China is strongly dissatisfied with a statement by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
"We urge political figures in the US to respect the spirit and principles of the Olympic Games, adopt a responsible attitude toward the Games and the torch relay, and not to do anything that is against people's aspirations," spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular news briefing.
She made the remarks when asked to comment on Pelosi's recent statement: "I believe that the International Olympic Committee made a mistake in awarding the 2008 Summer Games to China."
Pelosi also said she supports "the rights of individuals and groups to make their views known about the actions of the Chinese government" when the Olympic torch passes through San Francisco next month.
Jiang said it was the solemn decision by the IOC to award Beijing the 2008 Summer Games, which represents the universal aspirations of people around the world, including the United States.
Ensuring the success of the torch relay in San Francisco is the common wish of both the Chinese and US people, Jiang said.
Responding to reports that Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe has said a banner supportive of human rights would be hung in front of the city's town hall on the day of the torch's arrival next Monday, she said: "We believe France will cherish the Olympic torch relay."
In another development, the IOC coordination commission concluded its 10th and last inspection tour in Beijing yesterday, stating that the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) is right on track to stage a superb Olympic Games in August.
"We can again report that the commission has seen that BOCOG's operations are absolutely right on track," Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC coordination commission, said.
"There is every reason to believe that we will see here a gold-medal performance in August; and also superb organization of the Olympic Games."
In response to reports about a Games boycott as suggested by a few politicians in the West, he said: "I think that what everybody forgets is that the athletes of 2008 are not the athletes any more of the 1970s or the 1980s. I think the athletes nowadays have enough of an opinion to decide whether to come to the Olympics or not."
He reiterated that the IOC was a sporting organization and not a political body, and would not get involved in political issues.
"The Games are being drawn into issues that do not have necessarily a link with the operations side of the Games," he said.
Source: China Daily/Xinhua
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