Countdown Beijing: Bush Confirms Attendance at Olympics

Bush Going to Games

U.S. president George W. Bush confirmed on Feb. 28 that he will attend the Beijing Olympics as a sport fan, but will bring up political issues with his hosts.

"I have made it very clear, I'm going to the Olympics because it's a sporting event, and I'm looking forward to seeing the athletic competition," Bush said at a White House press briefing, in response to a question about how he justifies attending the Games in the face of human rights concerns in China.

"And each Olympic society [NOC] will make a decision as to how to deal with the athletes," Bush added, about the issue of athlete freedom of speech.

He explained that as U.S. president, he is in a different position than others to raise concerns with Chinese leadership.

"I’m going to be meeting with the Chinese president expressing my deep concern about a number of issues. Just like I do every time I meet with the president," Bush said of Chinese president Hu Jintao.

"And so, I am not the least bit shy in bringing up the concerns expressed by this factory worker," Bush said in response to a reporter's question about a "former factory worker" who is on trial for subversion because of opposition to the Games.

The question likely refers to Chunlin Yang – a land-rights activist and unemployed worker from the city of Jiamusi in northeast China. Yang was brought before a Chinese court this month on charges of incitement to subvert state power, in part for advocating the slogan "human rights over the Olympics,"

In an unrelated press conference in Beijing, Chinese foreign minister Jiechi Yang said people in his country enjoy extensive freedom of speech.

"No one will get arrested because he has said human rights were more important than the Olympic Games. This is impossible," Yang told a press conference Thursday.

Bush also said he would bring up the specific issue of religious freedom.

"And every time I meet with [Hu] I talk about religious freedom and the importance of Chinese society recognizing that if you’re allowed to worship freely, it will benefit the society as a whole, that the Chinese government should not fear the idea of people praying to a god, as they see fit," he says.

Bush went on to say that he talks about Darfur, Iran and Burma when he meets Hu.

Earlier in the month, Bush declined to applaud Steven Spielberg's departure from the Games ceremony team.

"That's up to him. I'm going to the Olympics. I view the Olympics as a sporting event. On the other hand, I have a little different platform than Steven Spielberg, so I get to talk to President Hu Jintao. And I do remind him that he can do more to relieve the suffering in Darfur," Bush told an interviewer on Feb. 14.

Yao Ming Injury Forces China to Revise Olympic Plans

Chinese basketball officials say they have backup plans to deal with the potential loss of star player Yao Ming for the Beijing Olympics.

Yao’s broken foot has been headline news in China since the U.S. club Houston Rockets, announced on Tuesday that the injury would sideline the star for the rest of the regular pro season and playoffs.

"We were informed of Yao Ming's injury at midnight and had a meeting with the national team staff this morning," Jiashi Hu, a senior official of the Chinese Basketball Association, told reporters the next day.

The official Xinhua news agency quotes Hu as saying that National team coach “Jonas Kazlauskas has already handed over two plans and two squads - with or without Yao Ming, for the preparation of the 2008 Olympics.”

According to national team manager Xilin Bai, Yao is expected to undergo surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot.

“Yao has vowed to play for the national team in the 2008 Olympics. We fully understand his feelings,” Bai told Xinhua.

“His mission now is to take the surgery and recover quickly. We're waiting for him to come back for the Beijing Olympics.”

Yao had been set to carry the Chinese flag into the Olympic stadium at the opening ceremony on August 8, but his injury may put a stop to that.

Liu Xiang, the 110m hurdles world champion and world record holder, is considered a favorite to carry the flag if Yao fails to recover in time.

Yao and the Rockets are yet to agree on treatment, which could include either surgery or rest in a cast, with either option requiring at least four months.

“If I cannot play in the Olympics for my country this time, it will be the biggest loss in my career to right now,” Yao says.

But Rockets team physician Tom Clanton says Yao can still recover in time to represent China at the Games.

Olympics Water Supply Threat: Official Speaks Out

A senior Chinese government official has spoken out over the threat to the livelihoods of locals posed by the expected water consumption of the Beijing Olympics.

An extensive pipe network that diverts water to Beijing from the provinces is a threat to the livelihoods of millions of people, Qiyuan An, from Shaanxi province tells The Financial Times.

He says those affected in north-western provinces should be compensated, while warning of social upheaval and environmental harm caused by strain put on local water supplies.

“In order to preserve the quality of Beijing's water we have to close all our factories," An, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee in Shaanxi, told the newspaper.

“But we still need to live. So I say the government needs to compensate Shaanxi.”

Formerly Communist Party chief in Shaanxi, An had also been critical of the huge Sanmexia Dam. It was built in the 1950s and has been blamed for the Yellow River silting up and causing flooding – a problem it was meant to avoid.

It is unusual for a leading Communist official to be so openly critical of government policy.

China is relying on its Shaanxi and Hebei provinces to pump clean water to Beijing in time for the Olympics.

New Beijing Airport Terminal

Beijing's giant new airport terminal opens Friday, marking the latest installment in China’s Olympics infrastructure boom.

Terminal Three at Beijing Capital Airport – roughly 170 football fields in size– will open its doors to passengers less than four years after its construction began.

An airport spokesman says the terminal will commence operation at about 8:00 a.m. Beijing time, when the first incoming flight is due.

Five airlines will shift operations to the new terminal, including British Airways and Qantas, before a further 19 move to complete the transfer on March 25.

The $2.7 billion project will have 17 percent more floor space than the five combined terminals at London Heathrow, according to its British designer, architect Norman Foster.

Foster says the terminal was inspired by Chinese shipbuilders and color schemes; it reportedly will be the largest covered structure ever built.

The revamp is in response to congestion at other terminals in the main Beijing airport. Officials say world-standard facilities and technology will dramatically improve on ticketing, immigration and customs processing times.

A massive increase in demand for travel in China saw the airport process 48 million passengers in 2007, far above its 35 million capacity.

The Olympics will boost passenger numbers to 64 million. The new facility’s capacity will be 76 million, according to a statement from the deputy general manager of the company running the airport in a South China Morning Post article.

Taekwondo Test a Big Deal

More than 120 athletes from 26 countries are taking part in a four-day Taekwondo test event that kicked off in downtown Beijing this week.

The Good Luck Beijing 2008 International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament at the University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium drew a large media contingent.

BOCOG has received 620 local media registrations and more than 100 from abroad. The event serves as a rehearsal for the taekwondo competition of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Earlier this week, before the start of the test event, WTF president Chungwon Choue spoke to the 29 international referees for the tournament.

“A successful refereeing and judging at taekwondo competitions, especially the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, will help ensure that taekwondo is included among the IOC’s 25 core sports for the Summer Olympic Games,” Choue says.

“In this regard, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games should be the most exemplary event for taekwondo ever in terms of refereeing and judging.”

He told the group the WTF will take strong action over any “undesirable” refereeing or judging incidents, with those responsible unable to officiate at WTF sanctioned events.

“Coaches who receive two warnings will be removed on the spot.”

The Feb. 26 opening featured two weight categories – the men's 58kg and the women's 49kg.

The second day was another two weight categories – the men's 68kg and the women's 57kg.

China leads the medal count, followed by Turkey and Canada.

The third day will see the men's 80kg and the women's 67kg; while the fourth and final day will see the men's +80kg and the women's +67kg.

Beijing Briefs….

MySpace China has hooked up with China Central Television to release a new site – myspace.2008.cctv.com– which MySpace China CEO Chuan Luo says is targeted towards providing blog services to coaches, athletes, and judges of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It allows MySpace users to log in to their accounts and offers CCTV Olympic videos and news along with MySpace blog links.

Juan Antonio Samaranch says awarding the Olympics to Beijing is less risky than Moscow for 1980. "China has opened itself up and has changed radically," says the man who led the IOC from 1980 until 2001, in an interview with Spanish media. "It was more of a risk to give Moscow the games in 1980. The Chinese regime was and is more open than the one that existed in the Soviet Union in those years. Much more," says Samaranch.

Chinese scientists are sure the Olympic torch will burn in the low-oxygen atmosphere of Mt. Everest, according to Chinese media. "We are fully confident that the Olympic Games torch can certainly be alight on Everest peak, and everyone will be able to see a bright flame," the head of the Beijing government's science committee is quoted as saying on Feb. 27. The torch relay will go up Mount Everest on a day in May, to be decided according to weather conditions.

The premier of Niue says it is "unreasonable" to link politics with the Olympics, according to a quote in Chinese media. Yong Vivian says the Olympics are aimed at promoting friendship, brotherhood and cooperation, according to the interview.

With reporting from Anthony Stavrinos in Sydney.

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