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The Bush administration has decided to remain neutral on Beijing's
bid to host the 2008 Olympics, despite objections from some members
of the Congress, the Washington Post reported on Monday.
The administration hopes that its neutral position will help defuse
an issue that China has called an emotional one for its people,
the Post reported.
A senior State Department official told the paper that awarding
the games to China might even be a positive thing and could give
China "a powerful but intangible incentive".
The Post noted that momentum in Congress against Beijing's bid
appeared to be fading and Republican leaders might not bring to
the floor a House resolution opposing Beijing's bid before the House
recesses this week.
Congress will not return from recess until July 9, just four days
before the International Olympic Committee meets in Moscow to choose
a 2008 site.
A neutral stance by the United States could boost Beijing's chances
of hosting the games over its two major rivals: Paris, and Toronto.
In congressional testimony May 3, Secretary of State Colin Powell
said the United States was still deciding whether to adopt a stance
on Beijing's bid but made clear he was sensitive to the idea of
not mixing politics with sport.
"We decided not to decide," State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher told the Post.
Members of the US Olympic Committee, Chinese Ambassador Yang Jiechi
and some figures close to the administration had urged Congress
to avoid politicizing the games.
The decision about who hosts the 2008 Olympics remains with the
IOC, an independent body with about 120 members, only four of them
Americans.
(People's Daily 06/26/2001)
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