UK = China?

BBC News

International torch relays ahead of the Olympics have been scrapped by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

It follows the controversy that surrounded the Beijing Olympic relay which was dogged by protests as the torch made its way around the world.

The 2008 relay's London leg was hit by several incidents and criticism over China's 'torch police' security staff.

Organisers of the 2012 London Olympics have already said they had no plans to take the torch outside Britain.

Is the IOC still covering themselves for being tricked by the CCP into allowing Beijing to host the Olympics? True, the torch relay is a high-profile event, and all high-profile events will attract protesters and other crazy people. However, the fiasco last year has more to do with China then the actual torch relay. The CCP also hyped the event as some sort of coming-of-age party plus they brought in "volunteer supporters" which made things worse. I highly doubt that there will be the same level of protests against the UK if there was a international torch relay.

"Beijing had planned an international torch relay and we accepted it. We saw in the debrief that the risk was there and the IOC decided not to do it (again).

"I think when the torch relay is inside the host country there is more control."

Mr. Felli is wrong unless what he meant by "control" is an authoritarian government's control over it citizens. Does he really think the UK will have more control over protests during a torch relay in London vs. what happened last year? Hint: Western democracies like the US and UK allow protests. Of course there was more "control" over the torch relay inside China since they pre-emptively lock up potential protesters and restrict access to torch events. I hate these moral-equivalency idiots who pretend that there's no difference between democracies and a communist dictatorship.

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The IOC and the CCP are also a bunch of hypocrites. They kept whining last year about the Olympics being a sporting event and to keep politics out of it. The entire torch relay was used by CCP as a huge propaganda event. Also, if they wanted to keep politics out, they would allow Taiwan to participate as Taiwan, ROC, or whatever. This whole "Chinese Taipei" bullshit is just spineless capitulation to the CCP. What did that get them last year in China? Better human rights? Freedom to protest? Uncensored Internet access? Ha!

Yang Yilin Interview

ESPN (Associated Press)

Then, a little hesitantly, Yang started to answer the questions. And the more she said, the more shocking it was. The answers were brief, spoken without heart. What emerged was a picture of a young girl who has been kept largely cut off from family and the outside world for more than a year, so she could be intensely trained to win medals for China at its own Olympics.

Were your parents here to see you compete, among the cheering crowds?

"I don't know."

When was the last time you went home?"

"Ummm ... before I joined the national team," Yang said, her small voice hard to hear.

When was that?

"More than a year ago."

Will you go on holiday after the games?

"I don't know."

How many holidays do you get a year?

"I have not had a holiday since I joined the national team."

Sad. With a $40 billion budget, the least the government could do was bring her parents to watch her compete. Though with her medals, her family is probably better off than before. Let's hope she's 16 years old. This would be a lot worse if she was only 14.

Crying Over Hurdles

What happened? Did someone die? Nope, Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang pulled out of his qualification heat at the Olympics after hurting his Achilles tendon. He was the defending Olympic gold medalists from 2004. I feel sorry for him; it must suck to train that hard yet not able to compete. Since I tore my calf muscle a few months ago, I can imagine how much pain he was in (stay off the Levaquin).

Having said that, I really don't understand the outpouring of grief and anger (some people are calling him a loser). I know a lot of people in China expected him to win the gold medal but why do so many people feel personally attached to him? Are people crying for him or themselves? Maybe I'm just not as compassionate as all those grieving Chinese people. There were no tears when Tom Brady choked late in the season last year, knocking me out of my fantasy football league playoffs.

I'm watching the Beijing Olympics on TV but whether an athlete (yes, including Michael Phelps) wins any medals has no impact on my life. However, I never believed the number of gold medals won by the USA has anything to do with how "great" this country is. The Olympics is just a bunch of athletes competing with each other for medals and future commercial endorsements. I realize it takes a lot of time/effort/sacrifice to get to the Olympics but it's an individual choice. I spend my free time sleeping or playing computer games, knowing there is no medal (not yet!) but it's my choice.

Snooker, Darts, and Dog Shows

NBC just showed a women's cycling pursuit final where the UK won both the gold and silver. Out of the 25 medals they've won so far, 10 have been in track cycling. The commentator said that the UK invested $5M into the cycling program and it's starting to pay off in international competition wins. Then he said something like, "If only snooker, darts, and dog shows were Olympic events." That's pretty funny. I wonder if it was ad-libbed or if he was reading it off the TelePrompTer.

I've watched darts competition on TV. Those guys are usually quite large and have a beer gut from hanging out in pubs playing darts. They're pretty amazing with their accuracy but not sure if we can consider them world-class athletes.


World-class athlete


Not

Canadian Olympic Medals

Canada finally got some...

Gold: 2
Silver: 1
Bronze: 4

Current Medal Count

From NBCOlympics.com:

Country: Gold/Silver/Bronze
USA: 14/12/17
China: 22/8/6
Taiwan: 0/0/2
Canada: 0/0/0 :(

Sigh... maybe my fellow ex-countrymen in Canada do not know that there is also an Olympics during the summer. There's more to sports than hockey and curling.

China's Milli Vanilli

OK, it's not that bad but you have to question the "wisdom" of the senior Communist Party official. I wonder if he personally told Peiyi's parents that their 7-year old daughter wasn't pretty enough.

LA Times Article

But it wasn't Miaoke who was singing. Chen Qigang, the ceremony's music director, told state broadcaster Beijing Radio that the voice heard around the world belonged to 7-year-old Yang Peiyi.

Peiyi had the voice and was supposed to perform, but was yanked at the last minute because her looks were deemed not suitable by a senior Communist Party official, Chen said.

"It was for the national interest," Chen told Beijing Radio. "The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings and expression."

Well, I'm glad that the music director originally wanted Yang Peiyi to sing and the stupidity lies with the CCP official. I wonder why he/she didn't object to the change; maybe it's not wise to go against a senior party official.


OMG! Where did this come from? I am truly embarrassed.

Awkward Olympic Moments

Japan won the men's 100m backstroke just now. NBC showed the medal ceremony and I heard the announcer telling everyone in Mandarin to stand up for the Japanese national anthem. Hmm, if WWII turned out differently in the Pacific 60 years ago, China would probably be a colony of Japan, and that phrase would have a totally different meaning.

I wonder what anthem they would play if Taiwan Chinese Taipei won a gold medal.

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The US 4x100m freestyle relay team also just won the gold medal, beating France by 0.08 seconds. This is awkward because France promised to smash the American team in the event.

The Americans' relay victory was all the more sweet considering the way France declared itself the favorite prior to the Olympics. The Frenchmen weren't shy about repeating it either. In a news conference prior to the start of the Games, Bernard, who boasts a tattoo of a shark on his abdomen, was asked what he thought about his country's chances against the United States.

"The Americans?" Bernard said. "We will smash them."

Several of Bernard's teammates followed his lead, even going to far as to suggest that the Americans were scared of the French.

Awesome.

K-pop in the Olympics

I just watched the first semifinals for the women's 100m butterfly. Right before they cut away to a commercial, I heard the music they were playing over the PA system in the Water Cube. The song was Girls' Generation by 소녀시대, which translates to Girls' Generation. I guess it's kind of appropriate.

Canada

Right now I'm watching a women's soccer game between China and Canada. The score is tied 1-1 in the 2nd half. It's like watching a USC-UCLA football game; I'm trying to decide who to cheer for. As expected, the cheering in the packed stadium is one sided. I wonder how many people there are regular sports fans.

I think this is my order of preference:
- Taiwan
- Canada
- USA
- China

Relative of US Olympic coach killed in Beijing

Yahoo! News Article

BEIJING - A Chinese man stabbed the in-laws of the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball coach, killing one and injuring the other while they visited a Beijing tourist site near the main venue where Olympic competitions began Saturday.

The victims were Todd and Barbara Bachman of Lakeville, Minn., parents of former Olympian Elisabeth Bachman, who is married to men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee. Bachman's father was killed.

The assailant also stabbed and injured a Chinese tour guide with the Americans. He then committed suicide by leaping from a 130-foot-high balcony of the ancient landmark the Americans were visiting, the 13th-century Drum Tower, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Wow! Violent crime against foreigners is very rare in China. There's lots of petty theft--bicycles and cell phones are stolen all the time--but physical attacks are almost unheard of. The assailant also attacked the female Chinese tour guide.

Olympics Opening Ceremony

After 7 years, finally it's here. Of course, the opening ceremony happened about 15 hours ago but we finally get to see it in the US on NBC. I saw part of the wire-fu torch lighting on YouTube (thanks Sam), so I hadn't planned to watch it on TV. However, my mom called me at work several times today to remind me to watch it so I'm watching it. The NBC coverage actually started at 7:30pm and they had an interesting video introduction of China. Right now they're counting down to 8:08pm... ooh, lots of fireworks.

The NBC announcers said that the opening ceremonies has 15,000 performers and cost ~$300 million; Athens spent only $30 million in 2004. Crazy. I guess you can say this about any government spending but that's a lot of money. Even 1/2 that amount would go a long way in helping rebuild Sichuan. Maybe the Chinese government has so much money that $300 million is pocket change; supposedly ~$40 billion was spent on preparations for the Olympics. Somehow that just feels wrong for a communist country. Perhaps China is similar to the US but more extreme; it's a rich country (the government anyway) with a lot of poor people.

They just show a shot of George Bush talking to Vladimir Putin. Was this before or after the border skirmish between Russia and Georgia? Some people think that Russia is using the Olympics as a distraction while their tanks roll into Georgia. Interestingly, the US has been training and supplying the Georgian military for several years. Sorry Ronald Reagan, the cold war ain't over.

Now they're doing something with a huge scroll that is supposed to depict Chinese history. Leon just called me and we were thinking the same thing... are they going to show stuff about modern Chinese history? The Great Leap Forward (more like the great famine)? The Cultural Revolution? Sure China has a long 5,000 year history but the craziest shit all happened after 1949, thanks to Mao. It still irks me to see his portrait hanging everywhere in China.

OK, I'll stop typing and watch the rest of the ceremony. It's pretty impressive but starting to drag a bit; did previous opening ceremonies last this long (60 minutes and counting)? This keeps reminding me of Mass Games and North Korea except over there it's 100,000 performers and Kim Jong-Il is the only audience. Ironically, the huge show was created by Zhang Yimou, a famous director from China. I've seen many of his films but some of them were banned in China.

Tibet Olympic Protests, Part One

The China Blog

The comments are both funny/amusing and sad.

Leaked Olympic Video

Sam sent me an article about how despite the multiple layers of security at the Olympics, a camera crew from SBS (Seoul Broadcast Systems) was able to walk in and film the opening ceremony rehearsal. The clip was posted online but soon disappeared from Sina.com and YouTube, presumably under pressure from BOCOG.

Further proof that Chinese Netizens or 愤怒青年 (indignant angry youths) are crazy:

The leak angered some internet users, who claimed the channel had effectively broken state secrecy laws by screening the footage.

"How could such a network be so unprofessional? They are no better than paparazzi!" fumed one comment posted on popular Chinese web portal Tianya. "Resolutely boycott Korean goods!" said another.

In the spirit of open communications, I downloaded the clip and uploaded it to Blogger. :)



It does look a lot like the Mass Games in North Korea. Entertainment... communist style!

What Not To Wear

CBS News/AP Article

Polishing up Beijing for the Olympics has extended to the city government telling residents what not to wear, advising against too many colors, white socks with black shoes, and parading in pajamas.

The advice, on top of campaigns to cut out public spitting and promote orderly lining up, was handed out in booklets to 4 million households ahead of the Olympics, an official said Thursday.

The etiquette book giving advice on everything from shaking hands to how to stand is part of a slew of admonitions on manners, said Zheng Mojie, deputy director of the Office of Capital Spiritual Civilization Construction Commission.

"The level of civility of the whole city has improved and a sound cultural and social environment has been assured for the success of the Beijing Olympic Games," she said.

No white socks with black shoes! That's too funny. How about black socks with sandals? That was the fashion choice for Chinese grad students at UCLA 20 years ago. Will there be squads of fashion police enforcing these rules? My fashion sense is not that good; I don't want to get in trouble when visiting Beijing in September. :)

The down side is that the government spent money to print 4 million copies of this nonsense; surely the money could have been used more wisely. Trying to clean up the air and stop public spitting is good health policy; this effort to create "a sound cultural and social environment" seems kind of trivial. Once again, I think this is the result of the natural tendency of the communist government wanting to control everything, and having too many people that need jobs. Seriously, what is the Office of Capital Spiritual Civilization Construction Commission (maybe I need to see that in Chinese characters) and is that a regular part of the government?

How to Interact with Foreigners

Translation and more...

I think the Chinese government want locals to smile when talking to foreigners. I've never seen anyone smile on the street in Chengdu; maybe Beijing is different. Perhaps if I looked more like a laowei, people will smile at me more in China. :)

China to close plants over Games

BBC Article

China has ordered the closure of 40 factories in a city close to Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics Games.

The plants in the eastern port city of Tianjin have been ordered to stop production from late July.

The move is the latest attempt by China to minimise air pollution in the capital during the Games in August.
Some athletes have expressed concern about air quality affecting their performance and damaging their health.

State media reports that work on key building sites in Tianjin will be suspended, including the construction of an underground railway line.

Two cement works, 26 building sites and six factories which cause "effluvial contamination" will also be affected, said Xinhua news agency.

On Friday, similar action was taken in the city of Tangshan, 150 km (90 miles) east of Beijing where about 300 factories will suspend their operations.

Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world and officials have been making extensive efforts to improve air quality before the Games.

But correspondents say that pollution in the city is as bad as ever and it is often shrouded in heavy smog.

It's all about face. The factories and construction sites will start up again the day after the Olympics.

Official Olympic Cheer

BBC Article

Beijing Olympic chiefs are introducing an official cheer for patriotic spectators to spur on Team China at the Games, Chinese media reports.

The authoritative, four-part Olympic cheer, accompanied by detailed instructions, will be promoted on TV, in schools and with a poster campaign.

It involves clapping twice, giving the thumbs-up, clapping twice more and then punching the air with both arms.

The cheer is accompanied by chants of "Olympics", "Let's go" and "China".

The Beijing Olympic Organising Committee has hired 30 cheering squads who will show spectators how it is done at Games stadia, reports Xinhua state media.

'Civilized cheering'

A committee official said the simple chants and gestures were designed to help spectators cheer for their favourite athletes in a smooth, civilized manner.

The Ministry of Education is also arranging special training sessions in schools for the 800,000 students who are expected to attend the Games.

Li Ning, president of the Beijing Etiquette Institute, told the Beijing News that the cheer was in line with general international principles for cheering, while at the same time possessing characteristics of Chinese culture.

Is there anything in China that the communist government is willing to give up control? Are they going to toss Olympic fans into labor camps if they clap three times or flash an unofficial hand sign in the middle of the cheer? They probably formed a huge committee, including lots of official lunches/dinners, to come up with this smooth+civilized cheer, not to mention the "30 cheering squads" helping people to master the cheer.

There are a lot of people in China, and they all need jobs.

Olympic Torch Relay

London:





Paris:

The round-the-world trip is the longest in Olympic history, and is meant to highlight China's rising economic and political power. Activists have seized on it as a platform for their causes.

Beijing organizers criticized London's protesters, saying their actions were a "disgusting" form of sabotage by Tibetan separatists.

"The act of defiance from this small group of people is not popular," said Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic organizing committee. "It will definitely be criticized by people who love peace and adore the Olympic spirit. Their attempt is doomed to failure."

I don't understand how the communists keep saying it's about peace and the Olympic spirit when everyone knows the whole thing is about politics; the torch relay was started in 1936 by the Nazis as part of their self-glorification propaganda campaign. Also, I think the Chinese government has miscalculated the global response to the riots and crackdown in Tibet. It's not just a few "Tibetan separatists" gathered in London and Paris to protest. Maybe China is not used to protests where they can't come in and beat-up or shoot the protesters as they do domestically.

The torch comes to San Francisco on Wednesday. It should be interesting to see what happens in the protest capital of the world.