When China won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games seven years ago, Liu Qi, president of the Beijing organising committee and the then Beijing city mayor, told the International Olympic Committee: 'If Beijing wins its bid to host the Olympic Games, it will be conducive to China's economic and social progress; at the same time, it will also make further progress on the promotion of human rights.'
Wang Wei secretary-general of the Beijing 2008 Olympic bid committee, backed him up: 'We will grant full freedom of the press to the journalists coming to China; they will be able to visit Beijing and other Chinese cities and cover any news event before and during the Olympic Games. We will also allow demonstrations.'
<意訳>
中国が7年前に、2008年のオリンピック開催権を得たとき、 Liu Qi 氏(北京組織委員会、および当時の北京市長)は国際 オリンピック委員会に宣言した: 『北京がオリンピック開催国となれば、それは中国の経済と 社会的進歩の助けとなり、同時に、人権の更なる前進も生む』