To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will hold discussions with (a) the International Olympics Committee and (b) the Chinese authorities to urge them not to include the Tibetan Autonomous Region and the Chinese provinces which, taken together, constituted Tibet prior to the Chinese invasion, in the route of the Olympic Torch before the Beijing Olympics. (198695)

We are aware that the Olympic Torch Relay is due to pass through Tibet and up Mount Everest on its way to Beijing. The passage of the torch relay through any country is a matter for the authorities of the country concerned and the International Olympic Committee.