Myanmar-Chinese support Beijing’s Olympic bid
????Representatives of Myanmar-Chinese and overseas Chinese social organizations in Myanmar signed a letter on Thursday in support of Beijing’s bid to the right of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games.

????A total of 184 Myanmar-Chinese representatives signed the letter including those from the Myanmar-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry， Overseas Chinese Charity Association， Myanmar-Fujian Natives’ Association， Yunnan Natives’ Association， Guangdong Natives’ Association， Nanzhong and Huazhong Old Students ’ Associations and Overseas Chinese Women’s Association.

????The move was initiated by the Myanmar-Chinese Sports Federation (MCSF).

????MCSF Chairman Jiang Qingliang told Xinhua that although Myanmar-Chinese and overseas Chinese residing in Myanmar are separated from China by thousands of mountains and rivers， they are concerned with Beijing’s bid for hosting the 2008 Games.

????The application move does not only link all the people living in China but also connect Chinese generations abroad. They wish Beijing’s move a success.

????Jiang added that the signed letter will be forwarded to the Beijing Committee for Application to Host the 2008 Olympic through the Consulate of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar.





Beijing: A city of expectation and confidence
????
"Give Beijing a chance and we will show you how much more we can contribute to the Olympic Movement." Tu Mingde， secretary-general of Chinese National Olympic Committee， pledged while posing for crush of photographers with his colleagues from the Beijing bid committee after a press conference Thursday.

????The five candidate cities faced the media in turn holding separate press conferences， the last IOC authorized media occasion for candidate cites before this evening’s vote. The press hall packed out when the Beijing delegation， who presented fourth behind Osaka， Paris and Toronto， stepped into the hall.

????After a short film showing an ancient and a well-developed modern Beijing， Wang Wei， secretary-general of the Beijing bid committee started on his speech to convince the world that Beijing is the best choice to host the Games.

????"If Beijing is awarded the 2008 Olympic Games， it will make history because it will be the first time the Olympics has landed in a country with a population of 1.3 billion and a history of over 3，000-years，" said Wang.

????With only 30 hours to go before eagerly awaited moment， Wang said Beijing is ready for the vote.

????"We are fully-prepared and confident，" claimed Wang.He said the confidence is based on following reasons.

????Firstly due to all-out support from across the nation.The results of a poll conducted by the IOC show that over 95 per cent of Beijing citizens support the bid.That is the highest number of the five candidate cities. "The Beijing Games will be the people’s Games，" Wang said.

????Secondly， Beijing has won strong governmental support which will help to ensure the Games are a success.

????Thirdly， the 10 per cent GDP increase over the past decade and the dramatic improvement in infrastructure and the environment will enable Beijing to hold a sporting event like the Olympics.

????And lastly an encouraging report published in May by the IOC Evaluation Commission says Beijing is able to host an excellent Games and the Beijing Games will leave a legacy to China and to sport.

????"Please come to Beijing and you will see what Beijing is and what China is，" said Deng Yaping， a four-time Olympic table tennis champion.

????"With open arms， we welcome friends from all over the world，" concluded Tu.

????In separate press conferences given by the four other candidate cities， all the representatives expressed confidence in winning the bid.

????Toronto highlighted their bid by emphasizing their concept of "by athletes and for athletes" while Paris stressed the integration of culture with the Olympic spirit， calling listeners’ attention to the ideal of Le Baron Pierre de Coubertin， a French man and one of the founders of the Modern Olympics.

????Osaka and Istanbul both said they accepted the report by the IOC Evaluation Commission， which seems to put the two cities in an unfavourable position， though they argued that mis-communication is probably to blame for the report. They will now make presentations directly to IOC members.Both cities said they will be able to convince voters and eventually win the bid.



Beijing Culture Festival Opens in Moscow
????MOSCOW -- A large-scale Beijing Culture Festival opened in Moscow on Thursday evening， during which the Beijing and Moscow municipal governments will jointly hold a series of spectacular Beijing culture introduction and display activities.

At the grand opening ceremony of the festival in the Russian State Central Concert Hall， Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said that the coming perfect performance of excellent Chinese artists， a Chinese handicraft article show， a Beijing snapshots show， an exhibition and flight practice of Chinese kites will become important events in the cultural life of Moscow citizens and draw their great attention and interest.

Jia Qinglin， Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party， who is on a special trip to Moscow to attend the festival， said at the ceremony that the various cultural exchange activities between the two countries’ capitals have strengthened and will further promote not only the friendly cooperation between the two cities， but also the partnership of strategic cooperation between the two great nations.

The current Beijing Culture Festival in Moscow will open a new page in the development history of the two cities’ friendly relations， he said.

Following the two city leaders’ addresses， Chinese artists offered over 3，000 Russian and Chinese audiences a wonderful performance of Chinese traditional art， including Beijing Opera， Chinese music， acrobatics and folk dances. Their brilliant interpretation of Chinese art won Moscow citizens’ ardent bravo.

During the one-week festival， its organizers will also hold a magnificent singing and dancing evening in the open air of the Moscow Culture Party， a flight show of Chinese kites， a special performance of Beijing Opera and royal display days of China’s "national treasure" animals pandas， as well as other interesting and splendid cultural activities.

Beijing and Moscow established a friendly relationship of sisterhood in May 1995. In 1999， they held a successful Moscow Culture Festival in Beijing， and a Chinese kite festival in Moscow.