Speeches

Governor Gary Locke’s Remarks
2008 Olympics Conference
September 24, 2003


Thank you Shan. Good morning everyone, and thank you for coming.

I’d like to begin by welcoming the Honorable Vice Mayor Liu and his delegation to the state of Washington. We are honored to have you as our guests. I hope that you are enjoying your visit to our state.

I’d also like to welcome Ambassador Wang, Consul General of China in San Francisco. We greatly value Ambassador Wang’s strong support and advocacy of deeper economic and cultural relationships with China.

The Olympics bring people from all over the world together in peace. They are a celebration of humanity, diversity and shared human values. We are very pleased that China was selected to host the Games for 2008.

China won the right to host these Olympics through years of hard work. This was a big victory for China and the Chinese people. This victory follows another big victory—China’s successful entry into the World Trade Organization. Such victories are good for China—and good for the rest of the world.

China and the municipal government of Beijing are very committed to making the 2008 Olympic games the best games ever. China has invested close to $26 billion (U.S.) in preparing to host a world-class event. We are very confident that these games will be a success. And the world will have an opportunity to learn more about China and the Chinese people.

At this point, I would like to tell you a little more about our special guest. Vice Mayor Mr. Liu Jingmin has held his present position since 1998. He is also the Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympic Games.

Vice mayor Liu has been active in Beijing politics and government for more than 20 years. He holds a degree in Economics from the People’s University of China, and a postgraduate diploma in Politics from China University of Political Science and Law.

I had the honor of meeting Vice Mayor Liu last December in Beijing. During that visit, we started a dialogue. We discussed how Washington companies could participate in the design, construction and operation of the various Olympic venues.

Vice Mayor Liu graciously accepted my invitation to come to Washington state to meet with you. This conference is the next step in the dialogue we began last December. I know we’re all looking forward to an informative and productive session here today. Pleased and honored, the Vice Mayor Liu chose only our state for such a seminar to be part of the 2008 Olympics. Washington companies helped China and Beijing put on a spectacular event.

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