Beijing Olympics 2008

The third-generation (3G) mobile phone service is ready for use in the upcoming Beijing Olympics as the high-speed wireless connection service and related products were formally delivered on Monday.
China Mobile, China’s top wireless operator, and South Korean cell phone producer Samsung presented 15,000 3G handsets, plus data cards and nearly 3 million yuan (about US$428,600 ) of calling fees, to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympic Games here on Monday.
With the offer, work staff and volunteers of the Games can enjoy high-speed data transmissions, which allow them to watch televised games, play videos, and surf the Internet on cell phones.
The service is based on the Chinese 3G standard, known as TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access).
China Mobile has basically finished construction of the TD-SCDMA network in eight cities, five of which are to host events for the Beijing Olympics in August, including Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, said the company.
China has promised to provide 3G service for the Games. China Mobile is the sole cooperative partner for the Beijing Olympics in mobile communications services while Samsung is the only one in mobile terminal supply.
China Mobile started the commercial trials of 3G services in the country in April.
The International Telecommunication Union recognized TD-SCDMA as one of the world’s three official 3G standards in 2000. The other two are Europe’s WCDMA and North America’s CDMA 2000.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Beijing set up an information safety emergency response and management center last week to safeguard Internet operations during the Beijing Games.
The new center, the first of its kind in China, will operate under the Beijing Network Union and guard against computer viruses, network attacks, hackers and system failures.
As part of the program, 21 information safety service providers and more than 30 information security experts have assembled in Beijing to set up 10 emergency response groups.
“As one of the main tools connecting the world, the Internet plays an important role in the transmission of information during the Olympics, thus its safety is of great significance,” Wang Jiangmin, head of the new center, said at a press conference this week marking the launch of the new center.
“We have formed an Internet security alarm and incident-registration mechanism to analyze every incident that is reported and provide a corresponding solution,” he added.
Internet safety has been a constant thorn in the side of Olympic organizers since it was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The official website of the Sydney Games is believed to have been attacked at least 11.3 billion times during the 16 days of the 2000 Games.
Athens Games organizers also prioritized Internet safety and invested some $400 million in refitting their computer security systems. At the last Winter Olympics in Turin, its online safety system reported 3 million incidents each day and defeated 158 incidents that could have temporarily frozen access to the Internet, including 10 cases rated “severe”.
“Our emergency response system is under trial and is expected to be put in full operation in July, “Chen Jingliang, deputy director of the center, told China Daily, adding that the center will operate at its highest warning level during the Aug 8-24 Games.
“We will have staff on duty around the clock to deal with emergencies,” he said.
Besides serving the Beijing Olympics, the center is looking at how it can improve the flow and safety of information in Beijing outside of current government provisions, Chen said.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Pop music and movie star Jay Chou from Taiwan struggled to produce a song for the Beijing Games because neither he nor long-time collaborator Vincent Fang had attempted writing this kind of music before.
The pair worked on the song A Long Journey for five months and finished a demo in Taipei on March 9. Chou told the Shanghai-based Oriental Daily he rushed to complete the song and ended up e-mailing it to Beijing Olympic officials at night just before the deadline.
BOCOG will reveal the songs for the Olympics and Paralympics 100 days before the respective Games start.
Chou, known for his roles in the Zhang Yimou-directed Curse of the Golden Flower and Initial D, said the song marked a new departure for him.
“I think the feeling of the electric guitars is a little stronger than just using the piano,” Chou said. “If listeners from Europe and America hear this kind of music, I hope it can make them jump back a little!”
The song blends Chou’s traditional Chinese sounds with other genres like rock and electro.
Some of Fang’s lyrics, written in Mandarin, have already been leaked on the Internet: “A long journey, countless nights, waiting for a clear moon, on the border of dreams, the wind blows ceaselessly, never feeling tired, the East is worthy, who is number one, let us pursue perfection.”
March 10 was the closing date for the fourth round of Olympic song solicitations. Organizers said they were looking for 25 songs for the Olympic Games, 10 songs for the Paralympics, one theme song each for the Olympic and Paralympic torch relays, theme songs for the volunteers and a piece of music for the award ceremonies.
Light the Passion, Share the Dream, composed by Hong Kong musician Chris Babida, has already been named for the Olympic torch relay, which got underway March 24. I am a Star, by Emil Chau, will be used for Olympic volunteers.

Giorgio Moroder and Kong Xiangdong’s Forever Friends is considered a leading candidate for the Olympic theme tune. This would be Moroder’s third Olympic theme song.
“National characteristics should be reflected in the song,” he said. “For example, Korean musical elements were used in Hand in Hand. This time, we have used Chinese music from Liu Yang River instead of Jasmine, because the latter has been overused.”

BOCOG started song hunting in 2003 and collected over 300 in 2005 alone, including Wishing Star by another Taiwan artist, Huang Dawei. Over 4,000 songs have been submitted over the last four years, including at least 30 for the theme song.
Canadian singer Celine Dion, who will perform on April 13 at Beijing Workers’ Stadium, has also sent a candidate theme song to BOCOG. The multiple Grammy Award winner sang The Power of the Dream at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Games. Four years ago in Athens, Icelandic artist Bjork took the honor, performing Oceania in a towering white and purple dress.
Former Olympic gold medalist Yang Ling penned the lyrics to one offering entitled I stand on the Olympic Winner’s Podium.
Beijing Satellite TV (BTV1) launched the program Olympic Songfest on Jan 5 last year so viewers could vote for their favorites.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

President Hu Jintao took part in the televised event at Tiananmen Square, holding the torch aloft before passing it to Chinese sporting icon Liu Xiang.
Security was tight amid concerns of possible anti-government protests.
Last week protesters opposed to Chinese actions in Tibet clashed with police at the torch lighting ceremony in Greece.
On Tuesday the torch goes to Almaty in Kazakhstan, its next stop on a tour of 20 countries.
The 130-day relay - the longest ever, and with the most torch-bearers - underlines the importance China is giving to the Games, which it hopes to use as a showcase of its rapid economic and political rise.
But activists say they intend to use the torch relay to highlight concerns over violence in Tibet, China’s role in Sudan and domestic human rights issues.

Lavish welcome
The flame arrived from Greece early on Monday, aboard a chartered Air China plane, and was greeted at Beijing airport by hundreds of flag-waving schoolchildren.
Students and workers sang the Olympic slogan “One World, One Dream”.
President Hu Jintao lit a cauldron on a red-carpeted rostrum, and then handed the torch to Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang, who ran the first leg of the relay.

“I declare the torch relay of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games begun,” said Mr Hu.

‘Timeless symbol’
Sunday’s formal torch handover was held in the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, where the first modern Olympics took place in 1896.
Minos Kyriakou, president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, passed the flame to the chief organiser of the Beijing Games, Liu Qi.
“The Olympic flame is the timeless symbol which stirs admiration, pride and faith [in] the Olympic ideals and values,” said Mr Kyriakou. “I hope the world community welcomes the flame and honours it”.
But there are fears the torch relay will be a magnet for anti-China protests, and activists have already been planning demonstrations in London, Paris and San Francisco - where the torch is heading in the next 10 days.
At last week’s flame-lighting ceremony in Greece, campaigners broke through police lines and unfurled a Tibetan flag before being dragged away.
On Sunday, as the torch was handed over to the Chinese, a small group of protesters tried to unfurl a banner which said “Stop genocide in Tibet”, but failed to enter the stadium.
A further flashpoint for protests could be Tibet itself. The torch passes through Tibet in May, en route to Mount Everest, and then again when it goes through the city of Lhasa in June.
Despite the massive security presence in Lhasa, there was a fresh protest there over the weekend, according to Tibetan activist groups.

from: bbc.co.uk

A photo exhibition called “New Beijing Great Olympics” was launched here on Monday night to coincide with the lighting of the Olympic torch in Greece to mark the countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games in August this year.

The five-day exhibition, which was organized by the Chinese Embassy in the city state, features over 80 pictures depicting the Olympic Spirit in China.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Zhang Xiaokang said that the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games are a grand world gathering of peace, friendship and unity.

The 2008 Olympics, which are not only China’s but more importantly the world’s at large, she said, adding that the Chinese people are maximizing their passions and efforts in order to deliver a grand event of “Green Olympics, Hi-Tech Olympics, People’s Olympics” for the whole world.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said that the theme for the Beijing Olympic Games, “One World One Dream” is very apt.

“It is reminder that we are one interconnected world, and we can achieve our dreams by staying true to the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect,” he said.

The minister believed that China will deliver and organize the Olympic Games of the highest standard.

from: chinadaily.com.cn