CHINA: China says Tibet leg of Olympic torch route will go ahead despite recent rioting

Record ID: 332499

  • Title: CHINA: China says Tibet leg of Olympic torch route will go ahead despite recent rioting
  • Date: 20th March 2008
  • Summary: (BN08) BEIJING, CHINA (MARCH 19, 2008) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE BEIJING ORGANISING COMMITTEE FOR THE OLYMPIC, JIANG XIAOYU, SAYING: "We believe that the Tibetan government will be able to maintain stability in Tibet and the Lhasa area, and will be able to ensure the smooth progress of the Olympic torch." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE BEIJING ORGANISING COMMITTEE FOR THE OLYMPIC, JIANG XIAOYU, SAYING: "These kind of disruptive prortests are in fact a challenge to the Olympic charter, and a challenge to all Olympic fans. They are also a challenge to the progress of peace in the world. I believe that these kind of activities will not win the hearts of the people, and will certainly fail." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE BEIJING ORGANISING COMMITTEE FOR THE OLYMPIC, JIANG XIAOYU, SAYING: "Relating to the plans of a few people, I want to say that those are the opinions and decisions of individuals. We believe that the majority of people will make a correct decision as to whether to attend the opening ceremony and the Olympic Games."
  • Embargoed: 4th April 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: International Relations,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA6G320QXP8QN0FDVBS9RDQIOC6
  • Story Text: The Tibetan leg of the Olympic torch relay will will go ahead as planned say Olympic authorities, despite the recent violent protests that shook the Tibetan capital.
    Shrugging off violent protests that have shaken Tibet, China said on Wednesday (March 19) the Olympic torch would go through the Himalayan region as planned on its way to August's Beijing Games.

    "We believe that the Tibetan government will be able to maintain stability in Tibet and the Lhasa area, and will be able to ensure the smooth progress of the Olympic torch," Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, said at a news conference.
    The crackdown on the protests in Tibet and neighbouring Chinese provinces, which may have killed dozens of people, have sparked calls for a boycott of Beijing's showcase Games.
    Many groups abroad have said that they intend to protest as the torch passes through their countries. The torch is to travel a 130-day relay around the world, the longest in Olympic history.

    "These kind of disruptive protests are in fact a challenge to the Olympic charter, and a challenge to all Olympic fans. They are also a challenge to the progress of peace in the world. I believe that these kind of activities will not win the hearts of the people, and will certainly fail," Jiang said.
    Tibetan activists demonstrated outside the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s headquarters in Lausanne on Tuesday (March 18), demanding Tibet be withdrawn from the torch relay.
    China accuses the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, of orchestrating the rash of monk-led protests and rioting -- the most serious in the Himalayan region for nearly two decades -- in a bid to wreck the August 8-24 Games.
    The spiritual leader denies he masterminded the protests -- which culminated last Friday (March 14) in a riot in the capital of Tibet, Lhasa -- from his base in the Indian town of Dharamsala. He says he wants greater autonomy for his homeland, not independence, as China suspects.
    The Tibetan government in exile says 99 people died when Chinese security forces moved to quell the riot, but Beijing says 13 "innocent civilians" were killed in the violence.
    International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge said on Monday (March 17) that no governments had called for a Games boycott. However, Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders urged officials to boycott the Olympics' opening ceremony over the "brutal repression" in Tibet, an idea French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has said France would consider.
    Moreover, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering, a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party, urged politicians on Tuesday to consider the boycott.
    In response to a question about those planning to boycott the games, Jiang said he believed most people would not do so.

    "Relating to the plans of a few people, I want to say that those are the opinions and decisions of individuals. We believe that the majority of people will make a correct decision as to whether to attend the opening ceremony and the Olympic Games," he said.
    The Olympic torch relay, which starts when it is lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece, next Monday (March 24), is scheduled to visit Tibet twice.
    When the flame arrives in Beijing on March 31 before embarking on its journey around the world, a second torch will be lit and taken to Tibet, where Chinese climbers will attempt to take it to the top of Mount Everest. The attempt will take place in early May whenever the weather conditions on the world's tallest mountain are most suitable.
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