By Wang Jiaquan

The world will be watching with crossed fingers, but some will curse when the Olympic flame is kindled on Monday in the ancient games' birthplace in Greece.

Ever since Beijing won the chance to host the 29th Summer Olympiad, there have been efforts to use the event to boycott China, under whatever rationale serves opponents' interests, be it an African affair or a domestic issue.

With the approach of the flame-lighting ceremony and ensuing torch relay, a symbol of the launch of the Beijing event, these efforts have surfaced with a handful of Tibetan separatists and their supporters swearing in Athens and elsewhere to bar the torch relay from entering the "roof of the world".

The boycott is only a part of the conspiracy the Dalai Lama clique has formulated to use the Olympics as leverage against the Chinese government and attract international attention to secessionist attempts.

The coincidence of recent riots in Lhasa and other ethnic Tibetan areas has proved the existence of a plot by the supporters of the Dalai Lama.

The political monk's statement of supporting the Beijing Olympic Games has been proven a lie; his followers boycotted the torch relay and resorted to violence in Lhasa and elsewhere.

Since the end of the 1970s, the Dalai Lama and his backers, frustrated by China's continuous diplomatic success, have been seeking platforms to internationalize the Tibet issue.

But their plot to sabotage the Beijing event is doomed to fail; the Games are an international stage that is not to be used for violence or political disputes.

Their attempt also proves that supporters of the Dalai Lama, although branding themselves as Buddhists, are people who would become radicals to serve an ulterior motive, even at the cost of sacrificing the Games, an occasion for the world to promote peace, harmony and friendship.

The torch relay boycott and the riots, however, might be only the start of a scheme.

In the run-up to the Games, the international community, true sports lovers and opponents of violence should be prepared for a further farce. They must stand fast against any attempt to undermine the Olympics, as the event not only belongs to Beijing and China but is a solemn international event that should never be disturbed by politics.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2008)