Blogger's New View of the Inside of the Bird's Nest Stadium

Some college student volunteers recently got access to the newly finished "bird's nest" Olympics stadium in Beijing, and posted pictures on blogs. The pictures provide a fresh look of the inside of the main venue of the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Here is the link to one of the blogs: http://xiaomazha.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!58C39065F72FF5C8!380/
(Access permission needed)

Debate: Is it a mistake to award the Olympics to Beijing

The Economist is hosting an online debate about the Beijing Olympics, under the proposition: "It was a mistake to award the Olympics to Beijing."

As of Wednesday, May 28, 38 percent of visitors' votes were for the proposition, while 62 percent against.

The argument supporting the proposition points out that Beijing is not technically ready to host a grand sports event like the Olympics, mainly because of its bad pollution. It also holds that the game is making China's political system more repressive because in order to make sure the game will run smoothly the "Party has resorted to old-time dictatorial tactics."

The opposite side supports China as the host of the Olympics on the ground that Chinese people should not be denied an opportunity to demonstrate their national pride just because having an autocratic government. It also hails that China has come a long way economically, culturally and socially in the last 30 years and that the average Chinese citizen has a much better, hopeful and freer life in 2008 than he or she did in 1978.

Several scholars are involved in the debate, including Gordon G. Chang, author of The Coming Collapse of China; Charles W. Freeman III, Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC; Dr. Yang Jianli, a research fellow at Harvard University; and Victor D. Cha, director of the Asian Studies program at Georgetown University.

The debate is still ongoing and the public could vote and comment on its website. On June 6, the winner of this debate will be revealed.

(Thanks to Lauryn Nicasio for the tip)

The debate:
http://www.economist.com/debate/index.cfm?debate_id=7&action=hall

Chinese Netizens Calling on Boycott of Carrefour in the Wake of Troubled Olympic Torch Rely

A photo circulated on the web: a young woman protests the interruption of the Olympic torch relay in France in front of a Carrefour store in Beijing

A boycott against French retailer giant Carrefour in China was recently waged on the Internet. One message has been widely circulated on the web, calling on people around China not to shop at Carrefour on the May 1 holiday to resist the retailer's big sale event on that day. Another message asks the Chinese public to stay away from Carrefour stores for 17 days, mirroring the duration the Beijing Olympics, between May 8 and May 24.

“No one should shop at Carrefour, because the biggest shareholder of Carrefour donated huge money to the Dalai Lama, a lot of French people support the independence of Tibet, and even the French president has announced boycott of the Beijing Olympics,” says the message.

In response, Carrefour China has posted a statement on its official website on Tuesday, claiming that “the rumor about Carrefour Group’s support of some illegal political organizations is completely groundless.” The statement goes on to express Carrefour’s support for the Beijing Olympics. “Carrefour Group has always actively supported the Beijing Olympics,” it says. “Currently, Carrefour stores in Beijing are busy preparing to welcome the opening of the Olympics.”

The protests in Paris during the Olympic torch relay there clearly enraged many Chinese people, who have been so enthusiastic about hosting the Olympic Games. Calling the Olympic torch “the holy flame,” Chinese people see the torch relay as a sacred ritual as well. To millions of common folks in China, what happened in Paris was like a slap in their faces, anything but acceptable. Angry comments about the Paris incident have flooded online forums in China in the past few weeks and now people are calling for actions. As perhaps the best known and the most widely presented French business in China, Carrefour is easily targeted.

Not everyone, however, sees boycott of Carrefour or French products as the right thing to do. “Boycott Carrefour, such a slogan is a bit too simple and hasty,” says one post, advocating a focus on the long term. “Once we develop and become stronger, will we still be afraid of other’s bullying?”

Some Chinese netizens are comparing the current anti-west reaction over the torch relay interruptions with the historic conflict between China and the West after the Opium War in the 19th century, and even describing the supporters of the boycott as the “contemporary Boxer,” drawing an analogy between some activists and members of the anti-foreigner rebellion in the early 20th century.

There are also a few voices warning about the seemingly rising nationalism ignited by the Olympic flames, and concerning things might go out of control on the eve of the Olympics. If so, one post says,“ [it] will cause long and unrecoverable damage to China’s international image.”

Online comments:

http://xinzhe2541.blog.163.com/blog/static/396532502008316113757752/

http://club2.cat898.com/newbbs/dispbbs.asp?boardid=1&star=5&replyid=25932034&id=2190372&skin=0&page=1

http://club2.cat898.com/newbbs/dispbbs.asp?boardid=1&star=1&replyid=25945542&id=2190375&skin=0&page=1

http://search.qihoo.com/usearch.html?start=10&count=10&total=1650&kw=%BC%D2%C0%D6%B8%A3&domain=cat898.com&ics=gb2312&sort=pdate&stype=content&chanl=&tshow=1

Carrefour statement:
http://www.carrefour.com.cn/note/note.html

Another Olympics in Shanghai?

A CPPCC member from Shanghai has proposed that the city should bid to host the Olympic Games in 2024 or 2028. Mr. Xiong Sidong, who wrote a 3000-word proposal on this matter, advocates China to continue to host the Olympics, taking the Beijing game as a “start point.”

China can and should try to host more Olympic Games, Mr. Xiong says. The Beijing game, according to him, has prepared China with the facilities, a good team and necessary experience, as well as “a friendly international environment that understands and supports China,” for a second bid. Plus, continuing to host more games can help to maintain the economic momentum generated by the hosting. Proposals from CPPCC members are supposed to be reviewed by the government and may be adopted and put into action.

It is pretty courageous for Mr. Xiong to put forward such a proposal amid all kinds of controversies surrounding the up-coming Olympic Games in August, which have caused a lot of headache for the Chinese government but are not necessarily made fully aware to the Chinese public, perhaps including Mr. Xiong himself. Nevertheless, the idea grabbed the attention of a lot of web viewers who left about 2000 comments.

Supporters are abundant, but more for the idea of China hosting more Olympics than the specific location. In fact, Mr. Xiong’s proposal inspired many people to advocate their own cities like Wuhan, Nanjing, Xi’an and Guizhou, even small cities like Jining, Shandong and Tieling, Liaoning, to be the host. People who do not like Mr. Xiong’s idea call it “daydreaming” or “acting on impulse,” criticizing such a proposal as worthless and calling on CPPCC members to focus on real issues like controlling China's rocketing housing prices and inflation. There are also people suggesting a general vote to be held to decide on China’s next Olympic bid.