Beijing Olympiad meets Chinese aspirations

100-day countdown begins today:

Ye Dabo, Ambassador of China in Sri Lanka

Today we are pleased to mark the 100-day countdown to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and a lot of celebrations are being held throughout China and all over the world. The Olympic Games meets the aspiration of the Chinese people for the past 100 years.

We regards it a unique honour, which of course comes with a great responsibility, to act as the host. The Chinese Government and people have made a solemn commitment to the whole world to hold a high-level Olympic Games with distinguishing features, when Beijing was awarded in Moscow the right as the host city on July 13, 2001.

Over the past 7 years, governments at all levels in China have put the Games preparation high on their agenda. And people from all walks of life have offered their strong support to the preparatory work. At present, venue construction including the famous Bird Nest, marketing and organising, are all completed and moving on smoothly. "We ready" have become the popular words in China.

Now the 1.3 billion Chinese people and the people of the whole world are all eagerly looking forward to the great event from August 8 to 24.

Today the Chinese people are embracing the world with their sincere smile and are fully prepared to welcome guests from abroad.

At this time, we have been overwhelmed by the good wishes from around the world and moved by the friendship expressed to us by peoples of different colours and races.

We are grateful that the Sri Lankan Government, political parties, friendly organisations and media have also voiced their strong support and wholeheartedly wished the Beijing Olympiad a great success.

However, it was shocking to see some people attempting to sabotage the relay of the Olympic torch, a symbol of the shared dream of humanity. Their acts were a humiliation to the Olympic spirit.

I am sure that people of the world can still remember how the Chinese torch bearer Jin Jing, a disabled young girl, courageously protected the torch in her wheelchair as violent "protesters" tried repeatedly to grab it from her during the Paris relay.

That scene touched all the Chinese people and kind-hearted people around the world. That scene tore up the disguise of those separatists for Tibet independence and exposed their craze for violence. That scene made clear to all what is right and what is wrong, what is beautiful and what is ugly, and what is just and what is despicable.

Seeing such brutal violence happening in broad daylight, people cannot but ask: When right and wrong is so crystal clear, how come there are still some people who try to cover those thugs with a cloak of 'peace' and attack the lawful measures taken by the Chinese Government?

How come there are some people who have never been to Tibet but keep saying that Tibetan religion, language and culture are being destroyed and the Tibetan people are living in misery? On what ground are they making such allegations?

How come we find almost no picture of lawless people looting, burning, smashing up properties, beating, killing the innocent and sabotaging the Olympic torch relay in some western media which have always claimed to be impartial, objective and authoritative?

Why are there so many untruthful reports that purposefully glorify the violence, some crafting photos or even using photos from other countries to prove a crackdown?

A straight answer to all these questions is that prejudice has blinded the eyes and rumours have covered up the truth.

Not long ago, there were such words by a western media that the Olympic torch relay was obstructed only in democratic countries and not in non-democratic countries.

I don't understand the logic behind this absurd conclusion, but I believe that most people will be surprised at such a conclusion and sense the arrogance behind it.

Democracy is not exclusive to anyone. And nobody has the special privilege to judge whether a country is democratic or not. To do that would only show the lack of democracy.

It must be pointed out that arrogance and bias will not prevail in the long run. A small number of people hostile to China can in no way represent the international public opinion. We will enhance communication and exchanges with other countries so that they will be able to see a true picture of the Lhasa riots and people from abroad will not be confused by false statements.

What is the truth behind the Lhasa riots in Tibet?

In fact, a tiny number of rioters committed the violent crime involving beating, smashing, looting and burning on March 14th. Over 300 locations including schools, hospitals, banks, government offices, media offices and shops were set on fire. 84 private and police vehicles were smashed and burnt.

18 innocent civilians had died from burning and chopping. Hundreds of policemen were injured. The actions of the lawless persons were not at all a peace demonstration described by the Dalai Clique and western media, but a violent crime.

The local Government of China had taken necessary measures in accordance with the law, showing great restraint. No lethal weapons have been carried or used. These measures had been welcomed and supported by the Tibetan people. After the riot, the local government have helped hospitalise over 380 wounded civilians, and offered special compensation to those killed.

Arrangements were also made to help the shop-owners who suffered loss in the unrest. For the time being, social order of the Lhasa city has returned to normal. Scenic sites including the Potala Palace and city museums are now accessible to tourists.

The facts have proved that the March 14 riot was premeditated, organised and masterminded by the Dalai Clique in an attempt to provoke social unrest, undermine the stability in Tibet, disrupt the national harmony, and bring disturbance to the Olympic Games.

What is the true picture of the economic development and culture in Tibet? The Central Government of China has adopted a series of preferential policies for Tibet. Tibet's GDP has been growing at over 12% in the past seven years and its per capita GDP is higher than the country's average.

The ethnic Tibetan population has increased from 1 million in 1959 to 2.5 million today. There are over 1,780 religious sites in Tibet with more than 46,000 lamas and nuns, and people there fully enjoy freedom of religious belief.

Tibetan is the prevailing language in Tibet, and has become the first ethnic minority language in China. There are over 50 Tibetology research centers throughout China.

Let the Olympics, the greatest of sporting events, not be politicised! Let the Olympics bring the athletes from across the world, Sri Lanka included, to Beijing under the slogan "one world, one dream"! Let the Olympics well demonstrate the spirits of unity, friendship, progress and dreams!

I wish the Beijing Olympic Games a great success.