China cancels world Paralympic relay

by amyjudd | June 26, 2008 at 02:04 pm | 131 views | add comment

China has cancelled the international portion of the Paralympic torch relay and has also cancelled the domestic leg of the relay, as they say they want to focus their efforts on helping the millions of people displaced by the earthquake that struck the Sichuan province on May 12.

They might also be trying to avoid another potential international disaster that occured around the Olympic torch relay when it was paraded around the world.

Violent protests against China’s Tibet policies had interfered with many international legs of the relay, including London, Paris and San Francisco. Other legs had to be shortened and were led by a group of police.

While the portions of the relay in China were peaceful, parts of it last week through Tibet and Xinjiang’s western region were shortened and featured heavy security.

This would have been the first international Paralympic torch relay, which had scheduled stops in London, Vancouver, Whistler and Sochi, Russia, the venues for the next three Olympic Games.

The Paralympic Games are slated for Sept. 6-17.

The Paralympic torch relay was supposed to take place in Vancouver and Whistler on August 29 as Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan stated on his blog:

Personal principle might have kept him out of Beijing if he was still competing, but Walter Wu says respect for the Paralympic movement means he'd love to carry the 2008 Games torch during its four-kilometre relay route in Vancouver on Aug. 29.

Wu, the son of Chinese immigrants, is one of Canada's most decorated Paralympians, having won 14 medals, including eight gold, at three Games as a visually impaired swimmer.

"It would be great to be asked to do something like that," the Richmond native said of carrying the torch. "I had a couple of friends who did the Petro-Canada [Olympic torch relay] in 1988 and they told me it was a great thrill and experience. I'd love to be able to do this."

Theories about why the relay was cancelled has spread around the Internet and blogging sites.

The Observer claimed today that it was because Chinese authorities feared a repeat of the demonstrations that marred the visit of the Olympic torch to London on April 6.

The progress of the Olympic torch through London was disrupted by Free Tibet protestors and required a heavy police presence that cost the taxpayer £750,000 and led to controversy over the role of the blue-and-white track-suited Chinese flame attendants, whom London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe described as 'thugs'.

Here are some facts about the Paralympic Torch relay:

Unlike the Olympic Flame, the Paralympic Flame has no ancestral home. Each Paralympic Organizing Committee has the freedom to choose a lighting method and ceremony that is significant to the host country.

The first Paralympic Torch Relay was held for the 1988 Paralympic Summer Games in Seoul, Korea and has taken place at all Paralympic Games since. The torch was carried by 282 torchbearers, 111 of whom had a disability, on a route of some 105 kilometres.

The Barcelona 1992 Olympic and Paralympic Games shared the same flame. The route took the flame more than 242 kilometres passing through 30 regional municipalities and involving 505 torchbearers.

However these two are no longer true:

In 2008, the Beijing Paralympic Torch Relay will be the first to include an international itinerary and three travel routes. Three torches will travel simultaneously, meeting in Beijing to light the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony on September 6, 2008.

The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Torch Relay will cross Vancouver, London and Sochi, all future host cities of the Paralympic Games.