China tells Taiwan: Olympic torch relay can still be discussed

Apr 26, 2007, 23:52 GMT

Taipei - Although Taiwan has rejected the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games' torch relay, China told Taiwan that the torch relay can still be discussed, a newspaper said Friday.

The United Daily News (UDN) quoted Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), as saying that there is still one year to finalize the torch relay route.

'There is one year from now until the torch relay, so there are still many variables. What we announced is the planned torch relay route, so BOCOG will keep the torch relay route flexible and will continue consultations with the Chinese-Taipei Olympic Committee,' UDN quoted Jiang as saying.

Jiang stressed that the torch relay is a purely athletic event. He regretted Taiwan's rejection, because BOCOG and the Chinese-Taipei Olympic Committee had reached consensus on the route, according to the UDN.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveiled the route for the Beijing Olympic Games' torch relay Thursday evening in Beijing.

Under the arrangement, the Olympic flame would leave Beijing and pass through 22 overseas cities and 113 Chinese cities and regions before returning to Beijing. Taipei would be the 21st stop, behind Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and before Hong Kong and Macau.

After Macau, the torch would be passed along the interior route of China, which covers 113 cities and regions including Mount Everest.

Although Taiwan sports officials had hinted that Taipei could accept the third country-Taiwan-Hong Kong route, the Taiwan government on Thursday rejected the Vietnam-Taiwan-Hong Kong route, saying it implied Taiwan was part of China and demanded a third country-Taiwan-third country route.

Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu accused China of plotting to undermine Taiwan's sovereignty by arranging for the Olympic torch to go from Taipei to Hong Kong.

'Taiwan must make greater effort to see if the Olympic torch can go to Tokyo or Seoul after leaving Taiwan,' she said.

However, some Taiwan athletes and members of the public welcomed the Olympic torch relay because it is a rare chance for Taiwan to participate in Olympic Games.

The Olympic flame has come to Taiwan only once - in 1964 for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

It is not clear how IOC would react to Taiwan's rejecting the Olympic torch relay.

Wu Ching-kuo, the Taiwanese member of the IOC, criticized the Taiwan government for rejecting the Olympic torch relay, calling it a 'very, very serious international incident,' warning it would hurt Taiwan's status in the IOC.

Taiwan and China split at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state currently recognized by 24 countries, but China claims Taiwan as a breakaway province awaiting reunification with the mainland.

Both China and Taiwan are IOC members, but China has forced Taiwan to use the name Chinese-Taipei, implying Taiwan is part of China.