Beijing Olympics 2008

Shandong province will be the first province to sell tickets for a new kind of sports lottery, the instant lottery, beginning on March 23.
The lottery will then go nationwide in May and June, China’s Sports Lottery Administration Center announced last week.
The Olympic-themed instant lottery has five varieties and features different themes such as “To be No 1″ and “Good luck to China”.
The lottery tickets display the Fuwas (the five Beijing Olympic mascots), Olympic game introductions and the Olympic torch relay route and other designs.
The face value of the tickets will range from 5 to 10 yuan.
Different from other sports lotteries, which give players a 50 percent chance of winning, the instant lottery will have a 65 percent prize-winning rate, with the top prize totalling 250,000 yuan ($34,965).
Buyers will have to go to designated places to cash in tickets worth more than 5,000 yuan.
Online operation will ensure the lottery selling remains open and fair, officials say.
In 2007, China’s total lottery sales exceeded 100 billion yuan, an increase of 18 billion yuan or 20 percent over 2006, setting a 20-year record in China’s lottery history.
China launched its first lottery in June 1987. Lottery ticket sales are one of the main sources of funding for building community sports facilities and financing the country’s social welfare programs. Lottery bylaws stipulate that a minimum of 35 percent of receipts must go to the welfare sector.
The sports lottery public welfare fund contributed 2.75 billion yuan to the Beijing Olympic Games.

from: chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-03/18/content_6544784.htm

China is continuously improving the work environment for foreign journalists, a move that has been well received by the international community, said a Foreign Ministry spokesman here on Thursday.
“As China continues to push forward its opening up, it is also making efforts to create a better work environment for foreign journalists,” said spokesman Qin Gang at a routine press conference.

“I believe the work environment for foreign journalists in China will get better and better.“

He said China had made efforts in a “serious”, “active” and “responsible” manner to carry out the current regulations to help foreign journalists to report on the August Olympiad.
The “Regulations on reporting activities in China by foreign journalists during the Beijing Olympic Games and the preparatory period” took effect on January 1 and expires on October 17.
“Any unbiased foreign reporters would notice that they are having more and more access and getting better service to make their reports on China along with China’s opening-up process,” Qin said.
However, he acknowledged there were problems during the implementation process which, he explained, were caused by two major factors.
First, China was a large country with a vast territory, a huge population and many differences among the various regions. It would take time for the foreign media regulations to be carried out thoroughly as various parties needed time to understand, absorb and implement the regulations. Second, a few foreign media also needed to reflect on their reporting style.
Qin said some reporters had violated Chinese regulations, didn’t respect those they had interviewed, yet proceeded with interviews against the person’s wish. Some had even fabricated news stories.
He said China would remain committed to improving the working conditions for foreign reporters in the country. He expressed his belief that foreign media would enjoy a better working environment with the country’s further opening to the outside world.

from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-03/14/content_6536288.htm

The Olympic Games in August is not a goal in itself for China, but a valuable legacy for future generations, Deng Yaping, a veteran woman table tennis player, said on the sidelines of the meeting of China’s top political advisory body.

“Hosting the Olympic Games is a great achievement in China’s sports history, but it doesn’t mean that when the curtains are down, sports development is over,” said Deng, a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The Olympics will leave a legacy for China, she said, including first-class stadiums as well as skilled personnel familiar with international rules.

Protecting and fully using the stadiums and expertise are key to a sustainable development in the post-Olympic era in China, she said.

Deng also pointed out that in the future, sports could play a more important role in diplomatic relations. “By hosting the Olympics, we have learn how to deepen understanding and exchanges with foreign countries,” she said.

Her view was echoed by Wang Rusong, a researcher with the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and deputy to the 11th National People’s Congress, who saw the legacy of Olympics from another angle.

“The Beijing Olympics is an opportunity for improving the environment in terms of a long process,” he said. “We should not concentrate on the issue merely in terms of improving China’s image in the world.”

Beijing has shut down polluting industries and relocated the major steel manufacturer, Shougang Group, a heavy polluter, to north China’s Hebei Province. In the meantime, its facilities have been upgraded to make it more environment-friendly.

from: xinhuanet.com

China is expected to continue its strong economic growth after the summer Olympics in August, led by expansion in various global events that it will be hosting, the New Straits Times quoted United Nations (UN) coordinator Khalid Malik as saying on Tuesday.
“Investments for the games have been massive and affect the whole country. Already, the country is gearing up for the World Expo in 2010, while every other day there is an event going on in China,” said Khalid in Kuala Lumpur.
Even if the country’s growth turns slower after the Olympics as expected by some quarters, it will not impact the strength of the economy, he stressed.
China has been trying to slow its growth over the past two years but still chalked a 11.7 percent growth last year.
With an anticipated global slowdown and weaker external demand, China is expected to see 10 percent growth this year, he said.
Khalid, however, said several risks could undermine the country’s growth, including uneven development between the west and east of the country, gender differences, and average income differences between the rural and urban regions.
Earlier in his presentation on China’s prospects and lessons, he said although many countries have similar conditions as China, they have not grown equally fast.
Khalid attributed this to the country’s long-term commitment to reform and develop, the restructuring of the bureaucracy and strong public role in creating human capital.
Its fast-aging society is also expected to pose a challenge to China going forward. Its population is expected to increase to 1.5 billion by 2040.
Meanwhile, Khalid hopes that China, with its 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars reserves and its sovereign wealth fund, will look to investing in slower growth areas of Asia such as South Asia and unleash the growth there.
Economists said while China did not follow any of the standard prescriptions in Washington Consensus, it recorded one of the most dramatic poverty reductions in history with poverty falling from 15 percent in 1984 to two percent in 2006.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Football designed for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was launched in Beijing on Sunday by adidas, an official partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Featuring Chinese characters ‘China‘ written by Former president of the Football Association of China Nian Weisi, the ball will be used in Olympic football preliminaries in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao, and the Olympic finals in the Olympic City of Beijing.

Nian Weisi introduces the football. (Photo credit: Sportsphoto.cn)

source: beijing2008.cn 

China said here Thursday it strongly opposes the practice of using the Olympic Games to hype political issues such as Darfur, saying it is in fact destroying and disturbing the preparation works of Olympic Games.
“It is of apparent political intention and purpose to link the Darfur issue with the Olympics,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu told a routine press conference. “Such practice violates the Olympic spirit and principle, and will never succeed.”
China is firmly opposed to those persons or organizations who hype particular issues in the name of the Olympics, said Jiang in response to the question that whether China would put more pressure on Sudan as someone considered China’s continued support for the regime in Sudan could tarnish the Olympics.
China will never, ever accept those accusations, said Jiang, adding that international society knows very well that China has exerted a positive and constructive influence on the Darfur issue.
“I don’t know whether those organizations know China’s role on the issue and the current situation in the Darfur region,” she said.
China has been the first country to promise and then to dispatch soldiers to participate in peacekeeping missions in Darfur.
A 140-strong advance troop of a Chinese engineering unit has arrived in Darfur, and the unit is gradually being deployed.
The political process and peacekeeping deployment in Darfur has achieved progress under the joint efforts of all concerned parties, Jiang said.
China always maintains that a “double track” strategy — a balanced combination of political process and the peacekeeping mission should be applied in resolving the Darfur issue, she said.
China also supports taking advantage of the leading role of the Sudanese government, UN and AU (African Union) negotiation mechanism.
Meanwhile, various difficulties may arise during the process of the deployment of any UN-AU hybrid-mission peacekeeping missions.
Jiang called for all concerned parties to increase cooperation so as to resolve related issues through coordination.
“China will continue to play a constructive role in pushing forward a proper settlement of the Darfur issue,” Jiang said.

from: xinhuanet.com 

China is aiming to cut its air and water pollution by at least 5 percent in 2008 comparing with 2005 figures to ensure a green Olympics, said Zhou Shengxian, head of the country’s environmental watchdog.
Zhou said Tuesday on a work conference of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) that the country plans to cut its sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand (COD), two major pollutants emissions in China, by 6 and 5 percent respectively in 2008 from 2005 levels.
The plan means the country will cut up to 2.3 million tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and 1.3 million tons of chemical oxygen demand (COD) this year.
By 2010, the plan is to reduce both levels by 10 percent based on 2005 levels. “Industrial restructuring will play a fundamental role in curbing pollution,” China Daily quoted Zhou.
Use of sulfur scrubbers to clean emissions will be emphasized to curb air pollution, according to the plan. New thermal power generation units with a combined capacity of 30 gigawatt will be installed with sulfur removal capabilities, which is expected to reduce SO2 emissions by 1.5 million tons.
Zhou also revealed that more high energy consuming and high polluting power plants will be shut down this year.
The shut-down plan includes a number of small thermal power plants with a combined output of 13 gigawatt, steel plants with a total capacity of 6 million tons, cement plants with a combined output of 50 million tons, iron production facilities with a total capacity of 14 million tons, and paper making factories producing a combined 1 million tons.
“If achieved by the end of this year, the plan will help China reduce its emissions of SO2 by 600,000 tons and cut the COD by 400,000 tons,” Zhou said.
Key eco-friendly projects will also be implemented, Zhou said.
The country’s urban wastewater treatment capacity is to be increased by 12 million tons a day, which will cut COD by 600,000 tons.
In addition, industries will be required to strengthen their wastewater treatment capacities and will be expected to decrease COD by 200,000 tons a year.
Measures taken by the central government and environmental agencies last year also saw progress being made in the green battle.
The density of COD in water resources was 6.5 milligram per liter, down 7 percent on 2006.
A reduction in SO2 emissions also saw the area of land affected by acid rain shrink by 100,000 square kilometers. The number of blue-sky days with good air quality was also up on the previous year. However, China’s fight against pollution is far from over, Zhou said.
The country ranked first in sulfur dioxide emission in the world in 2005.
SEPA figures also showed that last year, the quality of more than 26 percent of water runoff was worse than grade V - a level unfit for human contact.

from: xinhuanet.com 

Vice director of BOCOG Olympic Village Deng Yaping told the press that the Olympic and Paralympic Villages will try to showcase Chinese features and leave a “China impression” with the world’s athletes.
On January 15, members of the BOCOG were received at a press conference, with Deng Yaping as the chair. She announced that the Beijing Olympic Village will start operation on July 27, 2008 and close on August 27, 2008. The Paralympic Village will open on August 30, 2008 and close on September 20, 2008.
According to Deng, the Olympic and Paralympic Villages are complete in terms of functions. There are cafeterias, health training centers, entertainment rooms, religious centers, and clinics in the village. A twenty-four-hour shuttle bus service is also provided to transport the athletes among different areas.
The Qingdao Olympic Sub-village is close to the competition venue and the functions and landscape are integrated to the overall plan of the Qingdao Sailing Center. Hong Kong’s Olympic Village is a sixteen-floor hotel chosen by BOCOG. It’s about two kilometers from the Hong Kong Equestrian Stadium.
The Olympic and Paralympic Villages will showcase Chinese characteristics as much possible. While ensuring athletes obtain good rest and recovery, the Village will show them elements of Chinese culture. Chinese restaurants will provide Chinese food and various Chinese traditional performances will also be presented.
Deng said the Beijing Olympic Games will allow athletes to say to themselves, “I live in Beijing now and I’m living in Beijing’s Olympic Village.”

from: beijing2008.cn 

China’s less-than-sparkling reputation for air pollution and food safety have led Olympic teams from 20 countries to plan to hold their training camps in Japan rather than in China in the weeks leading up to this year’s Beijing Games.
Many top-class athletes from around the world are likely to be making their final tune-ups from Hokkaido to Kyushu this summer, despite having to pay more to train here than they would in China.
“Training here might cost a little more, but Japan has a proven record as a country where final preparations can be made for a major event because it has held such events as the world athletics championships,” an official from one such country said.
Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States are among nations planning to hold training camps in Japan, according to the Japanese Olympic Committee and other sources.
Various teams from eight countries have settled on locations in Japan where they wish to make their final preparations for the first Summer Olympics to be held in Asia since the Seoul Games in 1988.
Sportsmen and women in events such as athletics, swimming and canoeing will come to Japan in July and August to prepare for the Beijing Games, which open on Aug. 8.
Teams from many countries have had difficulty in securing training locations once they have moved into the Olympic village. Instead, they have opted to hold training camps for previous Games in the vicinity of the host city to help athletes acclimatize and to minimize problems with time differences.
But a number of factors are putting teams off from training near Beijing.
“I want to avoid the risk of a long stay in Beijing,” said the coach of the Finnish rowing team on a visit to Kagawa Prefecture in November to sound out the possibility of holding a training camp there.
The Finnish canoe team also made an approach to the prefecture the following month, leading a prefectural government official to suggest that “competitors in outdoor events have got the jitters about the air quality.”
The manager of the British swimming team also reportedly told an Osaka municipal government official of their “anxiety” over air pollution and food in China.
Some national teams have decided to hold camps in the same locations as they did for last summer’s athletics championships in Osaka.
The Finnish athletics team will be based in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture, a city where nine countries held camps before the Osaka championships.
Ireland’s athletics coach gushed about Matsue as a training location, saying, “Everything–the facilities, food and accommodation–was good.”
Athletes from Germany who trained in Shibetsu, Hokkaido, for the Osaka championships were so pleased with the city that they chose to train there again.
“We could train in peace, which helped us put up a good performance,” one competitor said.
The French judo team has decided on Tenri University in Tenri, Nara Prefecture, because of a connection with a coach who they had invited to come to France from the university.
Sweden plans to send 150 athletes in 19 sports to Fukuoka and nearby locations because “the stadium is in a forest, the conditions are similar to the host country and the athletes can relax there,” a team spokesman said.
Officials from local authorities that will host the athletes are intent on getting their municipalities better known and hosting international exchanges.
“This is a chance to get the name of Fukuoka known across the world,” a municipal official said. “I hope we can establish opportunities for residents of the city to see world-class athletes up close through open training sessions and other means.”
The Osaka municipal government has gained the consent of the British swimming team to have its swimmers instruct local children.
Hokkaido will host this year’s Group of Eight summit meeting at the Lake Toya hot-spring resort area in Toyakocho before the Games open this summer.
At a November party in a Tokyo hotel for ambassadors and officials of countries taking part in the summit, Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi handed out pamphlets from 17 municipalities hoping to entice Olympic teams to hold camps there.
Each of these municipalities is optimistic about the ripple effect of having teams based there.
“Even if we foot the bill for the athletes’ transportation and use of facilities, there should be a big economic effect if recognition [of the city's name] increases,” a spokesman for the Shibetsu municipal government said.
Even Hiroshima, which is yet to field any inquiries, has made preparations such as shelving plans for annually held competitions to secure training facilities, just in case athletes come knocking.
“We’ve prepared facilities and we have direct flights from Hiroshima Airport to Beijing,” a city official said. “The competition for hosting training camps hasn’t started yet.”
As the Olympics draw closer, more and more countries seem likely to choose Japan as a base to prepare for the Games.

from: yomiuri.co.jp

The metals that will be used to produce the medals for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics were delivered to the organizers Tuesday, marking an important milestone in the countdown to the Games.
About 13 kg of gold, 1.34 tons of silver and 6.93 tons of copper cathode, were sourced from Australia and Chile through BHP Billiton, the diversified minerals and medals sponsor for both Games.
Over the next five months, the Shanghai Mint, under the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corp, will create 1,000 medals for each of the three medal categories, as well as tens of thousands of commemorative medals for the two events.
The raw materials for the medals, sourced and shipped from BHP Billiton’s Cannington mine in Queensland, Australia, and its Escondida and Spence operations in Chile, have been refined in China at the smelter of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group and Henan Yuguang Gold and Lead Group.
Kunlun jade, a precious stone that will also be used in the medals, was delivered earlier to the Shanghai Mint.
Zhao Dongming, director of the cultural activity department of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, said: “The handover ceremony is a milestone in our partnership with BHP Billiton that began nearly two years ago when we prepared to launch the inaugural medal design contest“.
For the first time in Olympic history, the medals for the Beijing Games will blend metal and gemstone. On the reverse side of each medal will be a jade ring with a metal centerpiece engraved with the emblem of the event.
Tong Weina, the mint’s managing director, told China Daily Tuesday: “In line with Olympic standards, a gold medal contains at least 6 g of gold with the remainder being pure silver. We promise our practice strictly abides by these requirements and all the medals will be delivered on time.”
Clinton Dines, BHP Billiton China President, said the company’s charter values “converge completely” with Olympic ideals.
“The Beijing Olympics and Paralympics offer us an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to China’s development and its importance to us as a market,” Dines said.

from: chinadaily.com.cn