PARALYMPICS /
News
Beijing Paralympics to be 'as splendid' as Olympics
Xinhua
Updated: 2008-09-02 13:55
QUITO -- The forthcoming Beijing Paralympic Games will be as splendid as the Beijing Olympic Games, said Ecuadoran Vice President Lenin Moreno Monday in a written interview with Xinhua.
Moreno said that the upcoming event from August 6 to August 17 would display "the determination and courage of those (disabled people) who are already winners" as their presence shows their victory against the physical obstacles that may block the realization of their dreams.
The event itself mirrors the mankind's fight for equal rights and the efforts to fully realize the principle set by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, he said.
Moreno, 55, who has been paralyzed from the waist down for 10 years after encountering a robbery, said for himself "being disabled means the power of other abilities and qualities."
Moreno expressed his hope that the Ecuadoran disabled athletes could win the honor for their homeland, noting they are the demonstration of the social change that Ecuador has witnessed as the disabled people are no longer be marginalized and their rights are protected.
On the Beijing Olympics which concluded on August 24, he praised the event as a model of success.
While highlighting Beijing's amazing organization work, he said the event also impressed the world with the number of participants and new world records.
The Ecuadoran leader also spoke highly of the opening ceremony as it integrated the Chinese culture and tradition in an incredible way and would be a piece of long-lasting memory of the mankind.
Moreno, who will pay a visit to China later this week and attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics scheduled for Saturday, said Ecuador cherishes the Ecuador-China relations and ranks the ties a priority.
Noting the fast development of the Chinese economy has brought about opportunities for the whole world, he foresaw a bright prospect for the bilateral cooperation.
