The increasing public enthusiasm in environmental protection will help Beijing win the 2008 Olympics bid, said one official with a nongovernmental environmental body on Monday.

Liao Sheri, President of the Global Village, joined the Beijing delegation which left Beijing Monday for the presentation at Wednesday's meeting of the IOC executive board at Lausanne, Switzerland.

Beijing, along with Paris, Osaka, Toronto and Istanbul, are the five cities bidding for the 2008 Olympics. The meeting is the first official occasion for the bidders to present themselves before the IOC executive members.

Liao said that her trip to Lausanne is mainly aimed to disperse the doubt of the international community that Beijing falls short of enough support from the public during its bid for a "Green Olympics". "The world thinks that in such a large country as China, fundamental improvements in environmental quality couldn't be achieved without the support of the public.

"Once I have chances, I will try my best to show the world that the environmental protection in China is not only the business of the government, but also the broad citizens," said Liao.

Liao received the prestigious Sophie Prize in May in Norway for her pioneering efforts to combat pollution and environmental degradation in China. Her Global Village, which was founded in 1996 and along with other 19 Beijing-based NGO environmental groups, signed the "Action Plan for Green Olympics" in August with the Beijing bid committee.

What makes her feel proud is that a total of 830,000 students of elementary schools in Beijing has shown their commitments to Beijing's environmental protection.

"The Global Village wants to help them choose the environmental-friendly styles of life. 830,000 students mean the same number of families will join in the environmental protection. I think this is unprecedented in other countries.
"I believe that with so many families involved, the world is sure to be moved," said Liao.

(Xinhua 12/11/2000)