Holding Olympics in Beijing in 2008 is a historical chance the world gives to the capital and will surely advance the city's modernization by a big margin, said Tang Long, spokesman with Beijing Municipal Government.
"Beijing owes its success in winning Olympic bid to the correct decisions by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), improvement in Beijing's comprehensive urban strength and the full support from other parts of the country," said Tang, reiterating Beijing is fully capable of making 2008 Olympics Games "a unique treasure to China and to the world's sports".
Holding Olympic Games in China is a long cherished dream for Chinese people and realizing modernization is the objective that Chinese nation has been striving for, Tang went on.
According to him, Beijing drafted a new development strategy in the beginning of this century that it would lead the country in realizing the modernization by the year of 2008 and be built into one of the world's first-class metropolises.
Though Beijing is faced with problems including air pollution, shortages of water resources, traffic jam and rebuilding of dangerous and dilapidated houses, the historical mission of modernization and solemn commitments made to the Olympics will make the people of Beijing to work harder and create a New Beijing and Great Olympics with their talent and courage, said Tang.
In the next five years, Beijing will pump 180 billion yuan into construction of urban infrastructure, of which, a half will be spent on projects of transportation, including subways, light rails, expressways and airports.
With the construction of 29 large facilities for Olympic Games, the urban outlook and living conditions of local residents in Beijing will improve greatly.
In the next five years, Beijing will also finish the task of rebuilding more than nine million sq. m of dangerous and old apartment flats, and the per capita living floor space will rise to 18 sq. m.
Cultural and historical sites in this ancient Chinese national city will also be better protected, with the injection of 1.73 billion yuan of special fund in place, said Tang.
He added that holding in Olympics Games in Beijing in 2008 would also produce far-reaching impact on people's way of thinking and behavior in addition to advancing the economic and social development in Beijing.
(People’s Daily 07/15/2001)
