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BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) Thursday urged the organizers of the 8th Asian Winter Games to solve the "APA hotel problem" swiftly and properly.
The designated official hotel of the Asian Winter Games under APA group, was discovered to be placing books in its rooms denying the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, which sparked public outrage in China.
The COC pointed out that the APA Group's behavior violates the rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which stressed that the athletes should compete "without being drawn into political controversies," and the competition should "provide a Games environment that lets athletes compete without distractions from divisive and emotional issues outside the world of sport."
"We have urged the Japanese side to stick to the Olympic Charter and solve the problems properly and as soon as possible," the COC said.
"We have also written to the Olympic Council of Asia at the same time, asking them to urge the Japanese organizers to get back on the right track," the COC added.
The COC also confirmed a reply from the secretary-general of the organizers, which said the APA hotel has made a decision to remove the books from the rooms, hotel lobby, and the reception desk.
According to an accommodation arrangement, athletes from Chinese and South Korean delegations will be accommodated in the hotel during the Feb.19-26 event to be held in Sapporo and Obihiro.
Last week, two APA hotel guests from New York uploaded a video message on the internet, showing the books placed in the hotel guest rooms and sold at the front desk as well. The online video soon went viral on social media sites and attracted tens of millions of views.
