Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's quit from the Beijing Olympic Games will not affect the opening ceremony of the sports gala, Chinese film director and political advisor Zhang Yimou said on Monday.
However, Zhang told reporters that it was "very regrettable" for Spielberg to withdraw as artistic consultant to the Games.
Zhang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks while attending the annual session of the country's top political advisory body that convened on Monday afternoon.
Spielberg was appointed artistic consultant by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games in April, 2006 and got involved with the opening and closing ceremonies of the event together with Chinese film director Zhang Yimou and Ric Rirch, Australian director who made the highly successful ceremonies at the Sydney Games in 2000.
The world-renowned American movie director announced his decision to quit the coming Olympics in mid-February, citing concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, which he linked to the Chinese government.
Also Monday, Ge Fei, an Olympic gold medalist in badminton and a national lawmaker, echoed Zhang's opinion, saying that the modern Olympics that has a history of more than a century will not be affected by some individuals.
"The Olympics is simply a sporting event. Political issues shouldn't be involved in it," said Ge, a deputy to the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature whose annual session is slated to open on Wednesday.
"But there are still some people who wear 'colored spectacles' while watching China and always exaggerate some issues," Ge added.
(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2008)