Chinese term US criticism 'blasphemous'

An uproar over the US Olympic team's made-in-China uniforms is a blasphemy on the Olympic spirit which is supposed to separate sports from politics and a show of pure ignorance to boot, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

An uproar over the US Olympic team's made-in-China uniforms is a blasphemy on the Olympic spirit which is supposed to separate sports from politics and a show of pure ignorance to boot, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

With US unemployment hovering just above 8 per cent, US politicians have spoken out against the uniforms for the London Games, which start later this month, and six Democratic senators said they plan to introduce legislation requiring the ceremonial uniforms be produced in the United States.

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But Chinese government-run Xinhua said in a commentary that it was hard to believe such hysteria over the matter could come from the mouths of such senior US politicians.

“The Olympics spirit is all about separating sports from politics, but these US politicians are going too far and trying to force a political tag onto the uniforms,” it said in the Chinese-language commentary. “This is a parochial nationalistic attitude, a blasphemy on the Olympic spirit and a show of ignorance,” Xinhua added.