But it looks highly unlikely they will take part in the special games, as the Irish government is refusing to drop its ban
Intense lobbying has failed to convince the Irish government it should lift its ban on Hong Kong athletes and allow them to participate in the Special Olympics World Summer Games this month in Dublin.
Despite the WHO's decision to lift its travel advisory against Hong Kong, the organisers of the games say that as long as the city remains on the WHO's list of infected areas, athletes from Hong Kong will not be invited to participate. Singapore and the Philippines, which were originally included in the ban, have been cleared to take part now that they are no longer on the list.
Supporters of the team are not giving up hope, but vow to step up eleventh-hour lobbying efforts. But with the games due to start on June 21, it seems highly unlikely that Hong Kong will be taken off the WHO's infected areas list by then. It must go 20 days without a case being reported to qualify.
Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping was putting on a brave face yesterday. 'We will continue to use every means possible to liaise with the Irish government and hope there will be a positive response very soon,' he said.
After a lengthy and reportedly combative meeting in Dublin, an Irish government-appointed committee ruled that delegates from parts of China and Canada that had no reported Sars cases could attend. But Hong Kong's squad of 22 athletes and eight officials would remain banned, it said.
The committee also rejected submissions from the Special Olympics organisers that participants from Sars-affected areas should be permitted to attend if they first went through a 10-day quarantine.
