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Olympic torch relay to see 3 mainland, HK bearers
With the enthusiasm aroused by the Olympic flame's visit to Beijing a month ago still fresh, three Chinese torchbearers have been appointed to carry on the glory. The Olympic torch goes back home this month to Greece, the host of this year's Olympic Games. Three outstanding Chinese, including Sun Wen, former Chinese women's football team captain, and two actors, Pu Cunxin, vice-president of Beijing People's Art Theatre, and Jackie Chan, the highest-valued Chinese kungfu movie star from Hong Kong, have been chosen to take part in the Olympic torch relay in the northeastern Greek city of Salonika on July 24. Jointly-recommended by the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) and the Coca-cola (China) Co Ltd, one of the main sponsors of the Olympic torch relay for the Athens Olympic Games, the three torchbearers will run legs of 400 metres during the second phase of the torch relay around Greece. The international leg of the relay that finished last Friday in Cyprus lasted 34 days, taking in 33 cities and all five continents represented by the Olympic rings. According to Gu Yaoming, secretary-general of COC, the three torchbearers were chosen because of their expertise in their respective fields, their healthy and impressive public images and their active involvement in social work and charity. "The success of the Olympic torch relay in Beijing has showed the world the traditional spirit and the modern features of China," said Gu. "These three Chinese torchbearers will continue to display the distinguished images of Chinese people in Greece." The three torchbearers also expressed their excitement after being chosen. "Passing the Olympic flame is not only an honour for me but also a social responsibility," said Pu. "I hope to bring peace, equality and the impartiality initiated by the Olympic flame to our society and make it more friendly and tolerant," he said. "To an athlete, the Olympic Games is the stage of realizing the dream," said Sun, who led the Chinese women's football team that won the silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. "While holding the Olympic flame, I will wish success to the Chinese athletes at the Athens Games," she said. "I will hold the Olympic flame high to express the eagerness of the Chinese people to the Olympic spirit," the excited Chan said in Hong Kong. The three Chinese torchbearers will leave for Salonika on July 21. On August 13, the torch will finally arrive at the main Olympic Stadium in Athens to light the cauldron, marking the start of the Games. |
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