A Chinese mainland official on Wednesday denied any new
condition had been added in discussions with Taiwan over the route
of the 2008 Olympic torch relay.
"As far as I know, the Organizing Committee for the Beijing
Olympic Games (BOCOG) has not added any new condition regarding the
Olympic torch relay passing through Taiwan," said Li Weiyi,
spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, at a
regular press conference.
Some Taiwan media reported that the mainland had added a new
condition during negotiations stating that the flag of the Taiwan
authority should not be displayed while the torch is present on the
island.
"The international Olympic Committee has clear rules on how to
deal with flag issues during the Games. We assume that the torch
relay through Taiwan should also follow these rules," Li said.
The issue was included in the consensus reached between the
BOCOG and the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) in February
this year, he said.
"We still hope the Taiwan authority can take into account the
true expectations of the people that the Olympic torch can be
carried across the Taiwan Straits and stop creating barriers driven
by politics," Li said.
He urged the Taiwan authority to adopt the consensus reached in
February.
"The BOCOG and the CTOC will continue talks about the torch
relay," he said.
BOCOG announced on April 26 that the 2008 Olympic torch relay
would pass through 135 cities all over the world. The planned
137,000-kilometer route includes a stop at Taipei before the torch
arrives in Hong Kong, Macao and a score of Chinese mainland
cities.
The International Olympic Committee approved the route after the
two sides across the Straits reached agreement.
But some of Taiwan's pro-independence officials immediately
rejected the route, claiming that the plan "belittled" Taiwan.
(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2007)