Newman Huo

    BELGIAN Roland Delcourt was very proud that he had the opportunity of cheering with his Chinese wife, Wang Xu, for the Olympic torch relay in Shenzhen on Thursday.

    “I’m so surprised to see so many people show up on the street to see the torch relay today,” Delcourt, 64, said in an interview.

    “The Chinese are so proud of their country and the Olympic Games that I think it would be a big mistake for some Western countries to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games,” he said.

    “The Olympic Games is a great event because it will provide an opportunity for people around the world to come to China and know the country,” he said.

    When the couple appeared in front of the portrait of Deng Xiaoping on Shennan Thoroughfare to wait for the arrival of the torchbearers, people immediately gathered around him to take photographs with him.

    Delcourt and his wife had planned to fly to Belgium on May 3 after attending the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou in April, but they changed their mind when they learned the torch relay would be held in the city. He postponed their trip to Belgium until May 13.

    Delcourt said he couldn’t hold back his tears when he watched the Olympic torch successfully reach the summit of Mount Qomolangma on TV on Thursday morning.

    He immediately posted more than 20 messages saying the Olympic torch had reached the top of Mount Qomolangma on his own Web site to share the news with friends and family back in Belgium.

    Delcourt first came to China in 2003 as a tourist and met his Chinese wife in Beijing in 2005.