Sarkozy apologises to victim

2008-04-21 09:15

Shanghai - A top French envoy delivered a personal letter of apology on Monday from President Nicolas Sarkozy to a wheelchair-bound Chinese athlete who shielded the Olympic torch from pro-Tibet protesters.

French Senate president Christian Poncelet, reading from the letter, said Sarkozy condemned the attack on Jin Jing during the chaotic Paris leg of the torch relay.

"I was shocked to see what happened during the torch relay," Poncelet said, quoting from Sarkozy's letter.

"It is understandable that the Chinese people feel hurt. I hereby strongly condemn what they did."

Jin, a fencer, was attacked when pro-Tibet protesters repeatedly disrupted the April 7 relay, and had to fend off attempts to grab the torch.

The incident has turned Jin into a hero figure while the state-run press in China has used it as symbolic of the disruption that has marred the relay and angered Chinese hoping for a successful Beijing Olympics in August.

Poncelet delivered the letter to Jin Jing after arriving in Shanghai for a visit during which he is also expected to meet top Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao.

Anti-French feelings triggered in part by the incident involving Jin flared up in protests at the weekend outside branches in China of French supermarket giant Carrefour.

- AFP