Quake victims 'will be remembered at Games'
Minute's silence before relay continues
Emotional mainland officials promised yesterday to remember the thousands of earthquake victims during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in three months.
Wang Hui, director of media and communications for the Games organiser, assured relatives of those killed or injured in Monday's earthquake in Sichuan province that their loved ones would not be forgotten during the summer's main competition and September's Paralympics.
'The Olympic Games have been supported by a lot of people, including the [quake] victims in Sichuan. Their support will not be forgotten by China and we will remember them during the Games,' Ms Wang said, her eyes welling with tears.
She gave the assurance just two hours after a moving minute of silence was held in Ruijin, Jiangxi province , to remember the quake's victims on the first day of a newly scaled-back torch relay.
'The Chinese people know the torch unifies China, and the relay has [now] been connected with the relief effort to support the affected areas.'
In Ruijin - the starting point of the Long March for Mao Zedong's Red Army in 1934 - hundreds of spectators and dignitaries dressed in mourning black and white paused and bowed their heads during the minute of reflection before torch-bearers began the relay.
'The Chinese people should come together at this time and China should work harder to put on a great Olympic Games because of the earthquake,' said Zhang Ping, 31, a secondary school teacher.
Scores of well-wishers waved national and Olympic flags while homemade banners expressed condolences and support.
'Promote the Olympic spirit. Support the [relief effort after] the earthquake and help with the rescue work,' read one banner.
The provincial and local governments staging yesterday's leg of the relay donated a combined 8 million yuan (HK$8.94 million), while the 208 torch-bearers handed over 1 million yuan in cash aid. The public poured more money into donation boxes placed along the route.
Qiu Lixing , at 15 the youngest torch-bearer yesterday and who has a life-threatening heart condition, donated his cherished torch to the China Red Cross Society, which will auction it for aid money.
The sombre scenes were in stark contrast to the lavish pomp and ceremony that had accompanied the torch's procession on the mainland following its tumultuous global tour.
On Tuesday, the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games said the relay would be 'scaled down' out of respect for the dead. Ms Wang refused to give any indication of the type of tribute that would be made during the Olympics.
'The victims will be in our hearts,' she said, 'no matter what form [the tribute] takes.'
Additional reporting by Woods Lee and Chris Zhang in Beijing
