Interview: Iranian scholar says drive to boycott Beijing Winter Olympics "doomed to fail"

TEHRAN, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- All the participants and supporters of the Beijing Winter Olympics are "peace envoys," who "long for world peace and pursue a better life," and the attempt to boycott the event is "doomed to fail," said an Iranian scholar in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The motto of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has been set as "Together for a Shared Future." Farhad Javanbakht Kheirabadi, a China scholar at Shahid Beheshti University in Iran, said this motto reflects China's vision for the world.

China is committed to working with people around the world to "create a better future," he said, adding that this future features "a world free of war, fear, displacement and refugees, and a world full of peace, mutual respect and shared destiny."

Kheirabadi said some Western countries, which could not achieve such beneficial proposals, now try to "intimidate and prevent China" from demonstrating its visions to the world by threatening to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Looking back on the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, the Iranian scholar believed that China successfully demonstrated its style through the Olympic Games.

The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics opened a window for the world to "observe the development of China," which is also welcomed by most countries around the globe, Kheirabadi said.

Yet, the success of the 2008 Olympics also prompted some Western powers to "fear China's promotion of global influence," he added.

Meanwhile, the scholar said that China has institutionalized its efforts to improve people's health and develop sports undertakings, adding he looks forward to China hosting the Winter Olympics "in the most splendid manner."