Beijing's Olympics organisers are set to establish a joint working group with Hong Kong to prepare for the equestrian events of the 2008 Games.
Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice-president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Bocog), said yesterday his representatives had been working closely with Hong Kong's government and Olympic committee.
Mr Jiang said the joint working group would be similar to an organisation established in Qingdao for sailing events. Bocog and the Hong Kong organisers would be on an equal footing.
He also said the organising committee and Hong Kong needed to study and discuss sponsorship details for the equestrian events, which went beyond Bocog's corporate partnership plan. Under International Olympic Committee regulations, sponsorship can only cover events held on the mainland.
Mr Jiang said there was little chance of the tae kwon do events being staged in Taiwan, a proposal raised by the island's New Party during last week's mainland tour.
'We haven't received any formal proposal from the Taiwan authority or its Olympic committee,' he said.
Meanwhile, the Jockey Club yesterday said the 300 horses participating in the events might not need to follow existing rules of being quarantined for three weeks.
