CHINA: OLYMPIC GAMES - 2008 Olympic games will speed up reform in China, say organisers
Record ID:
329561
CHINA: OLYMPIC GAMES - 2008 Olympic games will speed up reform in China, say organisers
- Title: CHINA: OLYMPIC GAMES - 2008 Olympic games will speed up reform in China, say organisers
- Date: 9th August 2006
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (FILE) (REUTERS) WIDE SHOT OF ROOM WITH MODEL OF OLYMPIC STADIUM/OFFICIALS WATCHING CLOSE UP OF STADIUM MODEL ON DISPLAY WIDE SHOT OF STADIUM CONSTRUCTION SITE CLOSE UP OF GIRDERS CONSTRUCTION WORKERS MORE OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WIDE OF STADIUM UNDER CONSTRUCTION WORKERS INSTALLING HUGE PIPE MORE OF WORKER MEDIUM SHOT OF OLYMPIC "FIVE-RING" SYMBOL
- Embargoed: 24th August 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVADUIISM7X4Y5T2YYJWEBVZ8T6A
- Story Text: The Beijing Olympics, which open two years to the day, will act as a catalyst for political and social development in China, organising committee Secretary General Wang Wei said on Tuesday (August 8).
"The development that the Olympics is going to bring to China is going to be multi-faceted. As you have said, this would bring change in terms of aspects of our government. By hosting the Olympics, we are learning to use an international model, which is to employ a corporate model facilitated by assistance from various governmental organisations. On the other hand, we are also incorporating a unique Chinese characteristic, which is for the government to play a major role. The lessons we learn would be helpful in the future, in the reform of the functionality of the government and in the coordinating of functions between our government and various other organisations in society," Wang said.
Many within the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had hoped awarding China the Games would help accelerate reform in the in the Communist-controlled state.
Wang, a former deputy secretary general of the Beijing municipality, said the government had learnt a lot from cooperating with the corporate world in staging the Olympics.
One issue that still gives cause for concern is media freedom.
The Foreign Correspondents Club of China released a statement on Monday complaining of harrassment and calling on the government to ease reporting restrictions ahead of the Olympics.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders also weighed in with a statement, accusing the IOC of ignoring what they called China's crackdown on the media.
At Tuesday's new conference, Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu reiterated his president Liu Qi's commitment to allowing reporters the same freedom they had enjoyed at previous Games.
Jiang added that the commitment applied to journalists accredited by the IOC to cover the Games and those without accreditation.
The officials said preparations for the Olympics were going well, although Jiang said more work was needed to improve the traffic situation in Beijing.
BOCOG still plan to include Taiwan on the torch relay route, although the self-governing island, which China considers a rebel province, had not yet been approached.
Wang was unsure whether Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian would participate in the opening ceremony. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None