He has covered three Olympic Games as a reporter. He came to China to help develop entertainment industry. And now he is a Beijing Olympic torchbearer.

Fredrick A. Hutchison, a native of Colorado, United States, is the only foreign torchbearer who lives and works in the northwest Qinghai Province where the torch relay kicks off on Sunday in Golmud.

"I'm honored to carry the torch for the Beijing Olympics. I'm excited. I was surprised to be chosen. And I'm happy," said the 69-year-old.

Hutchison had worked for ABC sports channel. He participated in broadcasting of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, the 1970 Winter Olympics in Gronoble, France, and the 1972 Munich Olympics.

"I'm glad that the torch will  be able to go all over China. You know, the Beijing Olympics is the first time for China. Chinese people are very excited to see it. It's important for them," he said.

"It's a very big event for China. And I hope they have much success."

Hutchison settled down in the provincial capital Xining 18 months ago. In his eyes, Qinghai and his home state are much alike. "I feel at home here."

Both Qinghai and Colorado are mountainous with beautiful scenery of snow mountains, vast grasslands and grand canyons. The weather is quite similar, too.

Hutchison said once a time when he was hiking on the Qilian Mountain, he found it is like the Rockies, "I am home. It's very similar," he said.

Another reason for him to live here is Tour de Qinghai Lake, the annual international cycling race held around the largest lake in China.

"I've heard about Tour de Qinghai Lake before I came here. It's famous in the world," he said. "Last year was my first time to see the race. It's a big deal."

Hutchison is a cycling enthusiast and rode around twice the Qinghai Lake. "There are many Chinese people cycling there. It's very popular in the summer."

Develop entertainment industry

Running an entertainment and media company in Xining, Hutchison sees himself as part of China's "West Development" drive.

"I'd listened to Chinese President Hu Jintao on radio...and he said 'Go and develop the west'. So I got the idea to come here to develop Xining, to help develop the entertainment industry," he said.

Hutchison said he used to be an acting teacher. His company, "Haaqi", tries to discover and educate talented young people, help them make a career of performance.

"There are so many talented people here, particularly in singing and dancing," he said.

When asked about his feeling of being a torchbearer, he spoke out in accented Chinese: "Go, Xining! Go, Qinghai! Go, China!"

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2008)