The buzz: China says reporters are welcome at its Olympics

China says reporters welcome at its Olympics
China said it welcomes journalists covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics, responding to complaints by a media-rights group that the Communist regime has decided to clamp down on reporting in the run-up to the games.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the Paris-based group has launched “consistent attacks on China” and reiterated that Beijing was “willing to provide services and facilitate” coverage.

Budget overruns possible for London Olympics
The London Olympics could go over its $19.1 billion budget. John Armitt, the chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, told a British parliamentary committee that the $5.5 billion fund set aside for budget overruns may not be enough.

Armitt said the authority, which is responsible for building the venues and infrastructure for the 2012 Games, was sticking to tight budgets, but he couldn’t promise there would not be overruns.

Dynamo, Revolution to play season opener
The Houston Dynamo will open the 2008 Major League Soccer season at New England on March 29, a rematch of the MLS Cup championship game.

The Saturday game, a rematch of Houston’s 2-1 victory over the Revolution on Nov. 18 at RFK Stadium in Washington, will highlight a “First Kick” weekend that will include all 14 teams, although a match involving the expansion San Jose Earthquakes and New York Red Bulls was still being finalized.

The Wizards will play host to D.C. United on March 29. Other games that day include Toronto at Columbus, Chicago at Real Salt Lake, and David Beckham’s Los Angeles Galaxy at Colorado.

Masters field taking shape
Despite a change in criteria, it appears the field for next year’s Masters will not top 100 players, which is what the club wants.

With an overhaul of the PGA Tour schedule and format, the Masters revamped its qualifying this year to invite winners of PGA Tour events that get full FedEx Cup points, those who qualified for the Tour Championship at the end of the FedEx Cup season, and those who finished in the top 30 on the PGA Tour money list.

Beijing Olympics take the stage at NAG

If the world gives the stage to China for 16 days, it will get in return five millennia worth of cultural splendor, claimed a photographic exhibition depicting the preparations for the Beijing Olympics 2008.

The weeklong exhibition ‘Beijing Welcomes You’ started on Wednesday at the National Art Gallery (NAG) after which it would head to the Al-Hamra Cultural Complex in Lahore for another week to enable more Pakistanis to experience the charms of contemporary Beijing.

The exhibition revealed how the Chinese capital is preparing for the 2008 Olympics. The eager anticipation of the Chinese people as the games approach has been vividly depicted including photographs of the construction of sports venues.

The deeply rooted 5,000-year old Chinese culture and history have magnificently been captured by photographers who have presented a truly unique Chinese charm through their work.

As many as 400 million young people in China have been exposed to Olympic values, which will have a great impact on the Olympic movement thereby mobilising more future support.

With extensive public education campaigns for a populace of 1.3 billion, the Olympic spirit has been interpreted in a manner consistent with Chinese traditions valuing culture and civility.

“I participate, I contribute and therefore I enjoy” is the public campaign slogan for the Olympics and the pictures displayed at the NAG depicted people belonging to almost every age group and every category participating in the campaign in their own ways.

It also depicted the Chinese folk crafts in which the artists show enthusiasm in creating figures in the image of the Beijing Olympics ‘mascots’ using specially treated flour dough.

The pictures show the commitment of the Chinese government and the public to stage truly unique Olympic games of the highest standard and their determination to present an environmentally sustainable, technologically empowered and culturally enriched Olympiad in a cost-effective and ethical manner.

It also captures the reform and opening up to the outside world that brought about great changes in Beijing and nurtured with a 5,000-year culturally enriched history. The city has taken on a completely new look as it enters the new century.

The exhibition is aimed at providing Pakistani people with an opportunity to learn more about Beijing and that is why it includes pictures of a wide range of aspects of the city, such as everyday life, environment, climate, cultural and scientific activities, historical monuments and tourist attractions.

A few pictures gained a huge public response including the picture of the national stadium due to its massive inter-wired steel structure forming a bird’s nest, the national swimming centre called a water cube, because of its ingenious architectural design, the Great Wall of China and the Imperial Temple once used for sacrificial rites.

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Pakistan Louu Zhaohui and Minister for Culture Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan Jogezai were present at the opening ceremony of the photographic exhibition.

The ambassador urged Pakistan to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries and hoped that such activities would prove to be helpful in achieving this goal.

Olympics chief urges 2012 action

The International Olympic Committee has urged the organisers of London 2012 to get on with their preparations.
IOC boss Jacques Rogge told BBC Sport that London "is doing OK" but must focus on delivering the Games on time.

"We urge them to work as soon as possible and to prepare today for the unforeseen of tomorrow," said Rogge.

He also said the IOC had "no regrets" about giving the 2008 Games to Beijing despite recent international criticism of China's foreign policy.

Rogge stressed that the Swiss-based IOC was "basically happy" with the progress in London and remained optimistic a permanent tenant for the Olympic stadium will be found.

"That would be something that would please the IOC very much and we are very keen on that," he said.

"We know that Seb Coe and LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) are working very hard to find a solution."

The current plan is to reduce the stadium's capacity from 80,000 to 25,000 in 2013 and use it as a multi-sport venue with athletics and community facilities at its heart.

But that plan depends on a football or rugby club becoming an "anchor tenant" to subsidise the stadium. So far that has proved to be beyond Coe and his team, partially because the post-2012 plans do not include a roof for the majority of the seats.

Premiership club West Ham have already said they are not interested in moving to Stratford as the capacity is too small, and Leyton Orient are reported to be concerned the capacity is too high.

A shadow has been cast over preparations for the 2008 Games in Beijing because of calls for a boycott over China's foreign policy.

China has been condemned by human rights campaigners for its links with the Sudanese government which is embroiled in a four-year conflict with rebels in Darfur.

China buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil output and is the African state's biggest arms supplier following a 25-fold increase in weapons sales between 2002 and 2005.

International experts say 200,000 people have died and 2.5m have fled their homes in Darfur since the conflict started in 2003.
The Save Darfur Coalition - an umbrella group of 180 religious and human rights groups - has accused China of taking an "ambiguous" stance towards Sudan.

China has also been attacked for its continued support of the military regime in Burma, where recent pro-democracy demonstrations have been crushed.

The Chinese government only agreed to back a critical statement from the United Nations Security Council to Burma when the threat of an Olympic boycott was raised by campaigners.

Rogge said he understood why human rights groups used the Olympics to apply pressure on China, but disagreed with those groups' criticisms of the IOC itself.

"I respect them for what they're doing. It is absolutely legitimate that they get the most from the Olympics," he said.

"But where they make an error is to criticise the IOC for not solving the problems.

"Why would we be able to succeed where generations of heads of state and governments who have come to Beijing have not succeeded? We are a sports organisation - there are limits to what we can do.

"Does that mean that we don't strive for human rights? No, of course we are in favour of human rights, and we've proven that many times in the past.

"But don't expect from the IOC what the IOC cannot do. The Games will contribute but the Games will not solve all the problems of the world.

"We gave the Games to a country that represents of one fifth of mankind. We gave the Games to a country that will change, that is changing. We have no regrets."

Rogge pointed to recent reforms in China's judicial, media and property laws as evidence that the Olympic effect was already being felt. He also praised the emerging superpower for addressing its poor record on child labour.

The 55-year-old, who sailed for Belgium in three Olympics, said he was also satisfied with the steps the Chinese were taking to tackle doping and brushed off concerns about Beijing's air quality.

A recent United Nations report was critical of China's attempts to improve the air quality in Beijing, stating that pollution was three times higher than the level recommended by World Health Organisation standards.

And on Friday, Beijing's weather office warned children and the elderly to stay indoors as heavy fog was exacerbating the city's air quality problems.

An IOC inspection team visited Beijing last week and admitted that pollution remained a concern but said it was confident proposed traffic controls and factory shutdowns would have a positive effect.

Rogge added: "If the atmospheric pollution is too high at certain times then we might consider rescheduling.

"But this is not exceptional for the Olympics. We have a similar situation in the Winter Games with snow. And it's the same with the wind and sailing, rowing or canoeing."

source: bbc.co.uk

China will strictly ban drugs in sport and step up censor

China's top sports official promised the country will strictly ban doping and assist the International Olympic Committee to host "clean" Games.
"China will strictly ban drugs in sport and step up censor," said Liu Peng, head of the State Administration of Sport. " Athletes involved in doping will be severely penalized."

Liu, a delegate to the week-long 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, said China pays close attention to anti-doping and has banned exhilarant in its sports law.

Liu said his administration and all its provincial branches have signed anti-doping contracts with their athletes.

The Chinese team to next year's Games will consist of 570 athletes, the largest ever in China's Olympic history, he said.

China sent a 300-strong team to the Athens Games in 2004.

In preparations for the Beijing Games, he said China is building a new testing base with a state-of-the-art lab and facilities. "Very soon we'll inaugurate a national anti-doping agency."

During a recent visit to China, World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound confirmed the country's efforts in fighting against drugs in sport and said China "stands as a model to the world".

Last chance saloon for Olympics

ELEVEN months before the Beijing Olympics, Athletics Australia has put the hard word on the runners, jumpers and throwers who expect to compete for their country in China.

In the wake of the world championships in Osaka, where Australia had the second worst overall team performance in the event's 24-year history, athletes are being warned they have entered the last chance saloon.

While Jana Rawlinson (400m hurdles) and Nathan Deakes (50km walk) proved themselves the world's best, a swag of athletes who went with medal hopes, such as pole vaulters Steve Hooker, Paul Burgess and Kym Howe, long jumper Bronwyn Thompson, 1500m runner Sarah Jamieson, 400m runner John Steffensen and 5000m runner Craig Mottram, all left empty-handed.

And then there were those who should have at least made finals but perennially under-achieve at major events, such as sprinters Patrick Johnson and Joshua Ross, and 800m runner Tamsyn Lewis.

The 1980 Olympic 800m champion Steve Ovett commented after Lewis's run that she had two options before Beijing. "She should retire or train harder and I would suggest the former," Ovett said.

Danny Corcoran, chief executive of AA, said he left Osaka disappointed because so much promise had come to so little.

"I think there was an enormous wake-up call for the sport," Corcoran said.

"We don't want to have the same feelings walking away (from) the Beijing Olympics.

"Beijing will be the defining moment for a lot of athletes' careers. We have to be a darn sight wiser there and this time they have to get the preparation right. The underlying sentiment is there won't be second chances for a lot of them after Beijing."

It is not just the preparation but also the attitude they need to overhaul if results are to improve.

Corcoran, who stayed in the team hotel in Osaka for the duration of the nine-day championships, was able to observe the athletes close up.

"I saw who bled and who did not," Corcoran said.

In Osaka, some Australian athletes did not appear to be cut deeply enough.

Pole vaulter Hooker, who was gold medal favourite but came ninth through a combination of bad strategy and bad jumping, was already turning his mind to last night's lucrative Golden League meeting in Zurich.

"I am philosophical about it," Hooker said after the final. "There is a bit of history of those who do badly here going on to do well in Zurich."

And then there was Johnson, who ran 9.93sec at a small meet in Japan in 2003 but has not got near that time since. Before Osaka, he was promising a good show but didn't make it past the second round of the 100m or the semi-final of the 200m.

"It was all about preparation for Beijing," said Johnson, who turns 35 this month.

Imagine a footballer walking off after losing the grand final and saying, "Oh well, it was good preparation for next year's grand final".

Josh Ross, who ran 10.08sec in March - easily fast enough to make the blue-riband 100m final if he had done it in Osaka - went home in a distressed state after being burnt out by an ill-conceived lead-up season in Europe.

The men's 4x100m relay was robbed of its two fastest runners, Ross, and Johnson, who were left out by coaches because of a perceived lack of commitment.

Ovett also had a strong take on the relays, saying team management should have resolved the issues to make sure the fastest teams were entered.

Corcoran says Australian coaches need more support and training. "We have to better educate our coaches. Our selection of elite junior athletes is also incredibly important, to find the ones who have the right make-up and mental wherewithal," said Corcoran, who is introducing psychological testing to junior programs.

But they are solutions for the long-term, not likely to make much difference in Beijing.

In the short term, Corcoran says AA will have to take more control of athletes' programs before Beijing so less is left to chance.

For example, Ross, who gets homesick, was advised by AA's elite performance manager Max Binnington not to spend three months in Europe, but no-one actually stopped him.

"If athletes are funded, programs will have to be signed off because we have to ensure our money is well spent and the programs are on track to deliver outcomes we expect," Corcoran said.

The difficulty for AA is that there is no one solution for a team of more than 40 diverse athletes. At one end, there was pole vaulter Vicky Parnov, 16, who was there for the experience, and at the other end, seasoned sprinters, distance runners and vaulters who blew it with more culpability.

Distance runners Benita Johnson and Donna MacFarlane might have won medals if they weren't tripped in rough races. There was bad luck and bad management.

David Culbert, the former Olympic long jumper who was commentating for SBS, said AA officials had to learn from the frustration of Osaka.

"The fact we won two gold medals can't be overlooked. It hasn't happened since the 1968 Olympics and if we had three or four others who finished in the top eight, we would be celebrating," Culbert said.

"It is a very fine line, but a line you have to be on the other side of. But it is not cause for hysteria.

"It is not a swimming pool with a lane where conditions don't change. Grant Hackett doesn't get his goggles ripped off by the guy in the lane next to him," he said.

www.theaustralian.news.com.au

Two from Dorman to represent U.S. in China's Special Olympics summit

Chris Rhodenbaugh and Rashad Richardson have a lot in common. Rashad, 16, is a sophomore at Dorman High School, while 18-year-old Chris is a 2007 graduate of the school. They both enjoy music, family and sports. And they both share a passion for the Special Olympics organization, which gives athletes with special needs a chance to compete with their peers.

The two teens now will have a unique chance to share their passion with millions around the world. They have been chosen members of the 2007 Special Olympics Global Youth Summit in Shanghai, China, from Oct. 2-11. The two young men, along with their adviser, Marsha Deal, will be the only team to represent the United States. They're also one of two teams representing North America. While in China, the trio will publish stories, blogs and Webinars to help people understand the strength of the special needs community.

"They're going to be representing the U.S. in this global group of young people that share many different things in common even though they're from different parts of the world," said Ron Vederman, director of organizational development with Special Olympics. "We hope our organization will form a bridge through acceptance, and through sport is how we show individuals what they can do."

Vederman said the Spartanburg team went through a competitive application and interview process. They were among about 15 teams to apply. In China, there will be teams from about 15 countries, and each team consists of one Special Olympics athlete and one non-disabled partner from the same school or community.

Rashad is a gymnast with Special Olympics. For the past eight years, he's honed his skills on the rings, pommel horse and bars. Chris, who began classes at the University of Notre Dame last week, began volunteering with the organization through his golf team at Dorman. The teens held a celebration at Fuddruckers last week, complete with family, friends and balloons to wish them well.

"I think I'm excited about being able to meet people from all over the world and come together with the same focus and same idea," Chris said.

Rashad said he's looking forward to meeting new people. And his mother, Laverne Pearson, said his confidence will get a boost because of this opportunity.

"I'm excited about the movement to include special needs people in everyday events in the world," said Deal, a special education teacher at Dorman with 29 years in the field. "And that's our goal: to inform the world that special needs people have hopes and dreams just like they do."

Rashad brought home several gymnastics medals from the 2003 World Games in Ireland. He will not compete in China; however, two other local athletes and a coach will. Darlene Wycuff and Jason Morrow are among four athletes from the state selected to compete. And Dorman golf coach Lewis Terry was selected to be one of eight assistant coaches for Team USA golf.

Wycuff, 55, will participate in the 100-meter walk and the softball throw. Morrow, 20, is a swimmer, skilled in the 50-meter butterfly, 25-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle.

"I'm looking forward to meeting new friends," said Morrow, whose mother taught him how to swim as a baby. A senior at Polk County High School in Columbus, N.C., Morrow is also excited that his family is traveling to China to cheer him on.

Wycuff has been involved with Special Olympics for years, having won ribbons in cheerleading, bowling and badminton. Her trip to China will be the first out of the country.

"I think it's great what they do for me," Wycuff said of the organization. "I think it's great I can learn to depend on myself and speak for myself in Special Olympics."

Beijing Has Much Work to Finish Before the Olympics

Beijing Has Much Work to Finish Before the Olympics
"We've seen the future after waiting year in, year out. We are all wet with sweat..."
With these lyrics a large crowd launched into a hearty rendition of the theme "We Are Ready" in Tiananmen Square on Wednesday evening, celebrating the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympics. The people of China can barely contain their excitement as they watch their long dream come true, a full one hundred years after the Tianjin Youth Daily declared that China should host the Olympics in an editorial in 1908.

But Beijing is not the only Chinese city excited about an upcoming affair. People in cities across the country have been hard at work preparing for a wide assortment of international events.

Shanghai, the economic capital of China, is but one example. Recently Xi Jinping, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Han Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, cut a ribbon at a ceremony to start the 1,000 day countdown to the 2010 World Expo, slated to open May 1 of that year in Shanghai. A public relations tour is visiting a dozen nearby cities until Sept. 9, promoting the approaching expo.

Five Chinese cities -- Shanghai, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Chengdu -- are busy putting the finishing touches on facilities to host the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer tournament for three weeks from Sept. 10. Other cities are preparing for more international events: Hong Kong will host the 2009 East Asian Games, Harbin the 2009 Winter Universiade, Guangzhou the 2010 Asian Games, and Shenzhen the 2011 Summer Universiade.

Guangzhou's mayor Zhang Guangning recently declared an ambitious plan to transform his city into a modern eco-friendly urban area by building 1,900 km of new roads and 250 km of new subway lines.

It's easy to understand why China is devoting so much effort to hosting international events. China apparently believes it can earn triple rewards this way -- more revenues from tourism, direct and indirect development including infrastructure construction, and heightened civic spirit. The Beijing Olympics, for example, could turn out to be the most commercially successful games ever, as the organizing committee has already earned US$1.5 billion from sponsors and licensees. That's triple the amount collected by the Athens Olympics. Some say the World Expo could be just the boost Shanghai needs to realize its dream of becoming a global financial hub.

But the real question is whether these events can turn China into a responsible member of the international community. The final analysis isn't in yet, but currently skeptics are prevailing. To cite an example, with a year left before the Olympics, China has been cracking down on the freedom of the press and restricting human rights, according to international groups such as Reporters Sans Frontieres.

When China was chosen to host the Olympics in 2001, Beijing promised to clean up its filthy city air to WHO standards. But the pollution in downtown Beijing in June reached its worst level in seven years, running counter to international trends. And despite extensive government campaigns, many Chinese people haven't been able to give up some bad habits, including public spitting, littering and aggressive driving.

Interestingly, China has reportedly been studying the 1988 Seoul Olympics for ideas, on the grounds that the Seoul games were held under a military dictatorship and the event helped trigger South Korea's economic growth. But what China should pay more attention to is the fact that the 1988 Olympics served as the momentum for South Korea's move towards true democracy and acceptance of international norms of civilization. In that sense, China still has a long way to go before it can successfully host the Beijing Olympics and assorted other international events.

Olympics all work and no pay for migrant workers

The cheap toil of 30,000 construction labourers is being used to build dozens of stadiums and other venues on time

BEIJING — As he hauls heavy bags of sand to the perfectly groomed grounds of Beijing's new beach-volleyball stadium, Wang Hongjian knows he will never have a chance to see the bikini-clad athletes who will play here during the Olympics next summer.

Beads of sweat are dripping from his forehead as he toils under the blazing sun of the Beijing summer. He works for 10 hours a day, seven days a week, earning a meagre salary of $120 a month.

The 53-year-old migrant worker from Henan province is housed in a crowded dormitory, 15 workers in each room, without air conditioning or even a fan.

By mid-day, the suffocating heat can climb to 40 degrees. If he gets thirsty while he works, he has to pay for his own bottles of water.

Asked whether he might be able to afford a ticket for any of the Olympic events, he shakes his head sadly. Tickets for some events will be as cheap as $10 or $15. But for the thousands of construction workers whose sweat and muscle are building the Beijing Olympics, a ticket to the Olympics is a dream beyond reach.

"We can't afford it," Mr. Wang says. "Just to travel from our hometown to Beijing would cost more than 100 yuan ($14 Canadian). It's too expensive for us."

About 30,000 construction workers, mostly migrants from villages and rural regions, are building the dozens of stadiums and other venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Their cheap labour is one of the main reasons for China's rapid readiness for the Olympics. Almost all of the venues will be built and tested by the end of this year, more than seven months ahead of the opening ceremonies.

For most of the construction workers, the Olympic projects are just another job. Most of them earn only $4 a day. They often work from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., then from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 or 7 p.m. Most are required to pay for their own meals, which consume as much as a third of their income. Almost all of them lack any health insurance or insurance against injuries or death, even though China has the highest rate of fatal occupational accidents in the world.

In one of the few concessions to the stifling summer heat, some Olympic workers are given daily rations of green-bean soup, which is traditionally believed in Chinese herbal medicine to have cooling properties.

Some workers are paid monthly, but many will have to wait until the end of the year. In a few cases, local subcontractors have failed to pay anything at all, skipping out on their obligations with the knowledge the workers are powerless to do anything about it.

Wang Yuelou, a 40-year-old migrant worker from Hebei province, has been working as an electrician at the new Olympic badminton gym. His employer has promised to pay him at the end of the year. In the meantime, he can apply for 200 yuan (about $24) in "pocket money" from his employer every month, but he says it is not enough for his daily expenses.

Even his year-end-salary payment is not guaranteed. He's had some employers in the past who cheated him, refusing to pay his full wages on the pretext that the construction project was not as profitable as expected.

"We do have a contract with our boss, but it's just for him to show the labour inspectors," Mr. Wang said. "We don't even see the contract. It's in the hands of our boss."

Migrant workers are routinely exploited by employers who delay their wages or refuse to pay them. As of last year, Chinese migrants were owed more than $14-billion in unpaid wages by their employers, according to official numbers. Surveys have suggested about a quarter of the 200 million migrant workers in China are owed back wages, including about 800,000 migrants in Beijing.

Mr. Wang said he would love to see the Olympics, but he knows it isn't likely. He hopes, instead, for a piece of paper from the government to document his role in constructing an Olympic site. "Being a migrant worker is a very tough job," he says.

A propaganda banner at the construction site makes his obligations clear. "Abide by the regulations and construct a harmonious society," the banner tells the migrant workers. "Establish a masterpiece and dedicate yourself to the Olympics."

At the new Olympic velodrome in Beijing, two migrants named Hou and Wang are building the cement stairs for the parking lot. They are under the impression migrants will be prevented from entering Beijing during the Olympics next year, something Beijing has denied.

Told they are legally allowed to buy tickets for the Olympics, they just laugh and shake their heads at the cost of it.

via: theglobeandmail.com

China downplays medal chances in the 2008 Olympics

BEIJING: China is downplaying its chance of overtaking the United States as the top gold-medal winning team in the 2008 Olympics.

Cui Dalin, the deputy minister of Sport, told a news conference Wednesday that China still trailed the United States and Russia as an Olympic power.

Dalin, who is also vice chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee, said China faced challenges in sports in which it has usually done well, and could suffer from the pressure of competing at home.

Evidence from recent Olympics shows that the host nation has an advantage — not a disadvantage.

He further downplayed China's chances, saying it was more likely to be competing with countries like Japan, Germany, Australia and France in the second tier of Olympic powers.