleep at night?"
"As a people we should be banding together, by uniting together for all of humanity and to make sure everyone is treated with love and kindness and respect," she said.
Mr and Mrs Piripi were offered teaching jobs in Chengdu, Suijitun Province, but she said they "felt very strongly that we would not go there".
They were warned about discussing democracy and religion if they went to China.
"We were told very strongly that we were not to talk about our religious beliefs or our political beliefs."
Mr Piripi said when they lived in Thailand they were warned by friends that communist authorities would kidnap them if they spoke to people in China about democracy or religion.
"It really saddens me that the Olympics are going to be held there," he said
He hoped the torch would raise awareness about all human rights abuses.
"It symbolizes life, family, peace and freedom. That is what it means to me."
The Human Rights Torch Relay was launched by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, and will travel to 150 cities across five continents before the Beijing Olympics scheduled for August 2008.
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