Two Greek goddesses, seven flaming torches, and a crowd of people quietly walked down the middle of Queen St in central Auckland on Sunday. They were calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics  - if the human rights violations in China continue.

Chinese and Kiwi onlookers looked mesmerised at the procession involving Auckland's Burmese community, monks from Tibet, Sri Lanka, and Burma, Chinese pro-democracy activists, members of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) and concerned citizens.

Auckland is the first of 16 New Zealand cities to host the global Human Rights  Torch Relay as it travels to over 130 cities in 25 countries.

Auckland City Councillor and CIPFG member Dr Cathy Casey was the torch bearer at the ceremony to mark the start of the New Zealand tour.

Dr Casey said the torch is a symbol of solidarity for the plight of the Chinese people, and particularly Falun Gong practitioners.

"The symbolic torch relay shines for all victims of the Chinese Communist Party ," she said.

Dr Casey became involved in CIPFG after the Hon. David Kilgour -- co-author of an investigation report of state-sanctioned organ harvesting of living Falun Gong practitioners -- visited New Zealand almost two years ago.

Dr Casey had a kidney removed two years ago and said she could understand why people travel to China  for a transplant.

"What China will not tell you is that [the organ] may have come a Falun Dafa practitioner," Dr Casey said.

She said that China needs to allow into the country independent investigators to research the organ harvesting allegations, including Amnesty International  who is barred from China.

Marie Leadbetter, from the Indonesia Human Rights Commission, said everyone would benefit if Falun Gong, the Burmese people, the people of Darfur and the Tibetans worked more closely together.

"One of the reasons that we are not making progress on human rights in this is because we didn't work together often enough," she said.

Ms Leadbetter said China's slogan for the Olympics 'One China – One Dream' was inappropriate as the human rights abuses continue in the lead-up to the games.

Representative from the Taiwanese community, Gui Seng Yang, said China should not be allowed to host the Olympics.

"Do you know when every stadium is built in China, how many people lose their homes? They have lost their homes without compensation," he said.

Green Party MP Keith Locke said the torch relay was very important for all groups suffering human rights abuses under communist China.

"This is a relay for freedom. Not only in China, but around the world," he said.

Green MP Nandor Tanczos welcomed the Human Rights Torch Relay in Hamilton as it reached there following the Auckland ceremony on Sunday.

He said the Chinese regime had promised to improve human rights in China, but had actually intensified the persecution against dissident groups.

"We must show the government of Beijing that the world will not be fooled by their clean-up job.

"We demand human rights for all people in China and demand them now," he said.

The Torch will travel to Rotorua, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown, Wanaka, Mt Cook, Neslon, Napier and Gisborne, before leaving for Los Angeles on January 1.