The Olympic flame could pass by Mt Everest, the world's highest
mountain, en route to Beijing, organizers of the 2008 Summer Games
announced.
"We're planning to take the Olympic flame to Mount Everest, it's
a project we're studying," spokesman Yang Binyuan said here.
The move could be seen as a highly contentious one given that
most of the Himalayan mountain range lies within Tibet, a region
ruled by China since it sent in the military to "liberate" the
Himalayan region in 1950.
Mt Everest, standing 8,848 metres (29,028 feet) high, lies on
Nepal's border with Tibet, which international rights groups accuse
the Chinese of ruling through repression and military
intimidation.
Yang confirmed that construction of the 37 sporting
infrastructures, including 31 in Beijing, being built for the Games
would be finished by the end of 2007.
Once the sites are finished, the organizers plan to host around
40 test events, including the Paralympic Games.
Two have already taken place at the Beijing softball centre and
sailing in Qingdao.
?
(AFP October 18, 2006)
