Chinese envoy urges Congress not to block Olympic bid

From Congressional Correspondent Kate Snow

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- China's ambassador to the U.S. urged members of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday not to oppose Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games.

"You are probably aware that it is entirely under the jurisdiction of the International Olympic Committee to judge whether a city is suitable for the Games. That choice rests with the IOC and IOC alone," Ambassador Yang Jiechi wrote. "No individual organization has the right to influence the IOC on the matter."

Beijing is one of five cities bidding for the 2008 Olympics. The other four are: Istanbul, Turkey; Osaka, Japan; Paris, France; and Toronto, Canada. The IOC will vote to determine the host city July 13 in a meeting in Moscow.

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Beijing lost its bid for the 2000 Olympics by two votes to Sydney, Australia, and is considered the front-runner for the 2008 Games.

A congressional resolution critical of Beijing's Olympic bid on human rights grounds was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 21, more than a week before the U.S.-Chinese standoff over a grounded U.S. surveillance plane began.

The resolution calls on China to release all political prisoners, ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and observe internationally recognized human rights to win the Games.

Its sponsor, California Democrat Tom Lantos, has drawn more than 60 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle: Backers include House Majority Whip Tom Delay, R-Texas, and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Missouri.

The measure awaits action on the House floor, and one congressional Republican aide says it's not likely to come up for a vote until the White House gives the go-ahead. A companion resolution has been introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support.

Yang said the resolutions "constitute a gross interference in the internal affairs and inherent rights of the IOC."

"Such bills run counter to the spirit of the Olympic Charter, which forbids discrimination against any country or individual on the basis of race, religion, politics, sex, or any other reason," he wrote.

Yang dated the letter April 2; congressional offices received it Friday or Monday.

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International Olympic Committee
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Government of China (in Chinese)
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Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the U.S.A.

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