By John Bagratuni Jul 23, 2008, 5:06 GMT
Lausanne, Switzerland - Jacques Rogge may only know two phrases in Chinese, but the Olympic supremo believes he has found all the right words in his dealings with the Beijing Games organizers.
In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president defended his 'silent diplomacy' against more outspoken critics of China on human rights issues and other sensitive areas.
Rogge said he learnt all about the importance of saving face in Asia and now hopes for a good Olympics and a lasting legacy far beyond sports and the two words he knows, ni hao (hello) and xie xie (thanks).
Rogge has been dealing with the Chinese from day one as IOC boss, as his 2001 election came three days after Beijing was selected as host for the 2008 Games.
'When I was elected I did to speak to sinologues, people who had worked in China, business people, diplomats, ministers and even heads of state. And I said how do you approach the Chinese? And I read a lot of books on that and I really learnt a lot on the culture.
'They all said to me if you want to obtain something you have to have silent negotiations, silent diplomacy. Just for this issue of face-saving,' Rogge explained in his office at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Rogge has been accused of remaining silent too long when the situation almost boiled over China's quashing of the unrest in Tibet in March.
There were calls for boycotts, politicians threatened to stay away from the opening ceremony and the international leg of the torch relay turned into a protest-marred disaster for the Communist government.
Rogge admitted to a 'crisis' during April IOC meetings in Beijing and also reminded the Chinese of the 'moral obligation' which come with hosting the Olympics and had been promised.
That earned the IOC boss a stern rebuff from the foreign ministry to mind his own business.
'I said what I thought and I said what I had to say and I reminded them of what they said themselves. This is not me lecturing them to do this and that. I said simply 'you have said that, may I remind you of what you said yourself,'' Rogge told dpa.
Now the situation appears calmer in the final countdown to the Games.
United States president George W Bush and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, who also heads France's European Union presidency, will attend the opening ceremony.
Question marks remain on issues such as Tibet, dissidents and freedom of press, but Rogge firmly believes that the Games will have a lasting effect on China, not necessarily to be seen immediately but in the near future.
'We have obtained the new foreign media law. It is not perfect, we agree. We are pressing the Chinese to implement it as best as possible. This is a revolution, this is something that I believe will also leave a lasting legacy in China,' he said.
Rogge also named stricter laws in connection with child labour, compensation for locals whose houses fell victim to Olympic construction, and improved environmental laws.
'I believe the Games will definitely bring something to China, and definitely an openness to the country which is unprecedented.
'In one or two years after the Games you can see what influence they had. I think the Chinese will know much more about the world than they know today and the world much more about China. I believe that will be a positive effect,' the IOC president said.
Looking at the Games themselves, Rogge expressed his hopes that China will show 'flexibility' in its strict security concept and that the Olympic Movement will benefit from the event as well.
'What I really want is good Games for the athletes. That's the number one priority. Let the athletes be happy. Athletes mostly have one or two chances to go to the Games,' Rogge said.
'That means a good Olympic village, a good transportation system, very good sports competitions in state of the art venues. Of course security is a number one priority. Secondly a good general organization for the media. And if you have a good warm crowd and good performances that's the cherry on the cake.'
The former Belgian Olympic sailor Rogge reiterated that the Beijing Games will play a role in his decision-making whether to run for a second term as IOC boss next year, but he said he is far from being afraid of the upcoming weeks in China.
'There are issues that have to be solved, but i am not afraid. These are going to be my 18th Games. I have a lot under my belt. I think the preparation has been extremely good and the dynamics of the Games will prove that,' he said.
Your Talkback on this Story