Let's Be Proud of Lang Ping

(Xinhua photo)

Lang Ping is receiving a lot of criticism from Chinese netizens after the USA women's volleyball team coached by her defeated the Chinese team. There are people calling her traitor, or accusing her of breaking Chinese people's heart.

I really don't see any anger as necessary. Lang Ping has done her part to lead the Chinese women's volleyball team to win world championship and later help to coach a new Chinese team. Her contribution and achievement as a member of China's national team is impeccable.

Living and working in the U.S. was her personal choice, to which she is totally entitled. As an athlete not born and raised in America, she managed to continue to shine with her talent and became the head coach of the national team of the U.S. It's not hard to imagine that she had to overcome a lot of challenges, including language, culture and pressure from her home country. And yet, again, she made prominent achievements.

Coaching a national team to compete on the international stage isn't easy at all. It is even harder when leading a team not from her home country and competing with many top coaches from around the world, most of whom, as it turns out, happen to be male. Still, Lang Ping is doing a great job, leading her team to advance to the semi-final at the Beijing Olympics.

Winning is not just about getting the points. Watching the American women's volleyball players playing with such upbeat attitude and excitement, I can tell that Lang Ping taught them not just skills, but also passion for the game. And I believe it was passion for volleyball that sustained Lang Ping to overcome all the difficulties to succeed in her career, gave her the courage to lead the US team to compete in China and perhaps the heart to tolerate so many harsh words throwing at her from her fellow Chinese.

I admire her capability to excel, her courage to choose her own life, and her professionalism as well as passion to pursue the career she loves. She is successful, graceful, and professional, and we should be proud of her.

Very likely the women's volleyball final will be between China and U.S. As a Chinese, I certainly hope that the Chinese team, which is also a incredible team with a terrific coach, Chen Zhonghe, will win. But I will be happy, too, if Lang Ping's team got the gold. Because, after all, she is a world champion from China, and a remarkable individual as well.

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/

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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.

The Today Show Goes to the Beijing Olympics

As Beijing celebrates the one-year count down to the 2008 Olympic Games, American television, such as America’s No.1 morning show, the Today show on NBC, is getting excited, too.

This morning, live scenes from the count down ceremony at the Tiananmen Square cut into Today’s regular programming from time to time. NBC correspondent Mark Mullen reported live from the square, making NBC the only western broadcaster to cover the event live, according to NBC producer Adrienne Mong’s blog.

Meanwhile, the show aired a series this week called "China Rising," with Today’s star Meredith Vieira reporting from Beijing on the changes taking place in the ancient city and the whole country’s ardent preparation for the big game.

Like many other overseas media institutions, the NBC depicts this Olympics as the “defining moment” for China in the 21st century, a sign of a “new China,” a chance for the country to increase its international prestige and demonstrate to the world that “China belongs to the 21st century.”

During Ms. Vieira’s trip to Beijing, it’s also noticeable that as a foreign journalist, she was allowed to access the construction site of the main stadium and interview Chinese Olympic athletes face-to-face during their practice at the National Olympic training center. She was even able to face a television camera right in the middle of the crowds on Tiananmen Square, something could have got her into trouble with Chinese authorities if done at a different time.

“There is still no freedom of press in China,” Ms. Vieira said on the square, but the Chinese government has loosened its control on foreign journalists' coverage of the Olympics.

NBC also mentioned a few hard challenges facing the Chinese government in hosting the big game, such as heavy pollution in Beijing. Mr. Mullen said he “would not be surprised” if factories in the city were ordered to be shut down during the game.


Today in Beijing
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/20112629/

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http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/07/307318.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage
http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/2007/07/china_trip.html

Beijing Set “Queuing Day”

The Beijing goverment tries to educate citizens to wait in line in public places

To establish the norm of queuing in public places, the Beijing government announced on Thursday that the 11th day of every month will be the official “queuing day.”

The government has called on celebrities to appeal to the public to wait in line, and will dispatch volunteers to crowded public places to “direct” people get in line. The initiative is one of a serious by the government to educate citizens of good public behavior, so that they can behave better during the Olympic Games in 2008. But many people doubt such one-day-a-month campaign would really work.

Chinese people are infamous for some bad public behaviors, including smoking in the public, spitting and littering in the streets, and of course, not forming a line while getting on buses, buying tickets from windows, or depositing checks in a bank.

Things have improved a lot in recent decades, especially in well-developed regions. In big cities like Beijing, at least, people have got used to standing behind the waiting line in a bank. But they still push each other, harshly and aggressively, when trying to get on crowded buses or subway trains, so much so that many times onborad passengers have to force their way against the upcoming crowds in order to get off.

----by Josie Liu

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2007-01-18/173012074196.shtml