China's National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday expressed strong discontent and firm opposition to a U.S. Congress resolution linking China's human rights situation with the Beijing Olympic Games, saying the resolution was an attempt to politicize the Games.

"We express our strong discontent and firm opposition to the resolution, which linked such irrelevant issues as human rights, religious freedom, Sudan's Darfur issue and the Myanmar issue with the Beijing Olympics, and criticized the Chinese government groundlessly," said an official in charge of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NPC, China's top legislative body.

The official said that with the Beijing Olympics imminent, and in disregard of China's repeated representations, the U.S. Congress on Wednesday stubbornly passed the resolution, which was pushed by a handful of "anti-China" lawmakers.

The official said the Beijing Olympic Games was a sports event for the whole world, and the success of the Games was not only a dream of the Chinese people, but also the common wish of people of the world.

"The passing of the resolution at this time has fully exposed the attempt of the very few anti-China U.S. lawmakers to politicize the Olympics and their evil intention to disrupt and sabotage the Beijing Olympic Games," said the official.

"Such a deed has violated the Olympic spirit and aim, and also violated the common wish of the world people, including the U.S. people," said the official.

"We have the confidence and ability to make the Beijing Olympic Games a high-level world sports event with distinctive characteristics. The attempt of the U.S. Congress anti-China forces will gain no popularity and be doomed to failure," added the official.

Also on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao rejected the resolution as the abominable conduct of a handful of "anti-China" lawmakers.

"Such a deed itself is blasphemy to the Olympic spirit, and is against the common wishes of people all around the world, including people of the United States," Liu said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2008)