International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president Zhenlian He said China’s problems with Falun Gong should have no effect on Beijing’s 2008 Olympic bid.
He said “it’s a purely internal issue. It’s like Waco in the U.S. — that didn’t get mixed up with Atlanta or with Salt Lake”.
There is talk that the group is getting more militant and that members may disrupt the IOC’s evaluation commission when it arrives in Beijing February 21. Zhenliang He said he’s not worried about the group causing problems for the IOC.
According to an IOC executive member, the issue isn’t what Falun Gong members do. The member, who didn’t want to be identified, told the Toronto Star “to me, what’s important is the government’s reaction and what the bid group does. China is a big country and there are a lot of complex issues. If they stay the course, their bid should be in good shape. But if they overreact to these things, that could cause problems”.
According to a poll still in progress on the TSG web site, when asked if the protest by Falun Gong members would harm Beijing’s bid, 59 per cent of the respondents said yes, 26 per cent said no and 15 per cent weren’t sure.
