The explosive memoirs of a former sports minister have lifted the veil on the mainland's secretive state sports community. In the book, he accuses accuse a senior Chinese International Olympic Committee member of potentially jeopardising the success of the Beijing Olympics.
Yuan Weimin, who served as the top sports official between 2000 and 2004, says that in the 2001 IOC presidential election - just after the 2008 Games were awarded to Beijing - a 'veteran IOC member' voted for South Korean Kim Un-yong rather than eventual winner Dr Jacques Rogge, from Belgium.
This was a surprise move, as Rogge had supported Beijing's bid for the Games and expected China's officials to return the favour.
Yuan says the troublemaker wrote a book titled The Road of the Five Rings and was considered the 'Godfather' of the Olympic movement in contemporary China. This means he is referring to He Zhenliang, who has just retired after 28 years with the IOC - including 24 years on its executive committee, the effective ruling body. The 80-year-old played a key role in Beijing's bids in 1993 and 2001, and was considered the driving force on the latter occasion. The Road of the Five Rings was the title of He's 2007 autobiography.
China decided in 2001 to throw its support behind then European Olympic Committee chief Rogge, who was re-elected to a second term at the helm of the IOC last week, in exchange for Europe's blessing for Beijing's Olympic bid. But after Beijing's name was called on July 13, 2001, at an IOC gathering in Moscow, He lobbied and voted for Kim in the presidential ballot. The other two Chinese IOC members voted for Rogge.
'I was very angry at that moment and thought this could hurt our credibility internationally,' Yuan writes.
He accuses He of disobeying Beijing's 'great plan' and writes that He clearly understood that casting his vote for the Korean this was not conducive to Beijing's strategy. 'Why did he do this? I don't understand his agenda,' Yuan writes.
