Beijing  - China's Olympic Games organizers Monday apologized over a
guide to volunteers for the Paralympics in September which was deemed
offensive to disabled athletes and spectators.

"We would like to express our deepest apologies to those organizations,
athletes with disabilities and friends who were offended by our
publication," a statement from organizing committee BACOG said.

BACOG said the guide, which had been met with foreign and domestic criticism, would be withdrawn and rewritten.

The 200-page guide was to help 30,000 volunteers understand how to deal
with disabled athletes and spectators at the September 6-17 event.

It described disabled people as "a special group" with "unique personalities and ways of thinking."

Physically disabled people "are often mentally healthy" but "might have
unusual personalities because of disfigurement and disability," it said.

It went on to describe some disabled people as "isolated, unsocial and
introspective" who "can be stubborn and controlling", may be "sensitive
and struggle with trust issues," and "sometimes they are overly
protective of themselves..."

Optically disabled were meanwhile often "introverted", had "deep and implicit feelings and seldom show strong emotions."

Volunteers were instructed not to call Paralympians or disabled
spectators "crippled" or "paralyzed", even if they were "just joking."
(dpa)