Lay off China, Olympics chief tells West

LONDON, April 26, 2008 (AFP) — IOC president Jacques Rogge told Western countries to stop hectoring China over human rights in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Games, in an interview with a British newspaper published Saturday.

"We owe China to give them time," the International Olympics Committee boss told the Financial Times.

The Olympic torch relay in the run-up to the August 8-24 Games has been met with protests in cities across the globe over China's actions in Tibet and human rights record.

Rogge said that while he understood the strength of feeling in the West, expectations of how quickly China can change were overblown.

"It took us 200 years to evolve from the French Revolution. China started in 1949," the 65-year-old Belgian told the FT business daily.

"We all know that there were abuses under Mao and the Cultural Revolution was not ...