The candidates should follow the principle of fair play in their high-octane bidding campaign for the Olympic Games, said a senior member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Beijing on Sunday.

He Zhenliang, the Chinese executive member of the IOC, expressed his concern about the 2008 Olympics bidding process in which some candidate cities have promoted their bids by depreciating others.

"Every candidate should try their endeavors to win the right of hosting the 2008 Games," He said. "It reflects the Olympic spirit of being 'higher, faster and stronger'".

"But they are supposed to show enough respect to each other and tread the line along the principal of fair play. The cities should follow strictly the spirit of the Olympic Movement in promoting themselves," He continued.

He has just returned from the IOC meeting where five bidding cities, including Beijing, Paris, Osaka, Toronto and Istanbul, presented their bidding cases before the Executive Board for the first time.

He also stressed that the spreading of the Olympics ideals should not be confined to one or two continents but the whole world.

"Universality is one of the principles of the Olympic Movement. We should try every possibility or use every chance to enhance the Olympic Movement to all corners of the world," said He.

Among the 199 countries and regions recognized by the IOC, only a few have had till now the opportunity of playing host to the Olympics Games.

"It is only natural and logical that many IOC members think the games should go to those new countries where conditions meet the IOC requirements," He said.

(Xinhua 12/24/2000)