Premier Wen lights Beijing Paralympic flame at Temple of Heaven
28/8/2008 16:37
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao lit the Beijing Paralympic flame at the ancient
Temple of Heaven in Beijing today, kicking off the torch relay across China
before the 13th Paralympics opens on Sept. 6.
In front of the symbolic Hall
of Prayer for Good Harvest, deaf-mute flame collector Jiang Xintian lit the
flame out of a concave, burnished mirror.
The flame was then handed to a girl
in wheelchair, before it lit a torch held by Liu Qi, president of the organizing
committee of the just concluded Beijing Olympic Games.
Liu passed the torch
to Wen Jiabao, who lit a cauldron and announced the beginning of the 9-day torch
relay.
The sacred flame will be sent to Xi'an in Northwest China and Shenzhen
in the south, where the relay will be launched tomorrow and Saturday
respectively.
"The flame will symbolize over the next ten days the unique
sporting spirit displayed by Paralympic athletes," said Philip Craven, president
of the International Paralympic Committee, at the flame lighting ceremony. "This
spirit overcomes many obstacles in the search of sporting excellence."
The
Temple of Heaven, a gateway between the earth and the sky in Chinese traditional
concept, was the perfect location to light the flame for the Beijing 2008
Paralympic Games, he said.
A total of 850 torchbearers will participate in
the relays along two routes through 11 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities.
The "Ancient China" route will pass some cities of historic
and cultural significance, including Xi'an, Hohhot, Changsha, Nanjing and
Luoyang.
The "Modern China" route running through Shenzhen, Wuhan, Shanghai,
Qingdao and Dalian will showcase the country's achievements in its modernization
drive in recent decades.
Craven also appreciated Chinese people for
portraying the Paralympic values of courage and determination, inspiration and
equality during the recent national disasters such as the severe winter storm
and devastating May 12 earthquake.
The Chinese capital has just successfully
concluded the 29th Olympic Games on Aug. 24.
"We will try our best to prepare
for the Paralympic Games and well serve the athletes, coaches and guests," said
Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games
(BOCOG), at the ceremony. "The Beijing 2008 Paralympics will be a unique Games
with high quality."
About 4,000 disabled athletes from around the world will
compete in the Sept. 6-17 Games.
The Paralympics carries on the great Olympic
spirit and also bears the dream of 650 million disabled in the world, said
wheelchaired Deng Pufang, BOCOG executive president and chairman of the China
Disabled Persons Federation.
"The torch relay will show the world the
consistent efforts a vigorous country with rich heritage has made to promote a
harmonious and beautiful world and mutual respect of human being," he
said.
Xinhua
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