MOSCOW -- By awarding the 2008 Games to Beijing, the International Olympic Committee sent a resounding message to the rest of the world: The Olympics
should be about opening doors, not closing them.
|  | | Members of the Beijing delegation celebrate as it is announced that the Summer Olympics will be coming to their city in 2008.
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The IOC put aside human rights
concerns in making their historic decision, hoping to foster
further change in the world's most populous country.
In a gesture that has global, political and economic
repercussions, China won the games for the first time in a
landslide vote over Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, Turkey, and Osaka,
Japan.
"Possibly today this opens a new era for China," IOC president
Juan Antonio Samaranch said after opening a blue envelope and
declaring Beijing the winner.
The Chinese capital, which lost by two votes to Sydney for the
2000 Olympics, had been the front-runner all along, but the margin
of victory was still surprising. It prevailed on the second round
of a secret ballot by receiving 56 votes, three more than the
required majority.
Toronto, which had insisted it was neck-and-neck with Beijing,
got only 22 votes in the final round, with Paris getting 18 and
Istanbul nine. Osaka was eliminated in the first round with six
votes.
In the first round, Beijing got 44 votes, Toronto 20, Istanbul
17 and Paris 15. Beijing picked up votes from Istanbul and Osaka to
swing the election in the next round.
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First round of votes
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52 votes needed
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Beijing
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44
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Toronto
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20
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Istanbul
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17
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Paris
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15
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Osaka (eliminated)
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6
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Second round of votes
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53 votes needed
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Beijing
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56
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Toronto
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22
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Paris
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18
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Istanbul
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9
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The announcement set off an official celebration of fireworks,
songs and flag-waving by thousands of people in Beijing's
Millennium Square. Traditional lion dancers joined a group of
ballerinas as spotlights and green lasers swept the sky.
"Comrades! We express our deep thanks to all our friends around
the world and to the IOC for helping to make Beijing successful in
its Olympic bid," President Jiang Zemin shouted to the crowd.
"This is a very important step in the evolution of China's
relationship with the world," said former U.S. Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger, who helped open relations between Beijing and
Washington in the 1970s. "It will have a positive impact."
The reaction from members of Congress and human rights activists
was vastly different.
"It truly boggles the mind," said Rep. Tom Lantos, the House
International Relations Committee's top Democrat, whose resolution
urging the IOC not to choose Beijing was blocked by Republican
leaders. "This decision will allow the Chinese police state to
bask in the reflected glory of the Olympic Games despite having one
of the most abominable human rights records in the world."
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“ |
We
are totally aware at the IOC there is one issue at
the table, and that is human rights. Human rights
is a very serious issue in the entire world. ... It is
not up to the IOC to interfere in this issue. But we
are taking the bet that seven years from now, we
sincerely and dearly hope we will see many
changes (in China). ” |
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— IOC director general Francois Carrard |
In Dharmsala, India, Tibetan activists said they would push for
an international boycott of the games. China has ruled Tibet since
1950.
"We are totally aware at the IOC there is one issue at the
table, and that is human rights," IOC director general Francois
Carrard said in an unusual public statement on the matter. "Human
rights is a very serious issue in the entire world. ...
"It is not up to the IOC to interfere in this issue. But we are
taking the bet that seven years from now, we sincerely and dearly
hope we will see many changes" in China.
Senior Canadian IOC member Dick Pound said taking the games to
Beijing was a gamble with a huge payoff.
"If you take Toronto, it has virtually no risk and a high
reward," he said. "This has a higher risk, but potentially a much
higher reward."
Olympic historian John McAloon said giving the games to China
marked a watershed.
"In some ways, the Olympic movement might have been reborn in
this vote," he said. "They gave political and historical
significance to what's best for the games instead of what's best
for the sports industry.
"Beijing got the games not in spite of, but because of, the
human rights issue."
Chinese leaders and IOC officials repeated their view that the
Olympics will accelerate the reform process.
"On the human rights question we have achieved a tremendous
progress," said Yuan Weimin, China's minister of sports. "In the
next stage of our national development we will continue to open
ourselves wider to the outside world and carry out more reforms."
Olympic officials said the games could have the same effect on
China as the 1988 Olympics did in helping South Korea transform
from military dictatorship to democracy.
Beijing also benefited from a strong sympathy factor. IOC
members felt China deserved the games after the narrow defeat in
1993.
"There was recognition that they had a tough loss and they came
back and were rewarded for it," Pound said. "In the Olympic
context, China is a perfectly good citizen."
Beijing shored up its support in a 45-minute presentation to the
IOC general assembly, dealing with the human rights issue head-on
and emphasizing the huge impact the games would have on China and
the world.
"When I saw that presentation, I turned to my wife and said,
'My God, that was powerful,"' Toronto bid chief John Bitove said.
"It was 10 out of 10."
Toronto, which portrayed itself as a "bid of certainty" driven
by athletes, was hurt by the remarks of its mayor, Mel Lastman. He
told a reporter recently that he feared attending an Olympic
meeting in Africa because of visions of "myself in a pot of
boiling water with all these natives dancing around me."
The issue was raised during Toronto's presentation Friday, with
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien apologizing for the mayor's
remarks.
"Given the margin of the vote, I don't think it affected the
result," Pound said. "It would be convenient to look for a
scapegoat. But I don't think that would be fair."
Paul Henderson, a Canadian IOC member who led Toronto's
unsuccessful bid for the 1996 Games, said Beijing's political might
made the difference.
"The power of the IOC wanted Beijing -- now they have to live
with it," he said.
The result was humiliating for Paris, which suffered from
sympathy votes going to Turkey. Also, members were reluctant to
hold the Olympics in Europe for a third consecutive time because the
2004 Summer Games will be in Athens and the 2006 Winter Games in
Turin, Italy.
"It seems to me that 1.3 billion inhabitants was definitely
more favorable to the IOC than our bid," French Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin said.
Beijing's victory could have a big influence on the election Monday of a successor to Samaranch, who is stepping down after 21
years as IOC president.
The result won't help South Korea's Kim Un-yong -- considered one
of the top two contenders -- because IOC members could be reluctant
to give both prizes to Asia.
The Beijing win would appear to favor Belgium's Jacques Rogge,
who has solid support in Europe. Pound is the other main contender,
with Anita DeFrantz of the United States and Pal Schmitt of Hungary
as outsiders. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Juan Antonio Samaranch announces Beijing, China will host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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