Chinese scholar to relay Olympic torch in UK

Belfast (CNS) – Dr Xiong Yu, who hails from Chongqing municipality in southwest China, has been selected as one of the 8,000 torchbearers for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"This is an honor for me and all of the Chinese scholars in Britain," Xiong told CNS when he received the invitation from the London Olympic Committee.

At present, Xiong works in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, as director of the China Management Research School at Queen's University and executive chairman of the China Innovation and Development Association.

It took Xiong ten years to become such a famous scholar in Britain. "I will contribute my efforts to promoting exchanges between China and the UK," he said. "As a Chinese, you have an obligation to think about how to improve the Chinese image."

The Olympic torch relay will travel 13,000 kilometers through 1,018 sites in Britain from May 19 to July 27. The relay was initially planned for Britain only, without an overseas leg. Yet Ireland pressed for the torch to enter its territory, so the London Olympic Committee eventually approved an extension from Belfast to Dublin.

Xiong Yu will run the route connecting Britain to Belfast on June 6.