|
BERLIN, Aug 24, 2008 (AFP) - Germany said Sunday that the Olympics have helped to open up Chinese society despite reported human rights abuses linked to the Games.
"I think if we make a preliminary assessment then one can say that the Games contributed to further modernisation of China," deputy foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said.
"All of the preparations led to significant progress in the country. I think it can also be said that the Games contributed to a further opening up of China."
Peschke noted the global debate after China won the right to stage this month's Games over the human rights situation in the country and what impact the Olympics could have on Beijing.
"If you think of China 20 years ago, nothing of the sort would have been possible. Thousands of journalists were in China, reported about China," he said at a news conference.
"I think it can be said that the Olympic Games made a positive contribution to the future of China."
China promised to improve human rights when it was awarded the Games in 2001 and said it would grant broad freedoms for foreign media to cover the event unhindered.
But independent rights group Human Rights Watch last week accused China of human rights violations linked to the Beijing Games.
It cited a list of "documented" abuses included "media censorship, the abuse of migrant construction workers who built the Olympic venues, and the unlawful forced evictions of hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens from their homes to make way for these venues."
The authorities have also come under fire from media groups for blocking access to sensitive websites.
Meanwhile the United States is urging China to release immediately eight American nationals detained after pro-Tibet protests in Beijing during the Olympic Games.
| 
