China Against Linking Darfur and Olympics

China Thursday strongly objected to what it called attempts to draw attention to issues like Darfur by linking them to the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games.

Such attempts undermine preparations for the games, a foreign ministry spokesman said, Xinhua reported.

It is of apparent political intention and purpose to link the Darfur issue with the Olympics, Jiang Yu told reporters in Beijing. Such practice violates the Olympic spirit and principle, and will never succeed.

Jiang was responding to a question on whether China shouldn’t put more pressure on Sudan over the Darfur massacre as China’s continued support for the Khartoum regime could tarnish the Olympics.

Jiang said China will never accept such accusations, claiming the world knows China has exerted a positive and constructive influence on the Darfur issue. She said China is the first country to promise and then to dispatch soldiers to participate in peacekeeping missions in Darfur.

She said China also supports taking advantage of the role of the Sudanese government, the United Nations and the African Union negotiation mechanism.