A legislator yesterday renewed his plea for Beijing to be awarded the 2008 Olympic Games, saying the decision on July 13 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was its most important in more than 50 years.
Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, who is also president of the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, recalled that when the Games were given to London in 1948, they were seen as a way for sport to help people recover from the ravages of World War II.
'The British, to this day, trace their resurgence to those Games, which gave a fillip to their national reconstruction and optimism,' he said on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong.
He said China was now on a threshold and was ready to join the World Trade Organisation and shoulder its responsibilities as a member of the United Nations Security Council.
'The country is eager to show everyone that it is a confident society . . . confident that it can stage the best Games.' He said such confidence was absent when China returned to the international sporting fold almost 20 years ago.
Mr Fok recalled that IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch had then promised to restore China to the sporting world without alienating Taipei.