Beijing's 2008 Olympic Bid Approved by COC ����Beijing's application for bidding for the 2008 Olympic Games was officially approved by the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) in Beijing on January 6. ����At a COC session held in Beijing, 75 COC members voted unanimously to approve Beijing's application which was sent to the COC on November 25 last year. ����The COC President Wu Shaozu said the COC and Beijing Municipality will officially hand in Beijing's application to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in early February. ����After congratulating the Beijing government on the approval of the application, Wu said, "The Olympic Games is a product of human civilization. An Oriental country with one quarter of the world population, China should make great contributions." ����He added: "China should also have a chance to contribute to the Olympic Movement. Hosting the Olympic Games will be beneficial to the exchange between Western and Eastern cultures and boost the global development of the Olympic Movement. ����"COC will fully support Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games," Wu said. ����Beijing Deputy Mayor Liu Jingmin said his city will improve the conditions to meet the standards of the IOC for staging the summer Olympics. ���� SportsNews 1999-01-07 Page1