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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Olympic torch will bypass Taiwan | Olympic torch will bypass Taiwan |
| (38 minutes later) | |
| The Olympic torch will not pass through Taiwan because negotiators could not resolve differences with the Beijing authorities, officials have confirmed. | The Olympic torch will not pass through Taiwan because negotiators could not resolve differences with the Beijing authorities, officials have confirmed. |
| The two sides disagreed over the route the torch should take on its way to the Beijing Games in 2008. | The two sides disagreed over the route the torch should take on its way to the Beijing Games in 2008. |
| Taiwanese officials also objected to Chinese insistence that the use of Taiwan's flag and national anthem be limited at torch-related events. | Taiwanese officials also objected to Chinese insistence that the use of Taiwan's flag and national anthem be limited at torch-related events. |
| China described the outcome as a "vile precedent". | |
| Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory. The two countries have, however, been separately governed since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. | |
| 'Deeply regret' | 'Deeply regret' |
| Beijing has planned a lengthy route for the Olympic torch. It will pass through more than 20 cities and ascend Mount Everest on its way to the Chinese capital. | Beijing has planned a lengthy route for the Olympic torch. It will pass through more than 20 cities and ascend Mount Everest on its way to the Chinese capital. |
| See planned East Asia leg of torch relay | |
| In the original schedule, the torch was to arrive in Taiwan from Vietnam and then go on to Hong Kong. | In the original schedule, the torch was to arrive in Taiwan from Vietnam and then go on to Hong Kong. |
| But Taiwanese officials had argued that this implied that Taiwan was part of China and had asked for the route to be changed. | But Taiwanese officials had argued that this implied that Taiwan was part of China and had asked for the route to be changed. |
| Chinese officials had also asked that only songs and flags approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) be used at events related to the Olympic torch in Taiwan - ruling out use of the Taiwanese national anthem and national flag. | Chinese officials had also asked that only songs and flags approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) be used at events related to the Olympic torch in Taiwan - ruling out use of the Taiwanese national anthem and national flag. |
| Taiwan's Sports Minister Yang Jong-her said the two sides "were not able to reach consensus over the arrangement of the relay after more than one month of discussions". | Taiwan's Sports Minister Yang Jong-her said the two sides "were not able to reach consensus over the arrangement of the relay after more than one month of discussions". |
| "We deeply regret the result," the minister said. | "We deeply regret the result," the minister said. |
| The Beijing organising committee said Taipei had "violated the Olympic Charter and manipulated the arrangements for the Taiwan leg of the relay for political purposes". | |
| This created a "vile precedent of an International Olympic Committee member refusing the torch relay within its jurisdiction," the committee said on its website. | |
| The IOC had set 20 September as a deadline for resolving the dispute, Taiwanese officials said. | The IOC had set 20 September as a deadline for resolving the dispute, Taiwanese officials said. |
| Return | Return |