Olympics-2008

The biggest characteristic of the Olympic Games in the 21st century is the "globalization of the main stadium of the Games". The wide availability of digital television broadcasts via satellites, the popularization of the Internet all over the world and the ubiquitous mobile phones are all play their part in bringing live coverage of the Olympics to the whole world. None of the past eras was able to make the Olympiad a universal festival of peoples all over the world like today.

In this colorful era, Beijing showcased to the rest of the world a "civilized and disciplined China" through the 29th Olympiad. The Chinese capital became the center of ordinary people's attention throughout the world.

The Chinese culture and civilization, perfectly blending tradition and reality, and a host of new world records set in so many sporting events at the spectacular venues throughout Beijing stoked many an average TV viewer's urge to go to China and see it with his or her own eyes. This urge will bring the city of Beijing another huge tide of tourists. And this alone will again put the Chinese capital under the spotlight, while China will again become a gas station for the deepening globalization.

Many people habitually refer to past experiences when they think of the post-Olympics Chinese economy, but they must not ignore the changes brought by the Games. During the 29th Olympiad more than 80 foreign heads of state attended the opening ceremony and many more business people were in Beijing to "size up" China's domestic market as well as watch the Games.

Since the transitional period following China's accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO) ended, the country's market of services such as logistics, circulation, telecom and finance has been opening up and many well-known foreign companies cannot wait to take a bite off the juicy pie they have been drooling over for years.

If China's accession into WTO turned the country into a vast reservoir for direct investment by manufacturers around the world, then the Beijing Olympics will usher in another influx of foreign investment by services such as commerce, finance and travel from around the world. It is a powerful trend that cannot be stopped.

The reason for this development is very simple: investment is first and foremost for profits. Places with the least risks and highest return rate for investors always attract the most capital and become gathering grounds for various industries.

Reform and opening-up have given China three decades of sustained economic boom so far and one of the driving forces behind this explosive development has been foreign investment. Naturally, what has been so irresistible to foreign investors can only be China's unmatched room for making profit.

If the slogan "Liberate the mind for reform and opening" that China made 30 years ago can be seen as a "political insurance policy" the Chinese government bought for foreign investors, the successful hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games today is a "full insurance package" that China as a responsible, civilized and rule-abiding major power is offering to investors around the world.

A "China risk theory" has been circulating in the world since 2004, giving rise to a "China+1" format, where major countries engaged in investment talks with China insisted on diverting investment risks by adding another investment destination. The reality is, however, the Chinese economy has amazed the world with a double-digit growth rate five years in a run, letting the "China risk theory" prove itself wrong and the world know that China is still the most attractive market around.

Currently, faced with rising inflation, appreciation of the Chinese currency and cost of labor, some enterprises from developed countries seem to have started worrying about a new risk in China characterized by "macro overheating and micro tightening". But President of the International Olympic Committee Jacque Rogge undoubtedly dismissed the "China risk theory" with a standard commonly accepted around the world when he described the Beijing Olympic Games as "truly exceptional" upon its conclusion.

By successfully hosting a great Olympiad in Beijing China has sent a message to the rest of the world: the post-Olympics China will be an open, transparent, fair, just and dynamic market where the Olympic Spirit thrives and universal rules govern fair competition.

This means foreign investment from around the world led by developed countries will unavoidably flow to the "rules-minded Chinese market". The effective combination of a fully open Chinese market with healthy foreign investment and local capital filled with the spirit of all-round participation will no doubt bring about a milestone upgrade of China's market economy system to suit the new era.

This is the logical future of the post-Olympics Chinese economy and what makes China's different from past "post-Olympics economies".

Admittedly, the current international economic climate worries people everywhere. One concern is about the uncertain direction of developed economies, which adds to risks the world economy is faced with. Another rises from a new trend of unbalanced development in world economy. Still another comes from the fact that global oil price has reached an unprecedented altitude and become a new variant in the world economy.

In a long-term look ahead, there is a strong uncertainty about how the world economic system, the international political order and the international currency system will change; while the short-term direction of the supply and demand situation of strategic resources such as oil, of the volume and direction of global capital flow and of the exchange rate of the US dollar looks uncertain, too.

Right now, while people are still unsure whether the US economy will get over its financial mess and back on the track of healthy growth, the Japanese and European economies are showing signs of going downhill, making the emerging market economies' prospects just as uncertain.

Particularly worrisome is that the Doha round of WTO talks and the East Asia Free Trade Area process both ran into protectionist obstruction rarely seen these days. The world economy seems to be entering another round of structural readjustment.

There are many complex and shifty risks hidden in the external environment around China's post-Olympics economic development. They constitute a problem for the Chinese economy that must not be overlooked as well as an issue that must be taken into account when we analyze China's post-Olympics economic development.

The author is a researcher with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations

(China Daily 09/04/2008 page8)

 

BEIJING - The organizers of the Beijing Paralympics would set a good model for future hosts, the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said here on Wednesday.

The Paralympics, the world's premier sporting event for elite disabled athletes, will open in Beijing on Saturday, nearly two weeks after the Chinese capital successfully hosting the Olympic Games.

Philip Craven, who has been in Beijing over the past five weeks, said he was impressed by the preparation work done by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) when addressing a meeting of IPC executive board.

"I would like to, on behalf of the whole Paralympic family, thank BOCOG and China for the incredible transition that have taken place here in Beijing and also in (co-host city) Qingdao," said the IPC chief.

"No doubt, we have seen equal splendor here as you promised to us. We've seen it and we're feeling it," he added.

In line with China's motto for the Paralympics, comparing it with the Olympics, - "Two Games with Equal Splendor", the Chinese government has endeavored to make Beijing and co-host cities of Qingdao and Hong Kong as accessible as possible for Pralympians and spectators as well, for example, setting up the country's first fleet of easy-access taxis and making tourist spots such as the Great Wall accessible to wheelchairs.

Craven, who himself is wheelchair bound, said he was confident that the Beijing Paralympics would be a complete success and "highly copyable for the future".

"We all expect that this games will open a new chapter in the history and progression of the Paralympic Movement," he said.

More than 4,000 athletes from 148 countries and regions will compete in 20 sports at the Beijing Paralympics, which will run from September 6 to17.

 

As Beijing gears up for the Paralympics, its second sports extravaganza of the summer, a senior local official has said the promise of a "New Beijing, Great Olympics" is as yet only half complete, the Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

Tan Zhimin, deputy chief of the Beijing City Building Headquarters Office for 2008, said that right from the time the city won its bid to host the two Games, it was always intended that a "Great Olympics" would pave the way for a "New Beijing".

"The Olympics have driven up people's expectations for further social and economic development," Tan said.

In 2005, the municipal government entrusted Tan's office to orchestrate the city's facelift. This involved coordinating more than 20 government departments in time for the sporting spectaculars being hosted by China for the first time.

Calling people "the source of the city's vitality", he said the goal of a more livable Beijing could not be realized without respecting public opinion.

From subsistence and entertainment to recreation and transport, a host of issues still needs to be tackled, he said.

Air quality, garbage and sewage disposal, the development of green spaces, and the building of emergency shelters for use in the event of natural disasters are all things that need to be looked at, he said.

"We know this is a long-term task. That's why we are seeking a permanent cure rather than symptomatic relief," he said.

Lin Zhiwei deputy manager of the environmental construction coordination department at the headquarters office, said governments at both the central and municipal level have summoned all resources available to honor the promise of a "Great Olympics".

"And this has turned the Olympics into a giant impetus to end the buck-passing culture and curb bureaucracy."

There is more to winning or losing an Olympic gold medal than pride - as the cash rewards from marketing athletes suggest.


China's gold medal-winning diver Guo Jingjing smiles during an exhibition match in Hong Kong August 30, 2008. [Agencies]


"Diving Queen" Guo Jingjing is one of the most successful female athletes in marketing thanks to her success at the Beijing Olympics, as well as her healthy and pretty image.

One of Guo's major sponsors, Japanese electronics giant Toshiba, said Guo's image matches the company's global impression of being "perfect".

It is planning to launch a new series of promotions involving the diving superstar, who has four gold and two silver medals.

Another reason for Toshiba's support of Guo is her popularity. A survey on "who was the best female athlete at the Beijing Olympics", conducted by Sina.com and Titan Sports, put Guo top.

During the Chinese gold medalists' visit to Hong Kong last week, tickets for Guo's diving performances sold quickest, with people queuing a day in advance for a chance to see her in action.

In 2002, after winning both the 1m and 3m springboard titles at the World Cup, Guo joined male diver Tian Liang, as the face of Chinese beverage company "Aodeli".

At the Athens Olympics, Guo won two gold medals and was signed up by such famous brands as Red Earth, McDonald's, Toshiba, and Coca Cola. Her income from TV advertising alone rose from 600,000 yuan ($87,900) to 1 million yuan.

In 2005, Guo appeared for the first time on the Forbes list of Chinese celebrities, which gave her annual income as 10 million yuan.

In July's Chinese Celebrity in Sports list, Guo was the richest female athlete in China with an annual value of 15 million yuan, ranked third overall after NBA superstar Yao Ming and 110m hurdles icon Liu Xiang.

Her fortune should increase after the Games with some reports speculating her personal wealth will reach 100 million yuan.

This will be a bonus for Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, the grandson of the late tycoon Henry Fok, who is reportedly set to marry the diver.



Super Dan soaring


China's Lin Dan salutes the fans after winning the title of the men's badminton singles at the Beijing Olympic Games. [Agencies]


Badminton world No 1 Lin Dan is going to become another marketing phenomenon after he grabbed the men's singles gold medal, a sweet victory after his first-round exit four years ago in Athens.

Lin has long been a target of sponsors thanks to his glittering career, fashionable lifestyle and handsome image.

Even the Athens flop did not prevent companies from signing him up and the 2008 Forbes list of Chinese celebrities, released in March, ranked him 18th, with an annual income of 12.5 million.

Lin's major sponsors include Pepsi, Yili Group, Gatorade, FedEx and L'Oreal and each sponsor deal is from 1 million to 2 million.

With success in Beijing his career is prime time fodder and his love affair with women's world No 1 Xie Xingfang is adding to the excitement.

His annual wealth is expected to reach around 30 million for the coming year.

Even the shoes Lin wore during his final match at the Games could be worth a small fortune. A local newspaper reported they could be worth as much as 500,000 yuan.



Liu loses big


Liu Xiang grimaces in pain as he settles into the starting block of his 110m hurdles heat of the athletics competition at the Beijing Olympic Games in this August 18, 2008 file photo. [Agencies]


It's a different story for hurdler Liu, who will pay for his shock Olympic withdrawal before the first round of competition.

Officials from the sport's governing body insist Liu will be able to recover but there are doubts he will regain his status.

The negative effects of withdrawal and lack of exposure due to injury will likely decrease his value after many of his contracts with sponsors are set to expire next year.

The 25-year-old hurdler was formerly, with basketball hero Yao, one of the two most marketable sporting personalities in China.

Liu is believed to have earned over $20 million in endorsements last year alone, as companies such as Nike, Visa and Cadillac sought his help in building their brands in China.

A local girl holds up a sign board to cheer on torch bearers during the Beijing Paralympic torch relay in Changsha, Hunan Province, August 31, 2008.


Dancers perform a sign language song "Love" at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic torch relay in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province on August 31, 2008.


Dancers stage a performance at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic torch relay in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province on August 31, 2008.


Liang Qiong, a worker in a publishing company, holds the torch during her leg of Paralympic torch relay in Changsha, Hunan province on August 31, 2008.


Local dancers stage a performance at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic torch relay in Changsha, Hunan province on August 31, 2008.


Cheng Run'er (Third R), the governor of Changsha presentes the Paralympic torch to Zhu Weimin(B), swimming gold medalist in 1996 Atlanta Paralympics. The Beijing Paralympic torch relay made its tour in Changsha, Hunan province on August 31,2008.


Two torch bearers pass the Paralympic flame during its relay in Changsha, Hunan province on August 31,2008.

Last Sunday night at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, among all the celebrations, Yao Ming was seen hugging a female athlete.

Yao Ming of China gives Basketball player Lauren Jackson of Australia a hug during the Closing Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the National Stadium.


I blurted out: "China's online sleuths are going to flush out the identity of this woman, and she's going to create a big wave in China."

A big-time blogger happened to be near me, and he posted my remarks in his blog. Now, we all know that woman was Lauren Jackson, an Australian basketball player who is currently with the Seattle Storm of the WNBA and the Australian National Team, The Opals.

I don't know why I said what I said, but I guess I had a hunch about this kind of thing - the misinterpretation of cultural incidents. What appeared to be a token of friendliness between two acquaintances or friends has triggered a spate of tall tales.

Soon after the embrace in the Bird's Nest, reports emerged claiming that Lauren Jackson, or LJ, is much more than a friend of Yao's. Obviously she initiated the hug, and Yao reciprocated with slight hesitation. From this, the legion of Chinese Sherlock Holmes have concluded that LJ used to have a fling with Yao, but Yao, faithful to his wife, Ye Li, turned her down.

I don't know how much truth there is in that. But it doesn't seem to be corroborated by the people involved. That, however, doesn't prevent the hug from being the runaway fun story from an otherwise predictable sporting event.

If you don't believe what I've said, here's the final proof - a rewritten lyric set to the tune of the Beijing Olympics theme song:

Yao Ming: (helplessly) Me and Li / Heart to heart / Have got marriage license / Stop dreaming / Don't carry on / For I'll be faithful. / Go away, Lauren / Let go of my hand / You and me / Are impossible / Go find someone else.

LJ: (joyfully) Yao near me / And hugged me / Won't part with me. / Winds may blow / Blow them apart / And he'll hug me alone. / Come on, Big Yao / Give me your hand.

Chorus: Yao near me / And hugged me / Dazed over me / You love me / And hugged me / Now in dream of me.


An audio version is floating in cyberspace, with uncanny mimicry of the original singers Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman.


Basketball player Lauren Jackson of Australia talks with Yao Ming of China during the Closing Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the National Stadium.

You may laugh at such a childish act of mischievousness. But actually it's not that simple. Chinese etiquette does not include hugging in public, and even though we've seen it countless times in movies most of us do not know when it is appropriate to hug, especially a non-family member of the opposite sex.

Two decades ago, I was seeing off a group of visitors at the airport after escorting them for weeks on a tour across China. The women hugged me one by one, or rather, the first woman hugged me, and then I started hugging the others. It happened that the last person in the group was an old gentleman. As soon as I opened my arms, one of the women hinted that I stop. I instantly realized what she meant, but I did not understand. I've seen movies from Eastern Europe in which adult men hugged each other. The nuances were just too complicated for a kid fresh out of college.

Today, hugging is quite common in China, especially among the young, but old mindsets die hard. Even if you conduct yourself properly, as Yao Ming and LJ did, people will misunderstand you, deliberately or not, because the same act has different connotations in different cultures.

Wait for a Yao-Ye-LJ melodrama like a soap opera fit for primetime. What netizens can cook up will be infinitely more colorful than anything on TV.


Yao Ming of China gives Basketball player Lauren Jackson of Australia a hug in the Beijing National Stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.


Basketball players Lauren Jackson of Australia and Yao Ming of China speak in the Beijing National Stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics


Basketball player Lauren Jackson of Australia is pictured during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 

Gold medalist divers Guo Jingjing (2nd L), Wu Minxia (2nd R) and Qin Kai co-sing a song with Hong Kong pop singer Joey Yung in Hong Kong on August 30, 2008. China's Olympic gold medallists arrived in Hong Kong on Friday, kicking off their three-day visit to the city.


Olympic gymnastic champions Yang Yilin(L) performs on the balance beam with her teammate Cheng Fei in Hong Kong, August 30, 2008. China's Olympic gold medallists arrived in Hong Kong Friday, kicking off their three-day visit to the city


Olympic table tennis gold winner Zhang Yining shakes hands with a local child on Saturday. China's Olympic gold medallists arrived in Hong Kong on Friday, kicking off their three-day visit to the city.


Chinese Olympic championship gymnasts Xiao Qin(L) and Yang Wei perform on the pommel horse in a gym of Hong Kong Saturday during their three-day visit to the city.


Olympic badminton champion Lin Dan shows his skill during an exhibition match in Hong Kong, August 30, 2008. China's Olympic gold medallists arrived in Hong Kong on Friday, kicking off their three-day visit to the city.


Olympic fencing champion Zhong Man gives instructions to a local resident in Hong Kong, August 30, 2008. China's Olympic gold medallists arrived in Hong Kong on Friday, kicking off their three-day visit to the city.


Olympic badminton champion Zhang Ning acknowledges the local spectators in Hong Kong, August 30, 2008. China's Olympic gold medallists arrived in Hong Kong on Friday, kicking off their three-day visit to the city.


Olympic table tennis gold medallist Ma Lin gives instructions to a local child in Hong Kong, August 30, 2008. China's Olympic gold medallists arrived in Hong Kong on Friday, kicking off their three-day visit to the city.

WUHAN, Central China -- The Paralympic torch relay continued its journey in Wuhan on Sunday as the second leg of the "Modern China" route.

Wen Qing, a decorated wheelchair racing athlete, holds the torch during her leg of Paralympic torch relay in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province August 31,2008.

The opening ceremony started at about 8 a.m. at Wuhan Sports Center. Sixty torchbearers, including 11 disabled, ran in the three-kilometer-long relay.

The first runner, Cheng Yu, is a disabled former athlete from national team. She is the champion of women's team table tennis in Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games.

The torch was passed on in Wuhan economic and technological development zone, of which rapid economic growth has surpassed thirty percent in recent five years.

The cauldron was set ablaze in warm cheers by the final carrier Wen Qing, who was crowned as the "wheelchair princess" and won more than 50 medals on wheelchair racing in the worldwide games for handicapped during past 15 years.

This relay also became a grandfestival of 438,000 disabled of the city. Splendid shows were later performed by the disabled, including the famous Chinese conductor Zhou Zhou, to display their consistent spirit and optimistic attitude on life.

More than 2,400 disabled were also invited to enjoy the performance and share the happiness of sacred flame relay. "The torch relay makes me feel the joys of festival," a disabled audience said.

To ensure the disabled fully enjoy the relay, the government has recruited more than 200 volunteers to provide them better services, such as accompanying the torchbearers to pass on the torch, serving all coming disabled food and water, and providing more convenient equipment.

With a population of more than eight million, Wuhan serves as the gateway to China's hinterlands in central China's Hubei province. As its outstanding geographic advantage, it is also nicknamed the "thoroughfare to nine provinces".

Yangtze and its biggest tributary Hanjiang River meet downtown Wuhan and cut the city into three parts of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang.

With great economic development results in recent years, the city has become one of the new batch of economic reform experiment zones in China.

The Beijing Paralympic torch relay will cover 13,181 kilometers in nine days passing eleven torch relay cities which are selected from provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China.

The Paralympic torch relay was carried out along two routes, namely the route of "modern China" and the route of "ancient China". "Modern" route covers Shenzhen, Wuhan, Shanghai, Qingdao, Dalian and Beijing, the "ancient" has Xi'an, Hohhot, Changsha, Nanjing and Luoyang.