Olympics to 'rebound from crisis'

Jacques Rogge told a meeting of national Olympic committees in Beijing that the Games would succeed.
But Mr Rogge urged China to respect its "moral engagement" to improve human rights ahead of the Games.
China said it hoped the IOC would steer clear of what it called "irrelevant political factors".
"I hope IOC officials can eliminate all kinds of disturbance and continue to adhere to principles of the Olympic charter," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

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There have been many protests going on in China and the government is classifying these anti-China protests as a 'crisis'. They are hoping that the games in Bejing will rebound.

China slams jail door on Olympic dissent

BEIJING–In the darkest of ironies, as the Olympic torch was lit in Athens yesterday, a court in China sentenced a man to five years in prison after he dared to say the principle of human rights is more important than the Olympic Games.

Unemployed former factory worker, Yang Chunlin, 54, gathered more than 10,000 signatures on a petition last year, appealing against illegal seizures of land from poor farmers by powerful local officials in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.

The petition letter began: "We want human rights, not the Olympics."

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The Olympic torch was lit in Athens yesterday, but at the same time, a court in China sentenced Yang Chunlin to five years in jail. The irony of the situation is that Chunlin was charged after he said that human rights were more important than the Olympics.

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China raps Olympic torch protest

China has condemned a protest over Tibet at the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Greece on Monday.
In the first reaction from Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said any attempt to disrupt the torch relay for the Olympic Games was shameful.
During the ceremony, campaigners broke through police lines and unfurled a Tibetan flag before being dragged away.
Meanwhile there are reports of more violence in and around Tibet, and the police are continuing to make arrests.

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A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said any attempt to disrupt the torch relay for the Olympic Games was shameful. During the ceremony campeigners got past security and unrolled a Tibetan flag before being taken out. There have been 13 arrests made in Lhasa for protests that took place before anti-chinese rioting began.

China says militant plots foiled

The authorities in China say they have foiled two plots - one to crash an airliner, and another targeting the Beijing Olympic Games.
Officials said a plane crew prevented an attempt to crash a flight from Xinjiang province to Beijing on Friday. Two passengers are being questioned.
Another official said a raid that saw two people killed in Xinjiang in January foiled a plot on the Games.
Uighur separatists in Xinjiang have waged an insurgency for many years.
The Chinese authorities accuse them of having links to international terror networks.

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Airline officials prevented a plane, coming from Xingjaing, from crashing into the Olympics game sight in Bejing China. Two men are being questioned for more information on this crime. This could help the security in Xingjiang be more monitered.

Air pollution forces star to pull out of Olympic marathon

One of the world's top long distance runners has said he will not compete in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics because China's air pollution would pose an unacceptable risk to his health and future career.

In a major blow for the Chinese authorities, who have spent vast sums of money trying to tackle Beijing's pollution problem, the world record holder, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, said he still intended to participate in the 10,000 metres but could not run in the 26-mile, 385-yard (42.2km) marathon.

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Thirty-four year old Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia has said that he cannot compete 26 mile marathon of the Beijing olympics because of the pollution in the city. Gebrselassie suffers from asthma and believes that it would be too great a risk to participate in the marathon, but he still plans to run in the 10,000 meter race.

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China's Curious Olympic Terror Threat

The dramatic news came in the midst of China's staid and boring annual legislature: a terrorist hijacking plot, perhaps meant to mar the coming Olympic Games, had been stopped. Security forces had thwarted a plot to "create an air disaster," Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, told reporters at the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC). Apparently, on Mar. 7, a hijacking attempt by separatists from the Muslim-majority province of Xinjiang had been foiled. Initial reports stated that China Southern flight CZ6901 had made an emergency landing in the northwestern city of Lanzhou at about 12:40 p.m. after an apparent attempt to blow up the aircraft. The plane was en route from the Xinjiang capital Urumqi for Beijing.

The news however has been met with considerable skepticism outside China, particularly since details of the incident remain confusingly murky. According to the English-language China Daily, Bekri declined to give more details, only saying that the authorities are investigating "who the attackers are, where they are from and what their background is... But we can be sure that this was a case intending to create an air crash." Some details began to emerge later of between two and four hijackers, possibly carrying gasoline. But concrete information remained elusive.

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Steven Tsang, a China specialist at St. Anthony's College, Oxford University, notes that it seems very strange that the plane was allowed to continue to Beijing after it made its landing in Lanzhou. He also recognized that "it [is] particularly easy to blame a shadowy Islamic separatists movement in the build-up to the Beijing Olympics, possibly as a deterrent to those or any other groups who might want to disrupt the Games."

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China Willing to Resume Human Rights Talks With U.S.

China's government said it's willing to resume a dialogue with the U.S. on improving human rights after a five-year halt, taking a step to prevent rights advocates from boycotting Beijing's Olympic Games in August.

``The Chinese side is willing to keep contact with the U.S. in all areas,'' Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said today at the end of a Beijing press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, neither elaborating nor giving her the chance to respond. ``We're ready to resume the dialogue.''

Chinese President Hu Jintao wants to prevent the world's largest sporting event from becoming a pressure point on issues from political freedom to China's role in Sudan and Myanmar. Director Steven Spielberg on Feb. 12 quit as an artistic adviser for the games' opening and closing ceremonies, citing his concern over China's failure to help end Sudan's ethnic conflict.

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China has said that it is willing to re-start communication with the US about human rights. China has not participated in this communication for five years, but is willing to do so to prevent boycott of the Olympics for political reasons.

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China finishes canal to ensure water for Olympics: report

BEIJING: Beijing has completed a water diversion canal that will provide emergency supplies to the August Olympics, state press said on Tuesday, despite ongoing shortages crippling much of northern China.

"In order to amply safeguard the security and the quality of the Games, the construction of the north-south water diversion project has been completed without glitches," the Beijing Evening News quoted city water bureau chief Jiao Zhizhong as saying.

"We have established the basis for diverting water to Beijing," he said at a Tuesday meeting on addressing the capital's water shortage.

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China has built a 210 kilometer canal from Shijiazhuang city in Hebei province to Beijing. The canal will begin operating by April, which will help the 30 percent water demand increase which is expected during the Olympic season.

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China to open hole in Great Firewall during Olympics

SHANGHAI -- It looks like China will have no problem living up to its promise to give the world's media free and uncensored access to the Internet during next summer's Olympic Games.

But, it will do it without loosening its grip on what its own citizens can see and hear on the web.

In an article in the March edition of The Atlantic magazine, correspondent James Fallows reveals that the Chinese Internet censorship system -- often called the Great Firewall of China -- is now sophisticated enough so that it can pinpoint specific locations in Beijing and make sure anyone who goes online from them has free and clear access to the web.

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Web sites are continually blocked in China due to media censorship. The internet censorship system, also called "The Great Firewall of China," is now sophisticated enough that specific areas can be pinpointed. This will allow foreign visitors to access the internet during their stay in Beijing for the Olympics.

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China steps up efforts to fight pollution

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will aim this year to reduce its emissions of sulphur dioxide by 6 percent from their 2005 levels as it steps up efforts to fight pollution, its top environmental official said in remarks published on Tuesday.

The official Xinhua news agency cited Zhou Shengxian, head of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), as saying that the government would close many small coal-fired power plants, as well as steel mills and cement plants, to cut emissions of the acid rain-causing pollutant.

Zhou also said the government aimed to reduce COD, or chemical oxygen demand, a measure of water pollution, by 5 percent from its 2005 level this year.


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Bejing, this year's olymic host city, along with many other cities in China, suffers from choking smog. This has been a major concern of the organizers of the Games because of its possible effects on the atheletes. China plans to cut the two pollution measures, Sulphur dioxide and COD, by 10 percent between 2006 and 2010.


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China unveils 'Water Cube' venue

Beijing Olympic officials have officially unveiled the bubble-wrapped National Aquatics Centre.

Nicknamed the "Water Cube", the imposing £72m venue is clad in a honeycomb of transparent cushions and was funded by overseas donations.

Li Aiqing, president of the company behind construction, said: "The whole project is complex and unique.

"After five years of effort, we are very, very happy. It is one of the biggest swimming centres in the world."

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At least 6,700 tons of steel and 1,300 tons of welding rods were used in the construction of the "Water Cube." But a crack was found on a diving platform, which needs to be fixed. Once it is opened, 42 gold medals will be awarded at the venue in the swimming, diving and synchronised swimming events.

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Human rights questions remain for China

With a year to go before the 2008 Olympics get under way, questions linger over China's efforts to improve its human rights record.

Observers and pressure groups have criticized the efforts of the Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since Beijing won the bid in 2001, rejecting assertions by both that the Games will lead to lasting positive change in the world's most populous nation.

After praising Beijing's preparations as "excellent across the board," the IOC official charged with overseeing Beijing's preparations, Hein Verbruggen, sparked further anger from advocacy groups with his recent comments that, "...the way the Games are being used as a platform for groups with political and social agendas is often regrettable.''

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There was some talk by Chinese leaders in Bejing that the Olympics would be part of the process to help develop human rights. While some don't believe this, the article does say that the 2008 Olympics will be a good opportunity for China to "show the world China's great achievements in the economy and infrastructure and to demonstrate their diplomatic clout."

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