Organisers firm on Taiwan route for torch relay
Sunday, 24 June 2007
BEIJING, Jun 23 (AP): Taiwan, take it or leave it. That remains the position of Beijing Olympic organisers,embarrassed two months ago when Taiwan backed out of participating in the 2008 Olympic torch relay - just two hours after the route was announced on national TV.
"I think I've made my point very clear," Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice-president of the Beijing organising committee, said Saturday.
The route proposed by Beijing organisers has the torch arriving in Taiwan from Vietnam on April 30, 2008, and going on to China-controlled Hong Kong and Macau. Many in Taiwan have pushed for a route that takes the torch through Taiwan via two Asian countries other than China.
The self-governing island, which broke away from China in 1949, hopes to use the relay to bolster its claim for independence.
For China, it's a chance to show Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.
"The April 26 route was agreed to by Beijing organizers and the Taipei Olympic Committee," Jiang added. "This is a written agreement and jointly agreed to. And the route was approved by the International Olympic Committee. We hope that the Taipei Olympic Committee and related Taiwan authorities can return to this previously arrived at agreement and return to our written agreement."
There was no immediate reaction from Taiwan.
In announcing official numbers Saturday for the torch relay, Jiang gave no hint there was room for negotiation with Taiwan over the politically sensitive issue.
"The Olympic flame going through Taiwan is the aspiration of people on both sides of the Taiwan strait," Jiang added. "We hope that the Olympic Committee of Taipei and other parties will stay free from artificial factors and return to the basic and common understanding reached by the two sides."
China has pledged to take the torch through every part of the country, and skipping Taiwan would suggest the island is not part of China.
Officials said 21,880 torchbearers would participate worldwide in the relay, the largest in Olympic history. Of the total, 19,400 will cover the routes in mainland China. Beijing is allocated 624 torchbearer spots with 120 for Taiwan. Olympic sponsors are allocated 5,586 spots in the torch relay -25 per cent of the total. But Jiang said sponsors would have no say over picking participants for the prestigious final legs of the relay - including the torchbearer who lights the Olympic caldron.
"That decision lies in the hands of BOCOG and not any other selection entities," Jiang said.
The 137,000-kilometre (85,000 miles) route will take 130 days to complete, cross five continents and reach the summit of Mount Everest. The relay begins March 25 in Greece and arrives in Beijing on March 31.
"I think I've made my point very clear," Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice-president of the Beijing organising committee, said Saturday.
The route proposed by Beijing organisers has the torch arriving in Taiwan from Vietnam on April 30, 2008, and going on to China-controlled Hong Kong and Macau. Many in Taiwan have pushed for a route that takes the torch through Taiwan via two Asian countries other than China.
The self-governing island, which broke away from China in 1949, hopes to use the relay to bolster its claim for independence.
For China, it's a chance to show Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.
"The April 26 route was agreed to by Beijing organizers and the Taipei Olympic Committee," Jiang added. "This is a written agreement and jointly agreed to. And the route was approved by the International Olympic Committee. We hope that the Taipei Olympic Committee and related Taiwan authorities can return to this previously arrived at agreement and return to our written agreement."
There was no immediate reaction from Taiwan.
In announcing official numbers Saturday for the torch relay, Jiang gave no hint there was room for negotiation with Taiwan over the politically sensitive issue.
"The Olympic flame going through Taiwan is the aspiration of people on both sides of the Taiwan strait," Jiang added. "We hope that the Olympic Committee of Taipei and other parties will stay free from artificial factors and return to the basic and common understanding reached by the two sides."
China has pledged to take the torch through every part of the country, and skipping Taiwan would suggest the island is not part of China.
Officials said 21,880 torchbearers would participate worldwide in the relay, the largest in Olympic history. Of the total, 19,400 will cover the routes in mainland China. Beijing is allocated 624 torchbearer spots with 120 for Taiwan. Olympic sponsors are allocated 5,586 spots in the torch relay -25 per cent of the total. But Jiang said sponsors would have no say over picking participants for the prestigious final legs of the relay - including the torchbearer who lights the Olympic caldron.
"That decision lies in the hands of BOCOG and not any other selection entities," Jiang said.
The 137,000-kilometre (85,000 miles) route will take 130 days to complete, cross five continents and reach the summit of Mount Everest. The relay begins March 25 in Greece and arrives in Beijing on March 31.