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2008 Summer Olympics
Bid process (bid details) Venues Marketing (mascots) Broadcasters Concerns and controversies Torch relay (route) Opening ceremony (flag bearers) Medal table (medalists) Closing ceremony (flag bearers) Event calendar Chronological summary World and Olympic records Paralympics (medal table) IOC COC SF&OCHK BOCOG
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Concerns over the 2008 Summer Olympics involve a broad range of issues, with many allegations of ruthless or dishonest attitudes and disrespect for the local people, athletes, broadcasters, Olympic policies, and environment during the general time period in China. Concerns include allegations that China violated promises made in its Olympic bid, various alleged human rights violations, air pollution in both the city of Beijing and in neighbouring areas, proposed boycotts, warnings of the possibility that the Beijing Olympics could be targeted by terrorist groups, a foiled sabotage attempt, potentially violent disruption from pro-Tibetan protesters, equivocal religious freedoms, the banning of ethnic Tibetans from working in Beijing for the duration of the games, criticisms of policies mandating the electronic surveillance of internationally owned hotels, displacement of residents, ticket adversities, manhandling of foreign journalists, dubious protest zones, as well as alleged harassment, house arrests, forced disappearances, imprisonment, and torture of dissidents and protest applicants.

Additionally, Tibetan independence proponents have exhibited disdain and protested the games, human rights activists critical of China's role in the Darfur conflict have sought policy change, and Christian advocates have voiced concerns about the persecution of Christians in China.

Events controversy

Prior to the start of the Games, the Spain Men's Basketball team featured in an ad that appeared in the Spanish daily sports newspaper Marca. The athletes were in uniform pulling back the skin on their eyelids, with smiles on their faces, at a center court bearing a dragon logo. Many consider the slant eye a racially pejorative. Sarah Smith, a spokesman for the Organization of Chinese Americans in Washington, D.C. said that the photo is "clearly racist, and not even in a jovial way", saying that she expected more from a group of Olympians, many of whom have played professionally in the United States. The IOC considers the matter closed, saying "clearly it was inappropriate, we understand the team has apologised and absolutely meant no offence whatsoever". This was one in a string of racist incidents that may hurt Madrid's bid for the 2016 Olympic games.

The Chinese men's football team was severely criticised by the domestic media for its poor sportsmanship, as two players were sent off during their 2-0 loss to Belgium.

Iran's Mohammad Alirezaei was due to race against Israel's Tom Be'eri in the fourth heat of the 100 meter breaststroke, but pulled out, apparently under the orders of the chiefs of the Iranian delegation. Efraim Zinger, Olympic Committee of Israel General Secretary, criticized the withdrawal saying "Politics takes precedence over sport with the Iranians and the Olympic spirit is as far from them as east is far from west". At the 2004 Games in Athens, Iran's Arash Miresmaeili, a two-time world judo champion, refused to compete against Israel's Ehud Vaks in the opening round of the 66kg competition, later admitting that he made his decision to show solidarity for the Palestinian cause. Giselle Davies, director of communications for the IOC, said that Alirezaei withdrew because of sickness and submitted his case in writing to his Federation.

Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian rejected his bronze medal in 84kg Greco-Roman wrestling in protest over the judging of a semifinal match. He was later disqualified from the event and his medal stripped.

Underage gymnasts controversy

There is frequent speculation that members of the Chinese women's gymnastics team are underage and that the government have altered their passports so they appear to be 16 years old, the minimum eligibility to compete at the Olympics in accordance with FIG, the head organisation of the sport. Nellie Kim, a five-time Olympic gold medalist, said that the advantage for younger gymnasts is that they are lighter and more fearless when they perform difficult maneuvers.

Gymnasts questioned by the media are Jiang Yuyuan and He Kexin. In response to this criticism, Chinese authorities presented passport information to show that they were 16 as of 2008. But online records listing Chinese gymnasts and their ages that were posted on official Web sites in China, along with ages given in the official Chinese news media, seem to contradict the passport information, indicating that He, Linlin, and Jiang may be as young as 14. For instance, The Times found two online records of official registration lists of Chinese gymnasts that list He's birthday as January 1, 1994, which would make her 14. A 2007 national registry of Chinese gymnasts, currently taken offline but viewable through Google cache, shows He's birthday as "1994.1.1." State-run China Central Television (CCTV) website posted a profile indicating that Yang Yilin was 14, which the government later argued was incorrect. Yang Yun, who won two bronze medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics, later admitted on state-run China TV that she was 14 when she had competed. Despite these findings, the IOC has decided not to launch any investigations and have accepted the passports as legitimate.

Former noted coach and NBC guest commentator Béla Károlyi has said that the 2008 Chinese women's gymnastics team cheated by using athletes who did not meet the minimum age requirements. He and his wife stated that "They are using half-people. One of the biggest frustrations is, what arrogance. These people think we are stupid."

State training and expectations of Chinese athletes

As the host country, China has high expectations, putting immense pressure upon athletes and coaches alike. Liu Xiang, the defending Olympic champion for the 110 meter hurdles, had pulled out of the heats with an injury. His victory in Athens four years ago was China's first gold medal in track and field, regarded by some as dispelling the widespread view that Chinese physiology was unsuitable for such a discipline. Hyped by the state and sponsors, with his fame and endorsements exceeded that of Yao Ming in China, Liu's withdrawal dissapointed millions with some accusing him of being afraid to lose. Liu's coach had been told by government officials that "if Liu could not win a gold medal in Beijing, all of his previous achievements would become meaningless." Josef Capousek, a former rowing coach who was recently fired by China's sporting federation over a dispute about his contract (the Chinese language version stated that his athletes "must" win the gold medal), said "nobody can guarantee a gold in any sport...but here, anything less than gold means nothing."

There has also been criticism of the Chinese government's training regime in the state academies, where 250,000 children are enrolled, which some liken to the harsh system of the former Soviet Union. Critics also say that the sports schools focus on training at the expense of education, leaving athletes unprepared to leave the sports system that has raised them. Yang Wenjun, a C-2 rowing champion at the Athens Olympics, told The New York Times that officials threatened to withhold his retirement income if he quit before the Beijing Games, adding that it was "not possible to survive without those benefits", as he acknowledged that he was ill-equipped to go to college or start a business. While Yang and his family has received numerous rewards for his achievement (including stipends, performance bonuses, endorsements, and an apartment), he has not seen his parents in three years.

Opening ceremony

The song Ode to the Motherland was pre-recorded by Yang Peiyi, who was replaced by Lin Miaoke who lip-synched it at the ceremony. A senior Politburo member said Miaoke's voice was not good enough for the ceremony but that Peiyi wasn't cute enough, and this was defended by International Olympic Committee executive director Gilbert Felli as being more "photogenic". The secret was revealed by Chen Qigang, the ceremony's chief musical director, in an interview with state-owned Beijing Radio. Chen, a French national, later told AP Television News he felt compelled to "to come out with the truth", saying that Peiyi was "a magnificent singer" who "doesn't deserve to be hidden." Sun Weide, the spokesman for the Beijing organizing committee, said the decision to use both girls was made by the artistic director after consulting with broadcasters, who had recommended the change. This was not the first time the Olympics Opening Ceremonies involved lip-synching, as this also happened during the 2006 Winter Olympic opening ceremony in Turin, when Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti lip-synched his own performance. Anyway there is a clear distinction between the Beijing and Turin lip-sychings: Pavarotti used one of his recordings, and lip-synched only due to his own difficulties in performing live as a consequence of a terminal cancer illness together with the cold weather, accordingly to conductor Leone Magiera.

One part of the fireworks show which displayed the 29 footprints that wandered into the Bird’s Nest from outside the stadium, was simulated by computer animation to portray the real fireworks due to the hazy smog conditions and safety concerns with flying a helicopter near the display.

Broadcasting issues

NBC, which paid US$5.7 billion for exclusive United States broadcasting rights to the Summer and Winter Games from 2000 through 2012, requested that popular events be broadcast live during television primetime in the United States. This would require events to be held in the early morning between 8:00 and 11:00 a.m., Beijing time. The IOC granted the request for swimming and gymnastics but denied it for athletics and basketball. However NBC only broadcast live events in the Eastern and Central Time Zones.

During the opening ceremonies, NBC elected to delay the US feed of the ceremonies for over 12 hours from 8AM EDT (when the ceremonies would begin in China) to 8PM EDT in order to broadcast the ceremonies in a more primetime setting and to capitalize on potential ad revenues. This forced some US fans into a technological "cat-and-mouse" game with NBC as fans flocked to the Internet to find any video or live feeds of the ceremonies. Anonymous uploaders managed to constantly upload clips to YouTube, with frantic owner Google trying to quickly delete the offending videos off the site as soon as they were uploaded. Bloggers were reportedly spreading links to live streams on the internet. Fans watched the live ceremonies via a Brazillian TV Network feed and in Germany's ARD broadcast network case, due to a security breach. The IOC agreed to live internet feeds of the Beijing Olympics of respective networks, provided that geographical blocks were in place to avoid other regions of the world from tuning into the feeds. Some US fans near the Canada border watched broadcasts by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. NBC Olympic President Gary Zenkel defended the tape delay, citing; “We have a billion dollars worth of revenue at stake here, so that means we’re not public television, for better or worse.” In rebuttal, Lorie Johnson, who benefited from the German security lapse, replied in an e-mail to the NYTimes: “In the age of Internet (almost) anywhere, why be tied to a TV? (Television networks) ...no longer have the same viewer monopoly they had 30 years ago — why don’t they see that?”

The IOC and broadcasters are uncertain as to whether the Beijing authorities will allow them to broadcast live from locations such as Tiananmen Square, fearing protests. In 2001, Beijing announced there would be complete freedom for the media to report in China. After lengthy discussions, broadcasters are permitted to broadcast between the hours of 6-10am and 9-11pm with prior permission; however, live interviews are banned at all times. Many broadcasters are unhappy with this decision as it would "set a bad precedent in regards to press freedom", and are pushing the authorities further on the issue.

The IOC is also investigating complaints from the international media that the Internet at the Main Press Centre is slow and some websites remain blocked which may disrupt reporting. This was seen recently when Amnesty International criticised the Chinese government for not delivering on its Olympic promises of human rights; however journalists could not access the website. Additionally, websites critical of the government, or relating to Tibet and the religious group, Falun Gong remain blocked at the centre. Kevan Gosper from the IOC clarified that the 'open Internet' only refers to reporting directly on the games, and not other issues relating to China.

Protests

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While no state has indicated they will boycott the 2008 games, some groups have initiated independent campaigns to do so and other notable groups have called for protests. It has been reported that Chinese intelligence services were collecting information on people and groups who may plot demonstrations during the Olympics. Groups in several countries have staged protests during the Olympic torch relay including protesters in London, Paris, San Francisco, and Istanbul. In addition to monitoring NGOs that are concerned with domestic Chinese issues, the Chinese intelligence is also monitoring possible terrorism-related activities and anti-American demonstrations. On April 25, 2008, Interpol warned that the games could be subject to potentially violent disruption from protesters.

Calls for sustained pressure and possible boycotts of the Olympics have come from former French presidential candidate François Bayrou, author and Sudan scholar Eric Reeves and the The Washington Post editorial board. Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, founder of the Los Angeles' University of Southern California's Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, sent a letter to Hu Jintao on April 2 2007 to discuss and possibly end China's involvement in the conflict. In February 2008, Spielberg announced he was stepping down from his role as an artistic advisor in protest of the Chinese government's refusal to pressure Sudan to stop the "continuing human suffering" in the Darfur region. He noted: "Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more." Additionally, a group of 106 lawmakers in the United States have circulated a letter calling for the US to boycott the coming Olympics because of China's support of the Sudanese regime and the forced relocation of 300,000 Chinese poor to make room for the games. Congresswoman Maxine Waters introduced a similar resolution in early August 2007.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) will require that before leaving for China, British Olympic team members sign an agreement, stating that they "are not to comment on any politically sensitive issues." However, BOA spokesman Graham Newsom stated that the BOA didn't intend to censor athletes, and referred to a rule in the International Olympic Committee charter which states, "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

In March 2008, Taiwanese President-elect Ma Ying-jeou stated that the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee could boycott the Games "if China continues to suppress Tibetan people and if the situation in Tibet continues to worsen". However, Taiwan will be attending the Games.

On April 5, French newspaper Le Monde quoted a French minister as stating that the attendance of president Sarkozy at the opening ceremony is "conditional". Three conditions were set: "an end to violence against the population and the release of political prisoners, light to be shed on the events in Tibet and the opening of dialogue with the Dalai Lama." However, Minister Rama Yade said that Le Monde misquoted her as listing conditions, and that the word "conditions" was never used. BBC News wrote that while Sarkozy was opposed to a full boycott, he would "not close the door to any possibility" as far as his own attendance is concerned.

Masahisa Tsujitani, a Japanese craftsman who makes shots used by many Olympic athletes, announced April 14 he refuses to allow his wares to be used at the 2008 Olympics to protest against China's treatment of protesters in Tibet.

Tibet

Pro-Tibetan independence groups, such as Students for a Free Tibet, have initiated a campaign to protest the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. The group plans to protest for Tibetan independence and objects to the Chinese government's use of the Tibetan antelope (chiru) as one of its five mascots. The Tibetan People's Movement has also demanded representation of Tibet with its own national flag. Hollywood actor Richard Gere in his position as the chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet called for the boycott of the games to put pressure on China to make Tibet independent. There have also been plans by Tibetans to hold their own version of the Olympics in May at the headquarters of Tibetan government-in-exile, because Tibet does not get representation.

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders has advocated a boycott expressing concerns over violations of free speech and human rights in China. It hopes that international pressure and petition can effect the release of prisoners of conscience, and hold China to promises made to the IOC, regarding improvements in human rights.

Reporters Without Borders journalists interrupted the speech of China organizing committee chief during the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Greece March 24 2008. Three of them breached a cordon of 1,000 police at the ancient Olympia stadium and ran behind Liu Qi, head of the Beijing Games committee, as he made a speech. One protestor tried to snatch the microphone as another unrolled a black flag showing the Olympic rings as handcuffs. The trio, from a French human rights group, were dragged away by police.

Nearly 50 Tibetan exiles in India began a global torch relay March 25 2008 with a symbolic "Olympic" flame that ended in Tibet on August 8 2008, the day of the Summer Games' opening ceremonies in Beijing. Some Ethnic Tibetans have been banned from working in Beijing during the duration of the Games, for fear that they may participate in anti-government protests.

On August 6 2008, 4 protesters, 2 of each said to be American and British, climbed a light pole and unfurled a pro-Tibet banner near the Beijing National Stadium. The 4 were quickly arrested and asked to leave the country.

On August 13, eight protesters who tried to hang a "Free Tibet" banner were arrested by Chinese authorities. John Ray, an ITV journalist who tried to cover the event was also detained for 20 minutes; according to the reporter and witnesses, police stamped on his hands.

Chinese counter-protests

The condemnation of China by Western countries has caused a surge of nationalism and anti-foreigner sentiment in China, with the risk that violence will be directed at foreign visitors to the Olympics. French goods have been threatened with a boycott for the French government's handling of the torch relay through Paris, with flag burning protests outside the French supermarket chain Carrefour. A number of death threats have been received against foreign journalists in China, for what some Chinese see as the biased reporting on Tibet by the Western Media. Time magazine suggests current patriotic protests could erupt into anti-government protests, as with the 1919 May Fourth Movement. Media reports that the attitudes of regular citizens towards foreigners in China have noticeably worsened. A poll found that 80% of Chinese respondents thought that foreign media sources conveyed a biased view of China. In late April Chinese Internet censors, who had previously permitted posts critical of foreigners, began blocking words such as "Carrefour", in what was seen as an attempt to calm tensions before the games. Foreigners in Beijing reported more regular checks of their identification and work permits, while travel agents in Hong Kong reported that multiple-entry business visas for the mainland, commonly used by foreign businesspeople who lack work visas, were no longer being issued, apparently in an attempt to prevent the entry of foreign activists.

Human rights and censorship

Protest permits and zones

Liu Shaowu announced on July 23 that the Public Security Bureau would issue permits for protesting in protest zones during the Olympics. The three designated locations are Purple Bamboo Park, Temple of the Sun, and World Park. As of August 18, 2008, none of the 77 reported applicants has received approval.

A number of protest applicants claim that they have been wrongfully discouraged, rejected, or denied permits altogether. Some who applied for permits are now missing or detained. When a Beijing woman named Zhang Wei was denied a permit to protest the razing of her home for Olympic-related development, she and 20 supporters protested one day before the Olympics. Her son claims that she was then jailed for "disturbing social order" until September 6. Ge Yifei, a retired doctor of Chinese medicine and well known Suzhou property rights advocate representing 140 property owners from a development in Suzhou Industrial Park, traveled Template:Unit km to Beijing seeking a permit to protest unjust behavior by Suzhou officials in a land dispute. As she was being interviewed by a PSB official, she was intercepted by four Suzhou officials whom placed her under house arrest in a Beijing hotel, and then sent her on a train back to Suzhou. In August 2008, two elderly women (Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, who is nearly blind and disabled) were interrogated for ten hours and sentenced without trial to one year of "re-education through labor" for "disturbing the public order" after they attempted five times between August 5 and August 18, 2008 to obtain a protest permit for one of the official protest zones, in order to protest what they believed was inadequate compensation for the demolition of their homes in Beijing in 2001.

Hunan province business owner Tang Xuecheng disappeared after trying to file for a permit. His friend Ji Sizun, a legal advocate from Fujian province, applied for permits with the intent of protesting for "greater participation of Chinese citizens in political processes, and denounce rampant official corruption and abuses of power," and to "stop local-level governments from using their authority to attack or get revenge on the people who go and petition for their rights." Upon inquiring about Tang, officials denied detaining applicants. When he returned to the police station to check the status of his application on August 11, he was reportedly escorted from the building and put into an unmarked Buick by several men; and has since disappeared.

On August 18, 2008, The New York Times reported that Gao Chuancai, a farmer from Heilongjiang in northeastern China, came to Beijing to protest corruption in his home village. He mailed in his application in early August, then came to Beijing to follow up a week later, but was promptly escorted back to Heilongjiang by authorities, and was being held by Wanggang police, near Xingyi.

Web and media censorship

China had pledged that it would allow open media access during the games, but Human Rights Watch alleges that it has failed to do so, and one IOC committee member commented anonymously that "Had the I.O.C....known seven years ago that there would be severe restrictions...then I seriously doubt whether Beijing would have been awarded the Olympics". While some estimated 20,000 journalists had been assured unfettered Internet access by the IOC's Jacques Rogge, Sun Weide (孙伟德) of the Beijing Organizing Committee announced in late July that China would allow only "convenient" access —still blocking sites which reference controversial content.

In late July, U.S. senator Sam Brownback announced that he had received evidence (in the form of an official memo from China's Public Security Bureau) that foreign-owned hotels in China had been ordered by the Chinese government to comply with electronic surveillance of guests by installing special equipment (called the Security Management System for Internet Access from Public Places), or face "severe retaliation."

Due to international pressure by different organizations, a number of websites have been uncensored, while others remained blocked during the Olympics period.

Chinese police have been accused of undermining press freedom. Two Japanese journalists covering bomb attacks in Xinjiang and a British journalist covering a pro-Tibet protest in Beijing were 'roughed up' and detained, whilst equipment was confiscated or damaged. Chinese authorities apologised for the incident involving the Japanese journalists, which was serious enough for the Japanese government to lodge a formal protest. The British embassy was 'concerned' at the latter incident, and along with the IOC, is taking the matter up with the Chinese authorities.

On August 14, the IOC urged China to allow foreign reporters to report freely at the games.

Crackdown on minorities

Ethnic minorities, especially Uyghurs, Tibetans and Mongolians, are among the targets of China's security crackdown in the lead-up to the Olympics, along with thousands of migrant workers, petitioners, social activists who are seen as potential troublemakers or protesters. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported that bar owners in a popular district of Beijing say they have been forced “not to serve black people or Mongolians” during the Olympics next month by police officials. However, China's official news agency Xinhua responded to the report on July 21 and states the alleged "bar policy" are groundless and the city's public security departments, including Sanlitun police station, has never demanded any bar not serve customers from any region or country. Time magazine's Liam Fitzpatrick states the report by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post is "unconfirmed" and its information was taken from "anonymous" sources.

Arrests, house arrests, and forced disappearances of activists

In February 2008, AIDS and human rights activist Hu Jia was arrested and sentenced to 3.5 years imprisonment for "inciting subversion against the state," after criticizing China as the Host of the Olympics; comparing it to Nazi Germany hosting the Berlin Olympics. His wife Zeng Jinyan and their baby daughter were kept under house arrest and allegedly harassed while she continued blogging in support of her husband. Hu Jia, who disappeared after staging a hunger strike, has returned home after what he claims was a six-week ordeal in police custody, his wife said on Wednesday.

Mass displacement

The Geneva-based group Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions has claimed that 1.5 million Beijing residents will be displaced from their homes for the Olympics event. Beijing's Olympic organizing committee and China's Foreign Ministry have put the number at 6,037. Some sources say that as of May 2005, 300,000 residents have been evicted in preparation for the games and that police in Beijing placed many people under arrest for protesting against the evictions. Other sources say that nearly 15,000 people have been relocated.

Environmental and health issues

Air pollution concerns

Concern has been raised over the air quality of Beijing and its potential effect on the athletes. Although the Beijing Municipal Government, in its bid file in 2001, committed to lowering air pollution, increasing environmental protection, and introducing environmental technology, research data show that even if the city were to dramatically cut down its emissions, pollution would still drift over from neighboring provinces, from which 50 percent of Beijing's air is believed to originate. At current levels, air pollution is at least 2 to 3 times higher than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization. Marco Cardinale of the British Olympic Association has stated that air pollution coupled with heat and humidity makes it "very unlikely we'll see outstanding performances in endurance sports." Despite this, Beijing committed to remove 60,000 taxis and buses from the roads by the end of 2007 and relocate 200 local factories, including a prominent steel factory, before the games begin. The Chinese government has provided assurances that "blue skies are a requirement not only for Beijing, but also for the places around it." The United States Olympic Committee has also expressed its assurance that the air quality of Beijing will not be a concern for the U.S. delegation to the games. Nevertheless, the IOC's medical commission recently analyzed air-quality data recorded by the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau in August, when test athletic events were held in the Chinese capital. The commission found that outdoor endurance events -- defined as those that include at least an hour of continuous, high-intensity physical effort -- may pose some risk.

In spite of such efforts, several countries have indicated that their athletes will arrive at the games as late as possible to limit exposure to pollution. Many teams have set up offshore training camps in Japan and South Korea to avoid the pollution.

In early July, Beijing ordered 40 factories in Tianjin and 300 factories in Tangshan, two cities close to the capital, to begin suspending operations in an effort to reduce air pollution. A major temporary air pollution control plan began on July 20, that included shutting additional factories as well as using odd-even license plate restrictions that limited Beijing motorists to driving on alternate days, depending on whether the last number on their license plate is odd or even, in order to reduce daily traffic by two million vehicles. Despite the program, by July 28 the China Daily reported that Beijing's skies remained alarmingly polluted and that authorities are considering emergency measures during the Games.

Air quality measurements in Beijing

    PM₁₀ levels higher than WHO Air Quality Guideline (>50 μg/m³)
    PM₁₀ levels higher than WHO Interim Target 1 Levels (>150 μg/m³)
    Air Pollution Index level higher than IOC and Chinese target of 100
Emergency pollution control measures were implemented on July 1, 2008. Stricter meaures were imposed on July 20, 2008.

Weather forecasting

Meteorological findings in April 2007 also have suggested that, based on rainfall data from the past 30 years, there is a 50 percent chance of rain for the opening and closing ceremonies of the games. To combat the chance of poor weather, Beijing officials plan to seed clouds to induce rain several days before the games begin by shooting thousands of silver iodide pellets into the air using ground-based rockets. While the effectiveness of this method is questionable, Beijing is optimistic that it will reduce the chance of rainfall during the games, and planned to carry out several tests as a practice in the summer of 2007, one year before the games begin. Officials have also stated that inducing rain should also remove some of the pollution from the air.

Water and drought history

The water coming out of the water plants is safe, according to Bi Xiaogang of the Beijing Water Management Bureau. The process of transporting the water throughout the city is what contaminates it. Beijing is suffering from a drought of 15 years as well as a lack of major fresh water sources elsewhere, so many locals drink bottled water instead of that from the tap. Officials of the city water authority have ensured, however, that "the safety and efficiency of the water system" will be maintained and that the recycled water supplied to the Olympic Village will be as clean as tap water.

Following recent scares regarding the safety of food products manufactured in China, the United States Olympic Committee has decided to import food for its athletes. In particular, athletes were concerned that eating meat that was raised in China could contain enough steroids to cause the athletes to test positive for steroid use. The United States Olympic Committee's plan to bring its own food to China has disappointed the leader of food services for the Beijing Olympics. Several Canadian athletes have received permission to do the same.

Algal bloom

With less than six weeks before it plays host to the Olympic sailing regatta, the city of Qingdao has mobilized thousands of people and an armada of small boats to clean up an algae bloom, the result of a red tide, that is choking large stretches of the coastline and threatening to impede the Olympic competition. Approximately one third of the waters where Olympic events are supposed to take place are affected; this has prompted China to mobilize 20,000 people to clean up and the state media reported that 100,000 tons of algae had already been taken out of the water. Much of it was being transported to farms as feed for pigs and other animals, according to news reports. Officials claim that poor water quality is "not a substantial" link to the current bloom.And by the time of the start of the sailing races in Qingdao ,the algae had been cleaned up.

Locust prevention

More than 33,000 exterminators have been dispatched to battle a locust infestation in northern China. Under the plan, some 200 tonnes of pesticides, 100,000 sprayers and four airplanes are being used to kill the pests.

Oil slick

A Template:Unit sqkm oil slick was discovered off the coast of Qingdao. Officials said that the oil would not affect Olympic sailing.The oil slick was discorved around mid-August(19/8/2008).

Ticket sales and accommodations

Hospitality price hikes and vacancies

Like previous Games, hotels and airlines have hiked their prices. Chinese officials had predicted that up to two million tourists would visit during the Games, which run from August 8 to 24, with a third coming from abroad. Following a massive expansion programme, Beijing now has more than 800 star-ranked hotels. Some hotels had increased prices by almost tenfold in less than a year. For example, the Prime Hotel put up room rates from £63 to £616 a night during the second week of the Olympics, the Wanfujin from £71 to £542 and the Double Happiness Hotel from £41 to £259.

However, the high demand expected has not materialised, with one luxury hotel manager estimating that there would be only 600,000 tourists by the end of the Games. Hotels cut their rates by more than a third, to £391, £330 and £142 respectively, which many suggest was too late to fill the empty rooms. While many luxury hotels were booked by the organising committee and the media at fixed rates, lower-grade hotels continued to struggle with high vacancy rates. Air fares have also been cut. In February, the cost of return flights to Beijing during the Olympics started at around £1,200 with Air China and £1,500 with British Airways. Emirates is now offering return flights during the Games from as little as £497, Air China from £503 and BA from £972.

Hoteliers are blaming the lack of visitors on increased security measures and the tightening of visa rules, even for travellers who hold tickets for the Olympics, driving out thousands of itinerant foreigners and overseas students living in Beijing. New visa requirements introduced in April mean that foreign visitors must now have proof of their accommodation and return flight when applying to enter, while the government has increased its military presence in the capital. One foreign Olympics consultant was quoted as saying "they made it hard to get tickets and hard to get visas. The impression they gave was that they didn’t want foreigners to come".

While the Western boycott over the unrest in Tibet never materialized, some suggested that the fallout gave a negative perception to the host country, causing propective tourists not to come. The looming world recession and high oil prices in summer 2008 also have not helped tourism.

Line chaos in Beijing

Some 250,000 tickets were on sale in Beijing on July 25. Long lines were formed the day before at the ticket office including many who slept overnight. The lines eventually descended into chaos. Some 40,000 people overwhelmed the police officials as large number of police reinforcements came to control the crowd. Fights among the crowd and clashes between police and reporters broke out. A Cable TV Hong Kong reporter was pushed to the ground by police and assaulted after refusal to leave. Hong Kong Oriental News said police demanded two of their journalists to delete their video footage. A SCMP photographer Felix Wong (王智強) was seen manhandled by the police. He defended himself by kicking a police officer in the crotch. The officer suffered testicular injuries in the incident. A Beijing spokesperson said reporter Felix Wong was detained for disobeying police orders to leave a restricted zone and for injuring a police officer. A man in the crowd commented "They can't even solve such a small problem as this -- what else can the government manage? They make such a simple thing so complicated. If they set up more places to buy tickets, it won't be so crowded and people will buy their tickets earlier."

Massive Internet ticket fraud

On 24 July 2008 it was reported that the US and International Olympic Committees had filed lawsuits two days earlier against a fraudulent Beijing Olympic Games online ticket seller named as XL&H Ltd., also known as Xclusive Leisure and Hospitality, said to be based in the USA, with no apparent links to China. The tickets were being sold through a professionally-designed website, "Beijing 2008 Ticketing" at www.beijingticketing.com (now closed). On 4 August it was reported that more than $50 million worth of fake tickets had been sold through the website, set up as a global internet scam to swindle fans out of their money. The IOC had been “flooded with complaints from hundreds of people worldwide who have learned they had been conned, including the parents and friends of competing athletes". Despite the reports and complaints the site was operating and advertising through Google and other search sites as late as 4 August 2008.

In 6 August it was reported that the person behind the scam, which was wholly based outside China, was a British ticket tout, Terance Shepherd. As early as March 2008 The Observer newspaper in London and the guardian.co.uk website had warned that he and his US based company, Xclusive Leisure and Hospitality, were setting up www.beijingticketing.com as a Internet ticket fraud. Events have subsequently shown that international Olympic and law enforcement authorities did not or were unable to stop it from happening.

Empty seats

According to the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee (BOCOG), the 6.8 million tickets to the Games were sold out. But journalists and visitors have noticed many empty seats, raising suspicions about these claims. This angered athletes of countries outside China, who were told that 80 percent of tickets had been reserved for the Chinese. Beijing Olympic organisers had made officials and corporate sponsors a priority, who in turn could not find enough people to attend the events.

A senior BOCOG official has said he is concerned about the empty seats, arguing that the hot, humid weather is to blame for the poor turnout. Recently, however, officials have admitting to bussing in locals or "cheerleaders" to fill the seats.

An official suggested that many people could be leaving after one session, when many tickets are for multiple sessions of a particular event. In one instance, people in the audience left the stadium after the Chinese women's volleyball match, thinking the tickets were for one game only. But when they found there was another game, they were not allowed back in if they wanted to return. They were also not permitted to trade or hand their tickets to other fans.

Terrorism

The head of Interpol warned China on April 25, 2008 that there is a real possibility that the Beijing Olympics will be targeted by terrorist groups.

Sabotage plot

Template:Wikinewspar2 On April 10, 2008, China announced that they had foiled a sabotage plot against the games. According to the Chinese security ministry, Uyghur separatists in the North-Western Province of Xinjiang planned to conduct suicide bomb attacks on Chinese cities and conduct kidnappings in Beijing in order to disrupt the Olympic Games. Uyghur activists claim that the Chinese fabricated these terror plots in order to prevent people in the region from voicing their grievances with the Chinese.

Xinjiang province is historically mainly an Islamic region of China which is largely populated by Caucasian Turkic peoples, some who wish to make Xinjiang an independent state called East Turkestan. China reported that they had arrested 35 suspects, as part of a ten day raid. Increased security has been put into place for the Olympics, and security personnel have trained to counter different terrorist attack scenarios. Anti-aircraft missiles have also been installed over the Olympic stations in Beijing. On 4 August, 2008, two attackers detonated hand grenades at a police post near the eastern city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, killing 16 policemen.

Domestic issues

On June 28, the 2008 Guizhou riot became a concern for the Chinese government officials as thousands of angry citizens burned down government buildings against a police cover-up over the death of a teenage girl. This was followed by a three day riot from 10-13 July by migrant workers over a beating handed out to a work colleague in the eastern province of Zhejiang and a riot in Menglian county, Yunnan near the Burmese border on July 19-20 over wages paid to farmers by a state-run company, resulting in two deaths. Local officials were ordered to defuse petition campaigns and prevent any mass incidents such as riots and demonstrations.

The Beijing government has issued new mandates that require police officers in the city to act more appropriately. The government has circulated pamphlets urging officers to desist from using foul language, being arrogant, and hanging up on people who call to report crimes. They have been told that violators will be reprimanded. By doing this, Beijing hopes to clean up its image in time for the games.

A drive has also been launched to improve the poor English translations common on Chinese signage and labeling in readiness for the Olympics. Signs have also been placed around Beijing, instructing locals not to ask foreigners any personal questions, something common among meeting new people in China, as it may discomfort many of the tourists and athletes.

On July 21, 2008, just two weeks before the Games, the authorities became concerned when two bombs exploded on separate buses in Kunming, Yunnan, killing at least two and injuring 14. Police described the incidents as a "deliberate act of sabotage". It is currently not known who was behind the blasts.

Surveillance

The Times reported that China had mobilised 110,000 police and other security forces in Beijing itself, plus 1.4 million security volunteers and 300,000 surveillance volunteers. The security bill for Beijing alone was estimated in excess of $6 billion. Outside the capital, cities hosting Olympic events would be patrolled by 34,000 troops, surface-to-air missiles guard key sites, and 74 military aircraft, 48 helicopters and 33 naval vessels have been placed on high alert.

Murder of American coach's father-in-law

On Day 1, an American tourist was murdered and his wife was injured in a stabbing attack by a Chinese man who then committed suicide by leaping to his death. The United States Olympic Committee identified the murdered man as Todd Bachman, the father-in-law of Olympic Men's Indoor Volleyball Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon and father of 2004 US Olympic volleyball player Elisabeth ("Wiz") Bachman-McCutcheon. His wife, Barbara, suffered "serious and life-threatening" injuries as well, the committee said. Their female Chinese tour guide was also wounded. The attack happened at the second level of the Drum Tower in Beijing. The attacker was 47-year-old Tang Yongming from the city of Hangzhou. USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth said, "It is impossible to describe the depth of our sadness and shock in this tragic hour. Our delegation comes to the Games as a family, and when one member of our family suffers a loss, we all grieve with them. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with the Bachman and McCutcheon families." US President Bush, who was in Beijing for the Games, made a statement, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. And the United States government has offered to provide any assistance the family needs."

See also

• Beijing 2008 Olympic bid and promises

References

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Notes

1. Poor-quality air in China contributes to the death of about 400,000 Chinese annually. Ozone and fine particulate matter—bits of carbon, sulfates, and industrial by-products—will be the two biggest pollution threats to the athletes in 2008. When high ozone levels are present, lungs are not able to absorb as much air, causing coughing, wheezing, or headaches.

1. Cite error: The named reference PopSci pollution article was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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