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French leaders meet Chinese paralympian Jin Jing
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-24 15:49

PARIS -- President of the National Assembly of France Bernard Accoyer and French Senate President Christian Poncelet met with China's paralympic athlete Jin Jing's in France respectively.


French Senate President Christian Poncelet (R) meets China's paralympic athlete Jin Jing (L) in France, September 23, 2008. [Xinhua]

Jin is the brave Chinese girl who used her body to protect the Olympic torch in the Paris leg of Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay when facing an attack.

In his meeting with Jin, Accoyer said he would express on behalf of all the Assembly members their respect to her after hearing her stories.

He said that the French people felt sorry and upset about what had happened to her in France five months ago, and was impressed by Jin's wisdom and magnanimity.

The Beijing 2008 Paralympics was a huge success, and both Chinese and French athletes performed wonderfully in the games, said Accoyer.


China's paralympic athlete Jin Jing (L) presents President of the National Assembly of France Bernard Accoyer Funiu Lele, mascot of the Beijing Paralympics, in France, September 23, 2008. [Xinhua]

He also said that Sino-French relations were significant, and recalled the moment when France became the first Western country to recognize the People's Republic of China following its founding in 1949.

Jin said she was happy to have made new friends when visiting France this time. She also exchanged gifts with Accoyer.

In his meeting with Jin, Poncelet, who had met with her in Beijing before, said he was delighted to see that Jin was in a good condition.

Poncelet also underlined the importance of France's relations with China, and believed that Jin's current visit might help to remove some unhappy memories between the two countries.

On September 18, Jin was received in Elysee Palace by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

According to Sarkozy, Jin has earned huge glory for China and for sports, and was one of the best symbols of friendship between China and France.