QUITO, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The forthcoming Beijing
Paralympic Games will be as splendid as the Beijing Olympic Games, said
Ecuadoran Vice President Lenin Moreno Monday in a written interview with Xinhua.
Moreno said that the upcoming event from Aug. 6 to
Aug. 17 would display "the determination and courage of those (disabled people)
who are already winners" as their presence shows their victory against the
physical obstacles that may block the realization of their dreams.
The event itself mirrors the mankind's fight for
equal rights and the efforts to fully realize the principle set by the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, he said.
Moreno, 55, who has been paralyzed from the waist
down for 10 years after encountering a robbery, said for himself "being disabled
means the power of other abilities and qualities."
Moreno expressed his hope that the Ecuadoran disabled
athletes could win the honor for their homeland, noting they are the
demonstration of the social change that Ecuador has witnessed as the disabled
people are no longer be marginalized and their rights are protected.
On the Beijing Olympics which concluded on Aug. 24,
he praised the event as a model of success.
While highlighting Beijing's amazing organization
work, he said the event also impressed the world with the number of participants
and new world records.
The Ecuadoran leader also spoke highly of the opening
ceremony as it integrated the Chinese culture and tradition in an incredible way
and would be a piece of long-lasting memory of the mankind.
Moreno, who will pay a visit to China later this week
and attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics scheduled for Saturday, said
Ecuador cherishes the Ecuador-China relations and ranks the ties a priority.
Noting the fast development of the Chinese economy
has brought about opportunities for the whole world, he foresaw a bright
prospect for the bilateral cooperation.