CHINA: Jacques Rogge says China has improved but admits he still has concerns for next year's Olympics

Jacques Rogge, eighth president of the International Olympic Committee, admitted on Monday (August 6) that there are some elements still worrying him over next years Olympic Games. "My concerns are the concerns of what I believe everyone, it's a bit about the climate and about the environment, especially about the air environment. But we believe that with the works that are ongoing now and the preparations that the Chinese are doing, it will be a vast improvement by next year," said Jacques Rogge. Beijing's pollution issue has been an international point of debate, especially since an unpublished World Bank report was released to the press saying that almost 460,000 people die in China every year as a result of air and water pollution. An expert at Beijing's World Health Organisation has warned that the highly trained Olympic athletes may be at a higher risk from air pollution particles. However, Beijing locals insist that although the pollution problem is far from being solved, it has dramatically improved from its previous situation. Rogge spoke out against the criticism that the Olympic Committee made the wrong decision by awarding the 2008 games to Beijing. He pointed out that the games maintain moral values but are not a cure-all remedy and cannot be responsible for China's problems. "I'm sure that the Olympic games would be a force for good in China. The Olympic Games will move ahead the social aspect and evolution of the Chinese society," said Rogge. "We are not a government, we are not the representative of all the NGO's of the world. We respect their point of view, we stand for human rights, we stand for strict social values, but we are only a sports organistaion. We believe that the games are going to move ahead the agenda of the social and human rights as far as possible. The games are going to be a force for the good but the games are not a panacea." Rogge went on to send a clear message that the Olympic's will not tolerate performance enchanting drugs. "The Tour de France has reminded us that the fight against doping is really a top priority for the International Olympic Committee. As you know I have declared that the fight against doping would be a priority and that we would have a zero tolerance towards doping. We continue to do that, in Sydney we had 2300 tests in and out of competition, in Beijing we will have 4500 which is almost an augmentation by 100 per cent. We almost doubled the number of tests," said Rogge. China's drug watchdog has announced plans to carry out a sweeping inspection of the country's pharmacies to ensure they do not sell performance-enhancing drugs in the run-up to next year's Olympic Games. The State Food and Drug Administration will inspect all drugstores and medical supply companies, focusing mainly on Beijing and other host cities for the Games. Several doping scandals in the 1990s blotted the reputation of Chinese athletes and marked improvement in their performances in recent years continues to raise eyebrows -- which a senior Chinese anti-doping official told Reuters this month was unfounded and unfair. Human rights protesters have made use of the spotlight the games has thrown on China to stage protests. Tibetan groups urged the International Olympic Committee on Thursday (August 2) to pressure China into fulfilling the pledge on human rights it made when it was awarded the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A group of Taiwanese critics of China have announced a plan to launch a rival torch relay to highlight human rights abuses on the mainland, months after the island rejected the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch. "Well I would hope that the torch relay is a fantastic symbol of unity between people of the world, irrespective of their nationality, ethnic origin, culture or language. It unites people, so I would hope that there would be no protest because this is such a powerful and nice symbol. If protest there is, well, we will just let the people protest, as long as it's not violent," said Rogge. China will provide its own security coverage of the Olympic Games and has refused offers of co-operation from foreign governments who have had previous experience hosting Olympic Games. "Security is always the number one factor in the organisation of the games and this is since the Munich games in 1972. The IOC did not awake to the threat of terrorism at 9/11, we knew it since 1972, so therefore we have always insisted that security will be maximum and that everything that is humanly possible should be done at the Olympic games, and that has been the case in the past," said Rogge. Previous Games have been marred by violence. A bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics killed one person and wounded more than 100, while at the 1972 Munich Games 11 Israelis died in an attack by Palestinian gunmen and a botched rescue attempt. Beijing has trained a top force of some 150 police who are experts in martial arts, counter-terrorism, riot control and dealing with kidnappers. Security will also be tightened at the country's borders to prevent foreign activists from slipping in. Beijing is also cracking down on internal dissent ahead of the Games, putting dissidents under house arrest or giving them long jail terms to make sure they cannot ruin the party, human rights groups say

ITN Source | August 7, 2007

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