I AM angered by the US House of Representatives urging the International Olympic Committee to refuse Beijing's bid for the 2000 Games, claiming it is doing so on human rights grounds.

Of course, I am critical of China's human rights record, but one of the reasons China has made a bid for the Games, is because it wants to improve its international record.

If China gets the Olympics its human rights record will improve, because it will not want to put up a bamboo curtain to visitors from abroad. Hopefully, some dissidents in prison will be pardoned, so why does the House of Representatives want to stop China getting the Games? Perhaps the US is reluctant to see China become a superpower and like its moves over Most Favoured Nation Status is trying to obstruct China achieving its political ends. I hope that the US will change its stand and help China become a more open society.