Tham Choy Lin
Bernama
BEIJING, April 26 (Bernama) — The torch relay for the Beijing 2008 Olympics was unveiled Thursday night and ran immediately into a snag with Taiwan rejecting the route of what will be the longest journey of the Olympic flames in history.
The relay, a long-cherished tradition of the Olympics, is planned to kick off in April next year, across five continents with the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, among the 22 cities outside mainland China to be covered.
The route and the torch, designed like a rolled-up Chinese scroll with a lacquer red base, were unveiled at a fireworks-lit ceremony attended by International Olympic Committee board members and president Jacques Rogge.
The planned route will see Beijing receiving the sacred Olympic flames in Greece on March 31 for the start of the relay from Beijing through cities along the ancient Silk Road that served as a bridge between East and West.
Taiwan, which China regards as part of its territory, however rejected the proposed route. The torch was to enter Taiwan via Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City and exit to Hong Kong which is a special administrative region of China.
Jiang Xiaoyu, vice-president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Bocog), told a news conference after the ceremony that the Taipei Olympic Committee had confirmed in writing at the end of last month to participate in the torch relay.
“To politicise the torch relay route goes against the spirit of the Olympics,” said Jiang, adding that Bocog would have further discussions with the Taipei Olympic Committee.
Ironically, the theme of the relay is “Journey of Harmony” accompanied by the slogan, “Light the Passion, Share the Dream” in sync with the 2008 Olympics slogan, “One World One Dream”.
The arrival of the torch for the opening of the Games aside, the highlight of the relay will be the attempt to carry the flames up Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, in May.
For this, a lantern with the Olympic flames from the Greek city of Olympia will be kept aside and taken by a special team to scale Everest sometime in May on a date dependent on the weather.
By the time the flames arrive for the opening ceremony, scheduled Aug 8 next year, the torch would have journeyed 137,000km over 130 days.
Kuala Lumpur is among three cities in Southeast Asia in the route. The torch is expected to arrive in the Malaysian capital from Bangkok on April 21 before going to Jakarta.
Within mainland China, the torch will go through 113 cities in all 31 provinces and autonomous regions. Among the stops is Shaoshan, the hometown of the late leader Mao Zedong.
