Chefs de Mission plant Olympic friendship forest (photos attached)

Rogge plants a tree.

(BEIJING, August 8) -- Early morning on August 8, 2007, the day marking the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games, Chefs de Mission, who are here to attend the Seminar of chefs de mission for the Beijing Olympics, got together to plant trees at the Olympic Green.

Joining the crowds that morning were Liu Qi, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), secretary of Beijing Municipal CPC Committee and BOCOG President; Chen Zhili, State Councilor and BOCOG First Vice-President; Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC); Wang Qishan, Beijing Mayor and BOCOG Executive President; and Hein Verbruggen, Chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The VIPs also unveiled a monument for the occasion.

"In one year's time, the 2008 Olympic Games will be held at the National Stadium nearby," said Liu Qi. "It is our common hope to stage a high-level Olympics with distinguishing features, and promote the Olympic Spirit, as well as world peace and development."

Liu said the Olympic friendship forest campaign strikes a chord with the hopes of the people around the world for peace, friendship, and progress, and will be in harmony with the theme slogan "One World One Dream."

Liu pointed out that "Green Olympics" is one of the three concepts of the Olympic Games, the other two being "People's Olympics" and "High-tech Olympics." The forest will witness to the longstanding friendship between the Chinese people and the rest of the world.

Rogge pointed out that the campaign to plant the Olympic friendship forest reflects friendship and respect to the environment. BOCOG has made a lot of efforts, such as tree planting, forestation, reduction of pollutants, to achieve a key objective -- a "Green Olympics." The 2008 Olympic Games facilitates the sustainable development of the environment.

The IOC President expressed that the Beijing Games will leave a green legacy to future generations.

Liu Jingmin, BOCOG Executive Vice-President and Vice Mayor of Beijing, Wang Wei, BOCOG Executive Vice-President and Secretary-General, and Gilbert Felli, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director also participated in the activity.

Chen Zhili plants a tree.