To many, China's goal at the 2008 Olympic Games is nothing but topping the medals table.

 

The country's sports authorities, however, say that there is one thing more important than winning gold medals -- playing clean and true.

 

"We must ensure that the Beijing Games will be a clean Games," Luo Chaoyi, head of the Chinese Athletics Association, told a national meeting Wednesday, which was attended by 100-plus coaches and provincial sports officials.

 

"We cannot tolerate drug cheats," he added.

 

The chiefs of athletics administrations at provincial and municipal levels were asked to sign anti-doping pledges. The officials would be held responsible for any violations of anti-doping rules within their teams, according to the letters.

 

It was the latest call by China's sports officials for keeping away from banned substances. Last year, Liu Peng, president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), warned drug cheats of severe punishment in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics.

 

In an effort to restore a reputation damaged by a string of doping scandals in the 1990s, China has been tough in the fight against doping in recent year, with the number of drug tests having more than doubled.

 

The Chinese Olympic Committee's Anti-doping Commission has been awarded the ISO 9001 Certificate, a world-wide standard for management of quality services.

 

China started to establish a strict doping control system in March 2001 and on August 1, 2003, the system was officially put into practice.

 

The system is based upon the internationally recognized ISO 9001 standard and the International Standard for Doping Control, which is the most comprehensive standard for planning and conducting doping control.

 

China finished second behind the US with 32 golds in the gold medals table at Athens 2004, though its total of 63 was far behind the US and Russia.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2007)