Taipei/Lausanne, April 19 (CNA) Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), the only Taiwanese member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said on Monday the political turmoil in Brazil will not affect the preparations for this year's Olympic Games. 

Concerns grew over whether the 2016 Rio Olympics can be held as scheduled after the lower house of Brazil passed a motion to impeach President Dilma Rousseff on Sunday. 

The impeachment motion will next go to the country's Senate, and if a majority approves it, Rousseff will have to step down for 180 days to defend herself in an impeachment trial, leaving a potential power vacuum at the top of the country's government. In a telephone interview with CNA Monday in Lausanne, Wu said Brazil's political upheaval will not affect the country's preparations for the Olympics, being held from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21. 

He said he had just attended a Rio Olympics Coordination Commission meeting last week in Brazil, and "considering every aspect, the political upheavals will not affect the preparations of the Rio Olympics." 

Wu said the impeachment motion will follow a process and the result is hard to predict, but even if Rousseff is forced out, other people will act in her place. 

Moreover, although Brazil's national and state governments have had a role in preparations for the Olympic games, it is the Rio city government that will be the main party implementing the plan, and the president's direct involvement is very limited, Wu said.

Wu, president of the International Boxing Association since 2006, was named the new chairman of the IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission last month.