China on Thursday said it will never accept attempts to "politicise" the August 8-24 Olympics as any efforts to link it with the political issues will amount "to interfere" in its internal affairs.
"In the spirit of Olympic Charter, the Olympic Games should not be politicised and it should be respected and followed by all members of the Olympic family," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters in Beijing.
Responding to a question about "some countries linking their attendance" at the Games opening ceremony to political issues like Tibet, Liu said, "we will never accept politicising of the Olympic games."
"Any attempt to connect Olympic Games with political issues to interfere in China's internal affairs is unattainable," he said.
Asked if the reply was directed at French President Nicolas Sarkozy who has linked his attendance at the opening ceremony of the Games to the progress on the talks between Dalai Lama's envoys and Beijing, he refused to answer it directly.
"I have answered that question at my last briefing. My comments today are a supplement to my answer".
{{/usCountry}}"I have answered that question at my last briefing. My comments today are a supplement to my answer".
{{/usCountry}}On Tuesday last, Liu had said, "Tibet is an internal affair of China and the contact between central government and private representatives of the Dalai Lama is also an internal affair."
"We oppose any national leader meeting Dalai Lama in any form. We oppose connecting Tibet related issues with Beijing Olympics and oppose politicising it," Liu said.