Eddie Romero's unusual protest, now making the rounds on YouTube, shows foreigners can still sneak through the tight security measures China imposed to keep potential troublemakers away from the games, which start tomorrow.

Romero's friends say the preacher is in hiding, but plans to surrender to Chinese authorities as soon as the Olympics end August 24th.

Romero is a part-time philosophy professor at Mt. San Antonio Community College in Walnut (California). He taped the door keys to the rooms' ``Do Not Disturb'' tags, hung them outside and had supporters tell journalists by e-mail where to find them.

A friend, British-based pastor Tony Thomas, says Romero has no special connection to China, but he had a vision for the project in 2001 after watching Beijing win the right to host the games.

Thomas says Romero hatched the protest plan - which he eventually named ``The Gadfly Project'' - after consulting with a few close friends at his Hacienda Christian Fellowship church and talking with American activists who campaign for Chinese rights.