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Essay

Beijing Olympics 2008

By David Parmer


2008年北京オリンピック

2008年の北京オリンピック開催まで500日あまりとなった。 会場の整備はもちろん、環境問題への取り組みも進む中国の姿に、筆者は大きな期待を抱いている。 中国は変わるだろうし、世界が中国への認識を改めるであろうと。

Here it is: the beginning of 2007, and the next Olympics are not in two years, but next year. As of writing, the countdown clock on the official website of the 2008 Olympic Games shows 561 days until the opening ceremony. The venue is Beijing, the city that won out over Osaka, Toronto, Paris and Istanbul to host the next summer games, which are officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The games will open Aug. 8, 2008, and close Aug. 24, 2008

This week I'd like to take a quick look at how preparations are going, see what's new and make a few predictions for the 2008 Summer Games.

The slogan of the 2008 Beijing Olympics is "One World, One Dream." This is said to reflect the Olympic spirit of unity, friendship, progress, harmony, participation and dream. The Olympic emblem is a stylized Chinese seal with a dancing human figure in red, below which in English is "Beijing 2008" and then the five-ring Olympic symbol

The mascots are the Fuwa. They wouldn't be mascots if they weren't cute, and these guys might well become the gold standard of cute, the benchmark by which all other cute things are forever judged. Their names are: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. They are a fish, a panda, fire, a Tibetan antelope and a swallow. They represent the five Olympic rings, and when their names are said in order in Chinese they form the phrase: Beijing huanying ni — Beijing welcomes you.

More than 10,000 athletes will participate in 28 sports at the 2008 Summer Olympics, including a couple of new sports like BMX (Bicycle Motocross) and women's steeplechase. These 28 sports will be played in more than 300 events. The events will be held in 37 venues in Beijing and throughout China. These include 11 new venues, 11 existing venues, nine temporary venues and six venues outside Beijing.

The city of Beijing has undergone a massive building boom to accommodate the Olympics, with the government often bulldozing old neighborhoods and relocating people. In early 2007 the Chinese government pledged 12 billion yuan (¥188 billion) to improve environmental conditions. They also added 1.5 million square-meters of green area to the city as well as targeting major sources of air pollution, including dust from construction sites, automobile exhaust and coal smoke. Measures taken so far seem to be paying off, as the city met its "blue sky" target (238 days of good-quality air) by late December 2006.

So, will the games be a success? If preparation is any indication, they surely will. And in the process, China itself will be altered, and maybe the world's perception of China will become a bit more balanced.

Will the games be without incident? It is hard to say, political activists representing issues such as Tibet and human rights will surely make their voices heard. How China deals with this will also be the focus of the world's attention. Let us hope rather that the tremendous work and energy of the Chinese nation and the Olympic spirit take the spotlight in August 2008 at the Beijing Olympics.



Shukan ST: Feb. 2, 2007

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