Pusan wins Asiad proposal amid Taiwan protest
Pusan wins Asiad proposal amid Taiwan protest
SEOUL (Reuter): The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) yesterday awarded the 2002 Asian Games to the South Korean port city of Pusan amid protests by Taiwan about voting procedures.
Pusan gained support from 37 of 41 member states of the OCA in a hand-raising vote, beating the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung to get the 2002 event. The 1998 games are in Bangkok.
Taiwanese officials accused the OCA of abruptly changing the voting procedures by which "we were doomed to fail".
"The hand-raising method not only violated an earlier decision of the executive board on secret balloting but also defies a long tradition of the Olympic family on identical matters," a Taiwanese statement said.
"We strongly protest herewith, and gravely condemn political interference that caused the change," it said.
About 20 Taiwanese delegates held up placards outside the conference room reading, "We strongly protest". One delegate, with tears in his eyes, held up a small placard that said "We Didn't Have Fair Chance".
Kaohsiung had hoped to become the first Taiwanese city to host the games, but it ran into difficulties because Taiwan's arch- rival China, a behemoth on the Asian sporting and political scene, supported Pusan's bid.
China, which has viewed Taiwan as a renegade province since the end of a civil war in 1949, objects to Taiwan staging or participating in any major international event.
It will be the second Asian Games to be held in South Korea. The South Korean capital of Seoul hosted the 1986 games, as well as the 1988 Olympic Games.
"Thank you very much and we will make it the most successful Asian Games ever," Pusan Mayor Kim Ki-jae said at a press conference.
Pusan, South Korea's second largest city with a population of four million, is also due to host the East Asian Games in 1997.
Boycott
China had threatened to boycott the 2002 Asian Games if the OCA awarded the games to Kaohsiung.
The OCA congress brought together about 130 officials from 41 member nations. But North Korea, South Korea's arch-rival, and Laos did not attend the two-day session which ended on Tuesday.
International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch observed Tuesday's OCA meeting. On Monday, meeting South Korean President Kim Young-sam, he said he hoped the decision on the site of the Asian Games would be made in a way not to hurt the harmony and unity of the Asian people.
The decision came less than 24 hours after the Clinton administration reversed policy and agreed to let President Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan enter the United States to attend a reunion at Cornell University where he studied.
The move was sharply criticized by China but praised by Taipei.
Until now, U.S. officials had said a visit by Lee would be incompatible with Washington's unofficial relations with Taipei since it severed ties with Taiwan and recognized China in 1979. Lee could only change planes in the United States.
South Korea and China, an ally of North Korea, ended decades of hostilities in 1992 by establishing formal relations. Taiwan responded by cutting links with Seoul.