May 14, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 8, 1429

BEIJING, May 13: The Olympic torch relay will be simplified, downscaled and begin with a minute of silence on Wednesday when a leg kicks off in the southeastern city of Ruijin, a symbolic gesture to thousands who have died in a massive earthquake in central China.

The announcement on Tuesday by Beijing Olympic organisers came after a day in which officials first said there would be no changes to the relay.

This came in the face of mounting pressure on Chinese-language websites and blogs, which overwhelmingly favoured some kind of moratorium – either now or next month when the torch enters Sichuan province.

More than 12,000 people are reported to have died in Sichuan province, where the epicentre was located. The torch is due to arrive June 13 in the sprawling city of Chongqing and enter neighbouring Sichuan two days later.

“The torch relay will be based on the principle of security comes first,” the organising committee spokesman Sun Wiede said.

“We will reduce the scope of the torch relay. We will simplify the procedures. We will focus on simplicity.”

Sun added that the ceremony would be reduced with fewer speeches and less pomp. He said the sombre relay would probably last until the torch reached the earthquake ravished areas with people along relay routes being asked to make donations to help quake victims.

“For how long this goes on depends on the disaster relief work,” Sun stated.

Earlier on Tuesday, officials suggested there would be no changes to the relay.

“Right now we will continue to monitor the disaster situation,” Li Zhanjun, director of the Beijing Olympic Media Centre, said. “If there are no further developments in the disaster situation, then it will not affect the torch relay.”

The organisers say the Olympics will be safe for the more than 500,000 foreign visitors expected.

“What I want to say to foreign visitors is that the Olympics is safe, Beijing is safe and China is safe,” said Zhang Jian, director of the organising committee’s project management office.

The 7.9-magnitude quake rocked skyscrapers in Beijing 1,500 kilometres away from the epicentre.

Meanwhile, the IOC said it was donating $1 million to help earthquake victims.—AP