Students wave official flags in front of silent shops ona Kashi square. (Getty Images)Silk Road Torch Relay
The Olympic torch continues its journey in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, touring the city of Kashi near the Kyrgyzstan border.
Commerce and traffic came to a stop in parts of the one-time Silk Road town, as Chinese authorities ordered shops shut along the relay route and told people to stay at home and watch the relay on television.
A program of traditional dances and student performance marked the sparsely-attended opening ceremony. All spectators wore an official numbered badge, according to international media reports, while police were posted every 30 m along the 7 km route.
State-controlled provincial media report that "many people" came to the relay despite being asked to stay home.
Xinjang is predominately populated by Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighurs, some of whom Beijing accuses of agitating for an independent state.
The torch spends one more day in Xinjiang, touring the cities of Shihezi and Changji near the capital city of Urumqi.
Tibet will host the relay only for a single day, Beijing 2008 says. On June 21, the torch will tour Lhasa. At least two pro-Tibet groups in India staged protests against the relay this week. The activists fear that China is clamping down on Tibetans in the run-up to the relay.
Beijing Targets Dope Dealers
Beijing sets its sights on dope manufactures and distributors, but online companies remain a problem. China opened its Games-time doping lab last year. (BOCOG)
In a crackdown that began last year, China has reprimanded or closed some 150 companies involved in the manufacture or distribution of performance-enhancing substances, says State Food and Drug Administration vice commissioner Wu Zhen, speaking at a press conference.
Some were businesses simply selling prescription drugs without a prescription or manufacturing those drugs without a license, Wu specifies.
But the principal of one major offender received a seven-year jail sentence for running an online shop that sold performance enhancers worldwide.
The SFDA has also shut down some 320 websites trading drugs online, but cyber-dealing remains a difficulty for the agents.
"Websites are very flexible. We often find the addresses and names published on the site are false and some were overseas," says Wu.
Wu says his agency has investigated some 37 Chinese companies named as illegal drug manufacturers by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Nearly half of the companies were untraceable, says Wu. Among the others, some were found to be doing legal business; the SFDA handled the balance, Wu adds.
An investigation is also underway into the company that manufactured dietary supplements that eleven Greek weightlifters blame for failing a drug test.
$4 Paralympic Tickets
Paralympic tickets go on sale to mainland buyers on June 20 – and prices start at $4. Paralympic competition tickets feature mascot Fu Niu Lele.
Competition tickets for mainland buyers will top out at $12. Buyers may apply for a maximum of ten tickets during one online session. After paying for one batch, buyers can apply for more tickets.
The official Beijing 2008 ticketing website will be the only way for mainlanders to get tickets now. Bank of China branches will start sales later.
Beijing Briefs…
Hong Kong Director of Immigration Simon Peh warns that the Olympics equestrian events could be a target for terrorist attacks, though Hong Kong police disagree. Peh did not give any specific information regarding the background of the terrorists or their affiliations in his statement to Hong Kong media. The Hong Kong police denied this possible threat. The President of Sports Federation and Olympics Committee of Hong Kong, Timothy Fok, commented that they will be reviewing the communication between the two departments. He stressed that Hong Kong is one of the safest places in the world and that the Olympic committee did not receive any news regarding any possible terrorist attacks during the game.
Logistics will keep Athletics New Zealand away from the Games opening ceremony, says the team's high performance director. In an interview with Radio New Zealand, Kevin Ankrom denies that pollution is an issue, adding that staying in an athletes village can be like a prison. New Zealand will send about 200 athletes to the Games, but less than half are expected at the opening ceremony. Rowers and swimmers will sit out to rest for the next day's competition; equestrians and sailors do not compete in Beijing.
Team Korea names national judo leader Kim Jung-haeng its Beijing chef-de-mission. Kim is president of the Korea Judo Association, a past president of the Judo Union of Asia, and a vice chief of the Korean Sports Council.
Written by Maggie Lee
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