王　娜

LONDON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua)—A visiting senior Chinese diplomat said here Thursday that it was “totally unreasonable” to link Sudans Darfur issue with the Beijing Olympics in August.

Liu Guijin, special representative of the Chinese government to Darfur issue, attends a news conference held at the Chinese Embassy in London, Britain, Feb. 21, 2008.

It was also “dangerous” to politicize the Olympics in the long run, said Liu Guijin, special representative of the Chinese government to Darfur issue, said at a news conference held at the Chinese Embassy in London.

Liu told reporters that he was very surprised by Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielbergs resignation as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The Beijing Olympic organizing committee had sent Spielberg a recruitment letter, he had not signed it by the deadline of May 10 last year, said Liu, adding “theoretically he was not art director to the Beijing Olympic games.”

“It was a great surprise for me that he should have resigned. There is no such question of resignation,” Liu said. Liu said that he met Spielberg in New York last year and they had an in-depth discussion on Darfur issue including Chinas stance on the issue.

“I told him at that time: Mr Spielberg, I know that you are no longer an art adviser to the Beijing Olympics but still I would like to discuss the question with you,” said Liu, 61, a veteran diplomat, also a former ambassador to Zimbabwe and South Africa, and has been engaged in African affairs for more than 25 years.

Spielberg announced on Feb. 13 his decision to quit the upcoming Olympics as an artistic advisor, citing concerns over the violence in Darfur, which he linked to the Chinese government.

International Olympic Committee(IOC) President Jacques Rogge shrugged off the controversy caused by Spielbergs decision to withdraw as an artistic consultant to the Beijing Olympics, stressing that IOC is “a sporting, not a political association”.

Asked to comment on Spielbergs decision, U.S. President George W. Bush said that he would attend the 2008 Beijing Olympics as scheduled, adding that he had no reason to use the Olympics as a way to highlight political issues.

倫敦，2月21日（新華社）——星期四一位到訪的中國外交官表示把蘇丹達爾富爾問題同將于8月舉行的北京奧運會聯(lián)系起來“完全是不可理喻的”。

中國政府達爾富爾問題特使劉貴金，參加了2008年2月21日在倫敦中國大使館舉行的新聞發(fā)布會。

在倫敦中國大使館舉行的新聞發(fā)布會上，中國政府達爾富爾問題特使劉貴金表示，從長遠看將奧運會政治化也是非常危險的。

劉貴金告訴記者，他對奧斯卡獲獎電影導(dǎo)演史蒂文·斯皮爾伯格辭去2008北京奧運會藝術(shù)顧問一職感到驚訝。

劉貴金說，北京奧組委曾向斯皮爾伯格發(fā)出過聘書，但直到去年5月10日截止日他還沒有簽訂協(xié)議。他還補充道：“從理論上來說，斯皮爾伯格并不是北京奧運會的藝術(shù)指導(dǎo)?！?/p>

“他已經(jīng)‘辭職的消息讓我很震驚，因為不存在辭職的問題?！?/p>

劉貴金表示，去年他在紐約會見了斯皮爾伯格并就達爾富爾問題，包括中國在這一問題上的立場進行了深入的討論。

劉貴金說：“那一次我告訴他：斯皮爾伯格先生，我已經(jīng)知道你再也不是北京奧運會開閉幕式的藝術(shù)顧問了，但我還是愿意同你討論這個問題?！?61歲的劉貴金是一名經(jīng)驗豐富的外交官，曾任中國駐津巴布韋和南非大使，涉及非洲事務(wù)超過25年之久。

斯皮爾伯格于2月13日宣布決定放棄即將到來的奧運會開閉幕式藝術(shù)顧問一職，同時他表示了對達爾富爾地區(qū)的暴力的擔(dān)憂，并將達爾富爾問題同中國政府聯(lián)系起來。

對于斯皮爾伯格決定放棄北京奧運會藝術(shù)顧問所引起的爭議，國際奧委會主席杰克斯·羅格不以為然，他強調(diào)，國際奧委會是一個“體育的、非政治性的組織。”

在被問及對斯皮爾伯格這一決定的看法時，美國總統(tǒng)喬治·W·布什表示他將如期參加2008北京奧運會，他說利用奧運會作為強化政治問題的手段是沒有道理的。