ID :
10879
Thu, 06/26/2008 - 11:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/10879
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China scraps international Paralympics torch relay
Beijing, June 26 Kyodo - Beijing Olympics organizers confirmed Wednesday they have scrapped the international legs of the Paralympics torch relay.
The director of the Paralympics, Zhang Qiuping, told reporters the
international legs have been cut and the two torch routes within China
shortened to allow authorities to concentrate on relief and reconstruction work
after the Sichuan earthquake last month.
He denied the decision was linked to the protests that disrupted the
international sections of the Olympic torch relay in Europe, the United States
and parts of Asia after the riots and anti-government protests that broke out
in Tibet in March.
''The downsizing of the torch relay has been applied to the Olympics and
Paralympics. We want to focus on the relief and reconstruction work as well as
the preparations for both games,'' he said.
The Paralympics torch relay was to have been held at the future Olympic venue
cities of Vancouver in Canada, London, and Sochi in Russia, plus a final leg in
Hong Kong, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 6.
Among four cities that have been scrapped from the two torch routes around
China, which will be held at the same time, is Urumqi in the mainly Muslim
region of Xinjiang.
The Olympic torch relay passed through the city amid massive security earlier
this month, with only authorized spectators allowed to watch the event and
people living along the route ordered not to go out or open their windows or
curtains.
Xinjiang, like Tibet, has its own religion, language and culture and a history
of separatist sentiment.
The other cities removed from the domestic Paralympics relay are Chengdu in
Sichuan, near the epicenter of last month's quake, the nearby city Chongqing
and Tianjin in northeast China.
Chinese officials say the Sichuan earthquake was the reason some legs of the
Olympic torch relay in China have either moved to later dates or been
shortened, but none of the relays has been cancelled.
The Beijing Paralympics will be held from Sept. 6 to 17.
Twenty categories of sports competitions will be held, including athletics,
wheelchair basketball, swimming and sailing.==Kyodo
The director of the Paralympics, Zhang Qiuping, told reporters the
international legs have been cut and the two torch routes within China
shortened to allow authorities to concentrate on relief and reconstruction work
after the Sichuan earthquake last month.
He denied the decision was linked to the protests that disrupted the
international sections of the Olympic torch relay in Europe, the United States
and parts of Asia after the riots and anti-government protests that broke out
in Tibet in March.
''The downsizing of the torch relay has been applied to the Olympics and
Paralympics. We want to focus on the relief and reconstruction work as well as
the preparations for both games,'' he said.
The Paralympics torch relay was to have been held at the future Olympic venue
cities of Vancouver in Canada, London, and Sochi in Russia, plus a final leg in
Hong Kong, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 6.
Among four cities that have been scrapped from the two torch routes around
China, which will be held at the same time, is Urumqi in the mainly Muslim
region of Xinjiang.
The Olympic torch relay passed through the city amid massive security earlier
this month, with only authorized spectators allowed to watch the event and
people living along the route ordered not to go out or open their windows or
curtains.
Xinjiang, like Tibet, has its own religion, language and culture and a history
of separatist sentiment.
The other cities removed from the domestic Paralympics relay are Chengdu in
Sichuan, near the epicenter of last month's quake, the nearby city Chongqing
and Tianjin in northeast China.
Chinese officials say the Sichuan earthquake was the reason some legs of the
Olympic torch relay in China have either moved to later dates or been
shortened, but none of the relays has been cancelled.
The Beijing Paralympics will be held from Sept. 6 to 17.
Twenty categories of sports competitions will be held, including athletics,
wheelchair basketball, swimming and sailing.==Kyodo
