IOC representative would like torch to visit Taiwan

PEACE： Wu Ching-kuo was quoted as saying that a positive consensus had been reached by Taiwanese sports bodies on the Olympic flame question

STAFF WRITER , WITH CNA

Sat, Oct 21, 2006 - Page 2

Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), Taiwan's International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, was quoted as saying in Beijing yesterday that he will do his utmost to allow the torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympics to pass through Taiwan for the sake of world peace.

Wu, who was in Beijing to take part in a series of meetings sponsored by three IOC committees, was quoted by a Beijing-based cyber media outlet as saying that he believed that the passage of the Olympic torch through Taiwan in 2008 would be a move conducive to bolstering peace across the Taiwan Strait.

Wu, a member of the IOC 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Coordination Commission, was also quoted as saying that Taiwanese authorities from relevant sports agencies have basically reached a positive consensus on the torch relay issue.

On the question of whether Taiwanese athletes will join their Chinese counterparts under a single IOC banner to enter the stadium on the opening day of the 2008 games, Wu reportedly said it was still too early to speculate.

He said that it was possible the political climate in Taiwan might change, which might in turn impact the issue between now and 2008.

The Mainland Affairs Council said in July that Taiwan was not opposed to allowing the torch relay to pass through the nation as long as Taiwan can participate in the activity in its capacity as an IOC member.

Tsai Chen-wei (蔡辰威), chairman of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, said earlier this year that the Olympic torch might come through Taiwan in 2008 if Beijing does not insist on designating Taiwan as part of China's "domestic route."

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