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Coronavirus pandemic: All stories
China

China’s National Games torch passes to Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong

  • Xian’s hosting of elite sporting event passes pandemic test with no coronavirus cases linked to games
  • All eyes now on the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February

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A representative from Hong Kong waves the special administrative region’s flag during National Games closing ceremony in Xian on Monday night. Photo: Xinhua
Linda LewandJack Lau
The curtain has come down on China’s National Games in the ancient city of Xian, bringing to a close the biggest sporting event the country has hosted since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Twelve days after the games officially began, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang declared the sports event closed on Monday night, capping an hour-long spectacle at the Xian Olympic Sports Centre in Shaanxi province.

Along with thousands of masked spectators, the chief executives of Hong Kong and Macau, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Ho Iat-seng, attended the ceremony, which featured martial artists in a celebration of traditional Chinese culture and performers in personal protective equipment “showing Chinese power” during the pandemic.

The games are seen as a major test of the country’s prevention measures for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February and as of Monday, no Covid-19 infection had been linked to the event.

Gou Zhongwen, director of the games and the head of China’s General Administration of Sport, praised the people of Shaanxi for holding a successful and safe event.

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“The games committee took scientific and rigorous epidemic prevention measures ... Along with more than 6,000 health workers, we built strong safeguards for the games,” Gou said.

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