Three Canadians who were detained with other activists after demonstrating against China's occupation of Tibet have been deported from the country.

Lhadon Tethong, Sam Price and Melanie Raoul, with a number of other Tibetan activists, were released from detention and flown to Hong Kong Wednesday.

They are expected to arrive in Canada sometimes Thursday.

"We were kept in a room, all six of us, and had to sleep in chairs for the past 14 hours," said Price, 32, after landing in Hong Kong.

All three are members of Students for a Free Tibet. In addition to the three Canadians, the detainees included protesters from the U.S. and the U.K.

Price and Raoul, 25, both of Vancouver, were detained Tuesday after they unfurled a 42-square-metre banner on the Great Wall that read "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008."

The official slogan for the games is "One World, One Dream."

Family and fellow activists gathered in Vancouver to celebrate the release of the protesters.

"We were just so proud," said Raoul's sister, Alain Raoul. "It takes guts to do something like that, but there was a side of me that though, 'Why does it have to be my sister?'"

Tethong, a Victoria, B.C. resident and the executive director of the group, was taken into custody on Wednesday along with British colleague Paul Golding.

Tethong had been in Beijing for the past week, attempting to bring attention to what the group says are China's broken promises to improve human rights leading up to the Games.

The group was deported after a massive celebration in Tiananmen Square to kick off the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympics.

Tethong's brother Losel Tethong told CTV Newsnet he was relieved to hear that his sister had been released, but said the family would remain concerned until she had left Hong Kong and was en route home.

He said he had not yet spoken to his sister.

"I'm hoping to," he said. "But as you know, Hong Kong is still a part of China so we're not quite sure yet. This news is just in the last few minutes. We're not quite sure yet whether or not we'll be able to speak with them even when they're in Hong Kong."

Pollution concerns

Meanwhile, China came under pressure from Olympic chief Jacques Rogge, who is in Beijing and said that some of the 2008 events could be postponed due to air pollution.

"It is an option," Rogge said Wednesday.

"Sports with short durations would not be a problem, but endurance sports like cycling are examples of competitions that might be postponed or delayed."

China has spent billions in an attempt to reduce pollution, shutting down a host of factories and relocating others outside of Beijing, but has seen few results so far as non-stop construction and booming car sales continue.

The Wednesday comments represent Rogge's strongest remarks on the subject, which has been a concern for Beijing organizers since China won its bid for the Games.

"For him to say that, it's very much a warning call to Beijing and the Chinese government that they better clean up their act, if you will, and try to clean up the air," Chao said.

Wang Junyan, the director of cycling events for the Games, agreed China needs to do more.

"Rogge's comment reminds us that we have to work harder to fix environmental problems," Junyan said.

Some countries have said they intend to have their athletes train in locations outside of China right up until their events, in order to reduce their exposure to the heavy pollution.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Dave Lefebvre in Vancouver