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China's grand plan for torch relay riles Taiwan

The route to the 2008 Olympics is paved with political pitfalls.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 27, 2007

BEIJING - China's grandiose plans for the torch relay, the high-profile prelude to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, have been engulfed in conflict by an old political rival - Taiwan.

Within hours of Beijing's announcement Thursday of what would be the longest torch relay in Olympic history,Taiwan rejected its inclusion.

"It is something that the government and people cannot accept," said Tsai Chen-wei, the head of Taiwan's Olympic Committee.

The episode underscores the mistrust between Beijing and Taipei, antagonists in an unresolved civil war, and how entwined the Olympics are with politics.

At a nationally televised ceremony attended by senior members of China's ruling Communist Party and the International Olympic Committee, organizers unveiled the torch and showed a video of the proposed route.

"It will be a relay that will cover the longest distance and be most inclusive and involve the most people in Olympic history," said Liu Qi, the head of Beijing's Olympic organizing committee.

As with all Olympics, the relay begins in Greece, on March 25. It arrives in Beijing on March 31. Then it will wind across Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and then back to Asia and China.

Taiwan wanted to participate as part of the international route - with the torch entering and departing the island via nations other than China. China wants the island run to be part of the domestic route.

Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic organizing committee, said negotiations would continue.

[Last modified April 27, 2007, 01:52:32]