Athletes Golden HomecomingChina's paralympic team were guests of honour at a meeting in Beijing's Great Hall of the People after returning home from Sydney.China won 34 gold medals at the Games and came sixth in the medal table, a major improvement on Atlanta in 1996 when the country won 16 golds and came ninth. Senior Party and government officials attended Wednesday's meeting, including Li Ruihuan, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice-Premier Li Lanqing, State Councillor Ismail Amat and Deng Pufang, chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF). Outstanding athletes, coaches, staff, and organizations which helped train athletes were all honoured by associations including the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the CDPF and the State Sports General Administration. Li Ruihuan hailed the delegation's outstanding performance during the Games and passed on the nation's respect for the athletes' efforts. He also encouraged governments at all level and the rest of society to continue supporting Chinese disabled people. CDPF Chairman Deng Pufang said China's achievements would bolster the country's bid for the 2008 Olympics and instill national pride. The 2000 Paralympics, which had 561 events, drew more than 4,000 participants from 127 countries across the world. China took part in 159 events in track and field, swimming, table tennis, wrestling and weight lifting. |
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