06 August 2008The Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) cancelled the international portion of the Paralympic Games torch relay route last week. Officially, the cancellation is due to the impact of the 12 May earthquake. Clearly though, the Committee also wants to avoid a repeat of the protests of Olympic torch’s international tour. The BOCOG made the decision after the International Olympic Committee warned of blowback from new negative Chinese comments about the Dalai Lama and Tibet. The Paralympic torch relay began in 1988, but this year would have been its international debut. The relay had included Hong Kong and three future Olympic cities in Canada, England, and Russia. The torch relay will still take place in China. The Paralympics begin 06 September. The official mascot is shown above, right.
SOURCES:
“China Cancels Paralympic Torch Relay”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4219451.ece
“Canceled by Beijing: Overseas Paralympic Torch Relay”
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/06/25/canceled-by-beijing-overseas-paralympic-torch-relay/
“World Paralympic Torch Relay Cancelled”
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKPEK30825620080625?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
“International Paralympic Torch Relay Cancelled”
http://2008gamesbeijing.com/international-paralympic-torch-relay-cancelled/
RELATED:
Official Website of Beijing Paralympic Games:
http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/
http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/torchrelay/
“China Revamps Paralympics Guidebook”
China revised its handbook for volunteers at the Paralympics after protests. Helen McCabe, disability expert, discusses the new version and the Paralympic Games in the disability community on National Public radio (NPR)
Listen to NPR Audio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91831786
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