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Beijing not Making Unrealistic Commitments to 2008 Olympics, Official

Beijing will not rely on impractical commitments to win favor in their campaign for the 2008 Olympic Games, said a senior Beijing bidding committee official on Tuesday.

Wang Wei, general secretary of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bidding Committee, said that Beijing will not be very much concerned about if their commitments are as appealing as these of the other bidding cities.

"Maybe other bidders raised more tempting proposals than Beijing," Wang was quoted as saying by the Beijing Evening News.

"But we won't try to match their commitments, instead, our focus is, should we win the bid, how to put on the most successful ever Games under the relevant rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)," he said.

Promising to offer the best conditions for the Games, Wang stressed that Beijing only makes commitments which are within their reach.

"We will not gain favor by means of unrealistic commitments. We do as we say," said Wang.

Beijing, along with Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul, has been shortlisted for the 2008 Olympics candidates. The IOC will make its final decision in Moscow in July.

Wang made the remarks before he headed a delegation on Tuesday for Lausaunne to present a 596-page bidding report to the IOC.

Five candidate cities are required to present bidding documents to the IOC before the deadline of January 17.

In compliance with the requirements of the IOC, the Beijing report covers 17 topics including finance, environmental protection, marketing, sports and competition, Olympic village, traffic and Paralympic Games.

Meanwhile the report is enclosed with 169 letters of guarantee from such bodies as government ministries and hotels. It also includes all the letters of approval from 28 Summer Olympics sports federations.

It is made of environment-friendly paper, which is an embodiment of the "Green Olympics" Beijing advocates in its bidding process, said Wang Wei.

(People's Daily 01/17/01)