2008 beijing2008 olympicsgames Olympics 2008 in BEIJING CHAINA

Win the first tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

2007-12-22T12:12:00.001-08:00

Today, British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) is pleased to release First Tickets to 2010, a new $5 SportsFunder Instant Win ticket offering players the chance to win the very first tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony.

"We are very proud to offer British Columbians the first chance to get tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event," said Dana Hayden, BCLC President & CEO. "The thrill and excitement of the Olympic Games is inspiring and moves people to participate in sports. Through SportsFunder lottery games, BCLC is offering the opportunity to support amateur athletes, many of whom aspire to compete at the Olympic level."

With a total of 100 pairs of tickets to be won, players have a 1:5,000 chance of winning tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony. In addition to offering the chance to win tickets to the Opening Ceremony and $1,000 spending money, the new $5 SportsFunder First Tickets to 2010 also features $1 million in cash prizes. The overall odds of winning any prize are approximately 1:4.

"On the evening of February 12, 2010, the eyes of the world will be on us as we celebrate Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony. VANOC is proud to partner with BCLC to give British Columbians a chance to attend this extraordinary event, while helping our kids and amateur athletes have increased access to sports", said John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

Over the next two years, BCLC will offer British Columbians the chance to win thousands of tickets to the 2010 Winter Games by playing SportsFunder lottery games. Proceeds from the sale of SportsFunder lottery games support amateur sports in B.C. through KidSport™, Team BC, Youth Sport Travel Assistance, and Coach and Leadership Development. KidSport™ provides financial assistance to children who wish to play sports but cannot afford the registration fees. Team BC gives athletic development support to provincial teams representing B.C. at Canada's premier multi-sport events.

Tickets used for SportsFunder lottery games will be purchased by BCLC and drawn from their allotment as a VANOC Official Supporter within the Olympic Family quota. As is required of all Olympic Organizing Committees, approximately 30 per cent of the tickets will be held for key partners that participate directly in the staging of the Games – commonly referred to as the Olympic Family. The Olympic Family includes athletes and their families, National Olympic Committees and international sports federations, media and broadcasters who tell the story of the Games to a global audience and VANOC sponsors whose financial investment contributes directly to staging the Games.

"This is also a good example of how an Olympic partner may purchase from the Olympic Family ticket allotment but the tickets ultimately end up in the hands of the public," added Furlong.

About BCLC

BCLC is a provincial Crown Corporation reporting to the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General through a Board of Directors. Its mission is to offer responsible gaming entertainment, generating income for the public good.

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.

VANOC's marketing program is focused on securing mutually rewarding partnerships with shared values to generate sufficient revenue to host successful Winter Games in 2010 and to leave a financial legacy for sport. VANOC's Worldwide TOP Partners include Coca-Cola, Atos Origin, GE, McDonald's, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa. VANOC's National Partners are Bell Canada, Hbc, RBC Financial Group, GM Canada, Petro-Canada, and RONA.

VANOC's Official Supporters include Air Canada, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Canadian Pacific, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, Jet Set Sports, Ricoh Canada Inc., the Royal Canadian Mint, and Teck Cominco Limited. VANOC's Official Suppliers are 3M, Birks, Dow Canada, EPCOR, Haworth Canada, Nortel, TransCanada, Vincor Canada, Weston Bakeries and Workopolis.

(Credit: Vancouver 2010. Click here for further information.)

Win the first tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

2007-12-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

Vancouver 2010 looks for designer of Olympic and Paralympic medals

2007-12-22T12:05:00.000-08:00

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) yesterday announced it is looking for proposals from artists all around the world interested in designing the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic medals.

"For an athlete, competing at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games marks the pinnacle of a life's work. The weight of an Olympic and Paralympic medal around their neck symbolizes the dreams not only of the athlete, but also their families and their communities and their achievement inspires so many. Standing on the podium to accept an Olympic or Paralympic medal is truly a moment without measure," said Cathy Priestner Allinger, VANOC's Executive Vice President of Sport, Paralympic Games and Venue Management, herself a Canadian silver medallist in speed skating at the Innsbruck 1976 Olympic Winter Games.

Vancouver 2010 is looking for an artist, designer or creative teams to work with VANOC to design inspiring, timeless medals for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games – medals that reflect the determination and heart of the athletes who will win those medals in 2010. An Evaluation Team will review submissions and successful applicants will be asked to provide concept designs. The design concepts will then be reviewed by VANOC and approved by the Board of Directors. VANOC will present the medal design to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for review and final approval.

The Royal Canadian Mint , a Vancouver 2010 Official Supporter, will manufacture the medals. The Mint will be involved in the design process, providing production expertise and ensuring the medals can be produced at the highest level of quality. Teck Cominco , also an Official Supporter of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, will supply the gold, silver, bronze and other metals used in the production of the Olympic and Paralympic medals.

The design process will involve five phases and is expected to take up to eight months. In addition to the medals, designs are also required for the accompanying ribbon and medal containers.

The Mint will produce a total of 867 competition medals for the 2010 Winter Games. Of these, 549 competition medals will be produced for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, 183 each of gold, silver and bronze. For the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, 318 competition medals will be produced, 106 each of gold, silver and bronze.

The closing date for the submission of proposals is 30 January 2008. The design contract(s) are expected to be awarded in late February 2008.

(Credit: IPC. Click here for further information.)

Beijing planning on being friendly to US TV audiences

2007-12-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

BRITISH viewers may have to stay up all night to watch some of the most glamorous events in the Beijing Olympics because of plans to stage them at times suitable for US television.

In a controversial move, NBC, the American network, has requested that the swimming and gymnastics finals should be staged in the morning in China.

Such a decision would upset both the competitors, who usually are at their physical peak in the evening, and also European TV companies, angered that the proposed timing would mean that they would be forced to screen the events live in the early morning.

I can’t remember such a thing ever happening before, but it makes sense for NBC to try. They invest a massive amount of money in the Olympics, and viewership is falling, at least partially because results are so easily accessible online. When 8pm rolls around much of America already knows who’s won.

Chinese fire high ranking Olympics official

2007-12-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

Oh those crazy Chinese. Liu Zhihua was fired because of corruption and leading a decadent life:

A terse report Monday by the state-run Xinhua News Agency said Beijing Vice Mayor Liu Zhihua’s “wrongdoings” were “quite serious” and merited his removal Sunday.

[…]

In its brief statement, Xinhua didn’t directly link Liu’s sudden dismissal with his work coordinating the construction of the 31 venues in the Beijing area. It said only that Liu, a 57-year-old Communist Party official from Liaoning province in the northeast, was sacked for “corruption and degeneracy.”

A Hong Kong daily newspaper with close ties to Beijing’s rulers, Wen Wei Po, said Liu maintained several mistresses and built a personal entertainment center, replete with closed-circuit television cameras, in the outlying Beijing district of Huairou. It said Liu took “large sums” in bribes from foreign businessmen, and later denied them land that he had promised. The foreigners then complained to the Communist Party’s Central Disciplinary Committee, the party’s highest organ for investigating corruption, the paper said.

Liu had been seen in public as recently as May 29, when he went to the site in the Beijing district of Fengtai where laborers are erecting a softball stadium.

He was in charge of city planning, construction, transportation and all sports activities.

In a sign of the case’s sensitivity, censors purged any commentary about Liu’s firing from Internet chat rooms.

Olympic fundraising

2007-12-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

This is a fascinating article dealing with the ways Beijing is coming up with the money for the 2008 Summer Olympics:

Enterprises from both home and abroad are jockeying for positions on different rosters connected to the Games, in the hope of marketing their products and enhancing brand awareness through this extraordinary opportunity.

It is not only corporate titans, but also Olympic officials who have are keeping a close eye on the bottom line, especially since costs have soared in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

“Without the support of the business community, without its technology, expertise, people, services, products, telecommunications, its financing - the Olympic Games could not and cannot happen,” says IOC President Jacques Rogge of the importance of Olympic marketing.

Check out the next College Bowl Schedule at Docsports.com

2007-12-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

One of my friends, Awful Announcing, would definitely love this website. Docsports.com is an all-in-one schedule and picks haven for all of those who can't get enough of college football games. Get football game previews, upcoming events coverage, game odds, scores and more in this cool website.

Doc has built his website around a reputable business he established way back 1971. Docsports caters to all football-crazy fans but it also has something for Hockey, Basketball and Baseball. Check out your major league sports games schedule, scope out picks or just read what their authors, including doc, have to say about their thoughts on the next big game ahead. One can also go straight to betting through a number of sportsbook listing they have on the homepage. Docsports.com makes finding the next college bowl game schedule, finding free picks and betting so much easier!

Beijing in formation info

2007-12-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

Location:	Beijing- The capital of China is located in the northern part of the North China Plain and its terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast.

	Area:	16,807.8 sq km

	Climate:	The climate in Beijing is of the continental type, with cold and dry winters, due to the Siberian air massses that move southward across the Mongolian Plateau. The summers are hot owing to warm and humid monsoon winds from the southeast bringing Beijing most of its annual precipitation. January is the coldest month and July is the warmest. Winter usually begins towards the end of October. The summer months, June to August, are wet and hot with about 40% of the annual precipitation.

	provincial capital:	Beijing

	Population:	13.82 millions (March 2001)

	Ethnic groups:	The permanent residents of Beijing come from all of China's 56 ethnic groups. The Han nationality accounts for 96.5% of the total. The other 55 ethnic minorities claim a population of more than 300,000, most of them are from Hui, Manchu, and Mongolian nationalities.

	Agriculture:	In 1994, the gross value of agricultural output reached 28.69 billion yuan (non-agricultural output value accounting for 79.5%). The gross value of rural industrial output accounted for 40.2% of the city's gross value of industrial output in 1994. The main cereals are wheat, corn, and rice. The total amount of grain output was 2,761 million tons, and per-hectare yield was 6,420 kilograms. There are 541 farms where each farmer is responsible for more than 6.6 hectares. Mechanization in agriculture has been basically realized in plain areas, and various kinds of bases can provide abundant sideline products.

	Industry:	Beijing's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 82.9 billion yuan in the first five months of 2000, up 12 percent over the same period of last year, with high-tech enterprises leading development, according to Beijing Youth Daily. From January to May, the added value of Beijing's industrial output was 6.35 billion yuan, up 18.8 percent over the same period of the previous year.

Accommodation during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

2007-12-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

We can help you with accommodation convenient to public Olympic transport and within your budget or desire for luxury.
Beijing based and Western managed to high standards, we at The Beijing Guide review your needs and match you with the appropriate accommodation here in Beijing. Our Beijing based American managers are available to speak on the phone and discuss your needs and are also available throughout your stay should you need help.

Budget 3-Star Hotel: This hotel is conveniently located inside the city center near tourist sights and is 300 meters from the newly opened subway line directly to the Olympic Green. Click for details.

Homestays and Apartments: Using professional photography we will supply you with photographs of the bedrooms we offer you, as well as pictures of the living room, kitchen, bathrooms, facilities, an external shot of the building and shots in the neighborhood showing the streets and shops.

Beijing Capital International Airport

2007-12-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

Location: Beijing Capital International Airport is situated in the Shunyi District of the city, about 25 km (about 15.5 miles) northeast of Tiananmen Square, and is China's busiest and most important international airport.

Brief Intro: Beijing Capital International Airport was opened to public in 1958. With the development of civil aviation and the subsequent increase in passenger traffic, the airport has twice been extended, firstly in 1980 and then in 1999. Nowadays it has a 4E standard flight area, at present there are two terminals and a third is under construction. The high standard of services and facilities has attracted 66 airlines to operate here. Currently, the airport has flight connections to some 88 domestic and 69 foreign cities.

Facilities:

No. 1 Terminal Building

A Passengers' Changing Room is located on the first floor of the Terminal Building, on the west of the Baggage Reclaim Hall.

Business Center: This offers facsimile facilities, photo-copying, printing, mobile phone re-charging, on-line connection via PC as well as for personal laptop computers. Situated on the second floor at the eastern end of the hall, the opening hours are from 08.30 to 20:00. (Note: we suggest you make prior inquiries should you require document binding or wish to purchase an IC phone card. As these are not available at all centers)

Rest Room:
VIP 'red carpet' Rest Room: is located in the public region of the hall.
Rest Room for Mother and Infant: situated in the northern part of No. 25 Boarding Gate of the Domestic Limited Area.
Time Rest Room: Use of this facility is be charged by time. You can dial the phone number through 010 - 64598932 (domestic) or 010 - 64598943 (international) to communicate with the staff directly.
In addition, there is the Gotone Club of China Mobile and the Honorable Guest Room of China Unicom of Airport that offer rest rooms for their customers in the airport.

Smoking Room: there are two smoking rooms in the lounge building. They are situated respectively in the sides of the Boarding Gate of east and the west lounge areas for later flights.

Public Phone: the airport offers common IC phone and phone card sales on the first floor of the arrival hall and the second floor of the departures hall and also near the Boarding Gate in the lounge hall.

Water Fountain: water dispensers are placed at various locations in the lounge providing drinking water: These are both pure water with disposable paper cups and automatic machines dispensing cold and hot water.

Clinic: situated on the first floor at the western end of the hall, it provides a 24-hour service for visiting patients in the terminal building, first aid, receiving and sending by ambulance, transmitting patients, etc. It offers for sale all kinds of first-aid and common use medicines from 07:00 to 21:00 daily. Passengers can dial 010 - 64591919 for first aid.

No. 2 Terminal Building

Passengers' Changing Room: situated in the Baggage reclaim Hall. One is located to the east of No. 14 carousel of Domestic Baggage Reclaim area and the other is near the No. 4 carousel of International Baggage Reclaim area.

Business Centers: These are situated opposite Gate 14 on the second floor of the Departure Hall, beside Gate 34 of the Domestic Departure Lounge and between the Boarding Gates 10 and 11 in the International Departure Lounge. These provide facilities during the same hours as described above in relation to the Terminal One building. (Note: we suggest you make prior inquiries should you require document binding or wish to purchase an IC phone card. As these are not available at all centers)

Rest Room: Rest rooms as described above for Terminal One are available in this building and are clearly signed.

Smoking Room: Six smoking rooms are provided in this lounge building. These can be found adjacent to Gate 7 on the first floor and International Boarding Gates 14, 28 and 36.

Public Phone: this lounge provides two kinds of public phones which are the common IC phone and web phone of 'mianmaintong'.

Water Fountain: There are three kinds of water supply provided in this lounge: forty sets of common pure water dispensers with disposable paper cups, twelve automatic watering machines offer cold, hot and chilled water, eight sets of automatic electronic heater, which will ensure your healthy drinking.

Clinic: located to the opposite of the No. 12 of the Leaving Hall at the second floor, it provides for visiting patients in the terminal building, first aid, receiving and sending by ambulance and transmitting patients, etc. from daily 06:30 to 22:00. Also all kinds of first-aid medicines and common use medicines are offered for sale.

Beijing City

2007-12-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

King Wu was the first to declare Beijing the capital city in 1057 BC. Subsequently, the city has gone by the names of Ji, Zhongdu, Dadu, and finally Beijing when the Ming Dynasty Emperor ChengZu chose the name in 1421. Before 1949, Beijing was known as Peking by the Western world. After 1949, the city's name returned to Beijing, as it is known today.

Beijing City is an independently administered municipal district. She is situated in the northeastern part of China at an elevation of 43.5m above sea level. The climate in Beijing is of the continental type, with cold and dry winters and hot summers. January is the coldest month (-4 Celsius), while July the warmest (26 Celsius).

Beijing has a whole area of 16808 sq km (about 6500 sq mi), stretching 160 kilometres from east to west and over 180 kilometres north to south. She has 18 districts and counties with Dongcheng, Xicheng, Xuanwu, Chongwen, Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai and Shijingshan in the surburbs and Fangshan, Mengtougou, Changping, Tongxian, Shunyi, Daxing, Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu and Yianqing in the outer suburbs. Population in Beijing is about 12 million.

Beijing International - Beijing's official website portal, provide foreigners with comprehensive information regarding work, study, investment, and government

Online Business

2007-12-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

Business blogging can brings many benefits to your business. It enables you to reach your targeted prospects in a manner and using a tone that really connects and reverberates with customers and potential customers. What’s more, it’s a very low cost method of communicating with your target prospects, whether you’re announcing a new product, reinforcing your brand, or simply staying in touch to keep your business at the top of their minds.

You don’t have to be an expert writer or expert marketer to successfully make more money using business blogging. In fact, some of the most successful businesses approach their business blogging as a friendly, informal conversation with their target
audience. No hard sell, no pushy sales tactics, just a normal conversation that serves to build and strengthen customer relationships.

Of course, you can’t just start a business blog and expect the profits to start rolling in. It takes a bit of planning, time, and energy to understand and apply the right tools to make your business blogging efforts as effective as possible, right from the start. It’s easy, though, if you have the right information at your fingertips.

Setting up your blog is not all that difficult, but you do have to put some time into determining the best place to put it. Some blog hosting services charge a fee, others are low or no cost, and you always have the option of hosting your blog right on your own business website.

So how do you decide? Start by thinking very carefully about your budget, your own computer skills, and your readiness to learn some basic blogging software. Just as importantly, though, also have to decide how you plan to keep your business blog current and interesting. Updating your blog has to become a scheduled part of your business operation if it is to be truly effective. Another consideration is assigning responsibility for writing blog content and/or actually updating the blog

Beijing Claims Computers Hacked

2007-12-21T15:06:00.000-08:00

fficial Acknowledgment of Inferiority?! -- Beijing Claims Computers Hacked

-- Micky's humble opinion: Like China's faked products, Chinese
government's imitation statement ignored some important facts: China is
the only country built a "Great Fire Wall" named "Golden Shield" , China
is the only country who deployed a net-army numbering in hundreds of
thousands, are these "extra efforts" with chinese characteristics all for
nothing? --

Beijing Claims Computers Hacked
By Xiao Jing
Voice of America
Sep 15, 2007

Related Articles
- CCP's Cyberattack on U.S. Networks Thursday, September 13, 2007

WASHINGTON D.C.—China's Ministry of Information Industry recently
claimed that large amounts of state and military confidential data were
stolen through the Internet. Foreign enemies are using the Internet as a
major destructive tool.

However, dissidents think the statement is an excuse to intensify
Beijing's control over the Internet and to repudiate western countries
recent accusations of Beijing hacking into western governments websites.

In the September issue of Forum for Chinese Party and Government Staff,
an official publication of the China Central Party School, Lou Qinjian,
Deputy Minister for Information Industry, said in an article that the
Internet has become foreign enemies' major tool for political
infiltration and hacking into high priority departments.

Lou also claims that in recent years large amounts of confidential
documents from the Party, the government, and the military have been
stolen through the Internet and have caused Beijing great harm. Lou
declined to give details of the espionage but urged Beijing to take
sweeping measures to monitor all Internet information in order to stop
computer threats.

Recently Beijing denied western media's reports accusing them of hacking
into government computers in the U.S., Germany, and England. Some
observers believe Beijing's accusation of western hackers at this
particular moment is to denounce western media reports and find an
excuse to further control Internet information.

Huang Qi, administrator of 64tianwang.com and renowned dissident, said
Beijing's statement of confidential information leaking through Internet
isn't logical, "A lot of cases of military corruption and human rights
violation against veterans are exposed on the Internet. The authorities
claimed that is 'leaking military secrets.' Authorities often
oversimplify the classification and eventually put public information or
human rights violation news as confidential, and suppress it".

An observer said human rights ideology is widespread in China now and
people want to participate in politics. The arrival of the Internet
helps people to voice their opinion more powerfully. Beijing senses this
trend is threatening its dictatorship and has to continue to intensify
its suppression of information freedom.

Huang said that the Internet provides a powerful publication tool for a
democratic movement in China. It's getting harder for Beijing to block
any information it wants. Technically China can maximize its suppression
of freedom on the Internet but not beyond a certain point; this
suppression will harm China's business and information technology, and
retard the development of the nation's economy.

"The Internet is a double-edged sword. With proper use, authorities can
push society to greater prosperity and civilization. At the same time,
information flow will promote democracy in China and destroy the Chinese
Communist Party's totalitarianism," said Huang.

An analyst said suppressing freedom of information on the Internet is a
clear policy in China and the technology to control the Internet is
maturing quickly. Freedom of speech on the Internet in China will still
be heavily suppressed for a while. However, in the long run, surging
Internet information will crash China's "Internet Berlin Wall."

Beijing makes its move in Latin America

2007-12-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

Beijing makes its move in Latin America
Peter Zhang
BrookesNews.Com
Monday 10 May 2004
It's been more than four years since I wrote about the danger that Beijing
poses in South and Central America. I stressed at the time that Hutchison
Whampoa is an arm of the Chinese government and that the company's chairman,
Li Ka Shing, was an unofficial government minister.
Despite knowing these facts President Clinton still insisted on the canal
passing into Beijing's hands, even though he knew the company had corruptly
obtained the lease.
China's Defence Minister, Chi Haotian, has said that war with the United
States is inevitable. As Chi well knows there is more than one way to wage
war ? and this is where the canal comes in. It provides Beijing with a base
from which to create enormous mischief for the US while piously claiming
that its presence is merely a commercial one.
The word is out that acting through Castro's agents and Chinese crime lords,
Beijing is already heavily involved in running drugs into the US. To Beijing
drugs are merely another weapon in its unofficial war against the US. Two
other weapons are terrorism and subversion.
Drug revenues were be used to finance terrorists whose activities will, it
was hoped, destabilise the region, particularly Mexico, thus tying up US
military and intelligence resources. (Beijing also knows it can count on
America's mainstream media to sympathetically report on left-wing terrorist
activities).
Much of this has already come to pass. One needs to look no further than
Colombia and Venezuela to see that Marxist subversives and terrorists are
well organized, ruthless and on the march.
I remarked that that it was being said in certain Beijing quarters that
Mexico would play a central role in this strategy. It was assumed that
encouraging political and social turmoil in Mexico would, for example, spur
many more Mexicans to seek sanctuary in the US, forcing Washington to
strengthen its southern boarder while antagonizing Mexico City in the
process.
Beijing believed that a flood of Mexicans immigrants would provoke a
backlash which in turn would whip up anti-American feeling south of the
border, never a difficult task. It never occurred to Beijing that America
would tolerate a massive flow of illegal Mexican immigrants.
The central player ? perhaps I should say puppet ? in Beijing's scheme is
Fidel Castro. I did say at the time that an official had confided in me that
Beijing has successfully enlisted Fidel Castro as an ally and that he was to
be heavily supplied with weapons and cash. South America was to be the
weapons eventual destination.
Once again it has come to pass. (I'm feeling quite prophetic). The cash was
be used, along with drugs, to finance revolutionary groups, buy off
officials, finance subversion and corrupt politicians. This is precisely
what Castro's embassy officials were doing in Mexico City and that is why
Vincente Fox had them expelled.
I was also told that Chinese intelligence had invested a great deal in a
Venezuelan army or former army officer who is linked to the DGI (Castro's
KGB). Unfortunately, the official was not prepared to say anything further
on the subject. It no longer matters as we now know for certain that the
former army officer is Chavez.
I explained at the time that rumour had it that Beijing initially intended
to form a Latin-American triangle consisting of Cuba, Venezuela and Colombia
with Castro at the apex and Panama in the centre.
The triangle was to be the heart of the Beijing's plans for the region.
Despite the fact that some thought the plan too bold, at least at this
stage, the regime has become even more ambitious, hoping to extend the
triangle so that it includes Brazil and the Argentine.
It believes that Iraq and the war on terror will prove so much of a
distraction that for the US that it will not be able to direct the necessary
intelligence resources to the region. However, there are still those who
think that Beijing should tread carefully.
They point out that Castro is aging and his regime is highly unpopular. They
feel that should he die or fall seriously ill the regime would be swept away
by a popular revolt with embarrassing results for Beijing.
Others have counter with the argument that the machinery of repression is so
entrenched in Cuba and the populace so demoralised that Beijing's people
will have no problem in taking the reins of power. In any case, should the
worse happen any evidence connecting Beijing to subversion and drug running
would be quickly destroyed.
Moreover, these people argue that there is absolutely nothing to fear from
America's mainstream media which is still besotted with Castro as is the
Black Caucus. As evidence for this view they cite not only the media's
hostility toward President Bush but their attempts to undermine victory in
Iraq. So why should the media treat South America any differently from Iraq?
It's particularly revealing that Beijing appears convinced that most
Democratic members of Congress and the Senate would play down any
connections Beijing establishes with Castro and that they can be counted on
to dismiss China's presence in the region as hysteria just as they dismiss
Castro's subversive activities
Beijing's strategy is not primarily one of establishing pro-Chinese regimes
but of creating a massive running sore that will drain US political and
military resources. This, the regime reasons, will weaken America's Asian
presence and so make it easier for China to drive her out of the
Pacific-Asian region, leaving Hawaii as its only Pacific base.
This is not a fantasy. Why else did Beijing provide missile know-how and
nuclear weapons technology to the likes of North Korea, Pakistan, Iran and
Libya? Because it would generate political tension and fuel conflicts that
would tie up US military resources.
Four years ago I wrote:
"? why did Clinton allow the canal to fall into Beijing's hands? Because,
incredible as this will seem, he thinks of Beijing as a 'strategic partner'
of sorts and not a potential enemy. Clinton belongs to that peculiar school
of thought that sees conflict, particularly war, as the tragic outcome of
misunderstandings between basically decent and reasonable people ? except
for fascists, of course, meaning those who challenge his beliefs and
premises. Impervious to reality, those who cling to this suicidal-like
vision accuse their critics of bad faith and dismiss their patriotic
warnings as alarmist, ridiculous, hateful and so on".
As Islamofascists strive to demoralize allied troops the American media and
many Democratic politicians and their followers direct their anger and hate
not against those who murder American troops but against President Bush,
just as Beijing strategists predicted.
The only thing Beijing's warlords understand and respect is power and the
will to use it. America still has the power and, under Bush, has
demonstrated the will to use it. So guess whom Beijing is rooting for in the
coming presidential election? Clue: it isn't Bush.

Welcome to travel in China, welcome to Beijing

2007-12-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

Hi! It's nice to meet you on Internet. I'm not sure whether you have tours
to China or not. But I'd like to cooperate with you in travel business.
We Beijing Tongji International Travel Service Co. Ltd. is one of the
leading travel agencies in China. We provide best service to travelers. All
the tourist guides of our company are well-trained and most experienced. The
following is one of our highly recommended China tour schedules.

Beijing/Xian/Shanghai/Suzhou - 10 nights 11 days

Schedule

Day 1: Beijing
Arrive in Beijing. Where you will be met by your local guide. Transfer to
your hotel. Remainder of day at leisure.

Day 2: Beijing (B-breakfast, L-lunch, D-dinner)
Full day tour to the Tian'anmen Square, the largest square in the world,
then the Forbidden City, where 24 emperors lived and ruled China. After
lunch, visit the Temple of Heaven, which is considered one of the finest
buildings ever constructed in ancient China. Today we'll have our special
dinner in the Dai Village restaurant with singing and dancing show. (Dai
minority people are the origin of Thailand people.)

Day 3: Beijing (B L D)
Today will be one of the highlights of the trip as you visit and climb the
Great Wall of China and the Ming Tombs along the Sacred Way with lunch and
special dinner. Today's special dinner is Sichuan cuisine, which
concentrates on spicy food.

Day 4: Beijing (B L D)
Today you will have a wonderful and special tour - People's Commune
(including visit to primary school, farmers' houses, Home for the aged,
Greenhouses, the orchard, big local market, etc.). Visit a Middle School not
far from the commune. Lunch in the farmers' houses or in the town hall of
the commune. Afternoon tour to the Summer Palace, the Imperial Garden.
Today's special dinner is Xinjiang Uyghur food. (It is one minority in
northwest of China, which is the starting point of Ancient Silk Road)

Day 5: Beijing (B L D)
Have a visit to Beijing Opera School, Where you can communicate with the
students of the school and see how they have their special training. After
lunch, visit the famous Lama Temple and Beijing Zoo where you can see the
lovely Giant Pandas. Hotpot and Barbecue dinner and Peking Opera in the
evening.

Day 6: Beijing (B D)
This is a day to explore on your own. It will be your final day for shopping
and sightseeing in Beijing.
Suggestion: Wangfujing Street, Silk Alley, etc.
Peking Roast Duck dinner.

Day 7: Beijing/Xian (B D)
Morning flight to Xian. Lunch on board. Meet your guide upon arrival and
transferred to your hotel. After lunch, afternoon tour to the Shaanxi
Provincial Museum, one of the best museums in China. Then stroll on the
ancient City Wall. Today's special dinner is Chinese meal with local flavor,
special noodles are been made right in front of you by the local chef.

Day 8: Xian (B L D)
Full day tour to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which was built in 652 in the
Tang Dynasty to safekeep the 657 volumes of Buddhist scriptures brought back
from India by Monk Xuan Zang. The highlight in the afternoon is the
Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum-the eighth wonder of the world. You
will visit thousands of life-size Terra-cotta warriors and horses guarding
the Tomb of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (221-210BC). With
lunch and special dumpling dinner.

Day 9: Xian/Shanghai (B L D)
Morning flight to Shanghai. Shanghai, the "Paradise of Adventurers" in the
past and China's commercial center today, is the most sophisticated city in
China. After lunch visit Shanghai Art Museum. Then taste the Shanghai local
food. At night, stroll along Nanjing Road, the busiest shopping center of
Shanghai.

Day 10: Shanghai/Suzhou/Shanghai (B L D)
A full-day excursion to Suzhou by coach. Suzhou is known as "Venice in the
East" and famous for its silk industry as well. There you will visit the
Humble Administrator's Garden, Garden of Master Fishnet (World Heritage Site
listed by UNESCO) and the silk factory. With lunch and dinner. Then back to
Shanghai.

Day 11: Shanghai (B L)
Morning tour to Yu Garden and Jade Buddha Temple. After lunch transfer to
airport and departure.

Fee: USD748$/p (for group above 10 pax, March to August 2002)

Tour prices include: Three hotel accommodations (on twin sharing basis), all
meals as listed, air-conditioned tour bus, admission fares, travel insurance
in China; air fare for all domestic flights (Beijing to Xian, Xian to
Shanghai) with domestic airport taxes, and local transportation and
transfers within China, well trained English speaking tour guides.

Tour prices do not include: Transportation from your country to and back
from China; airport departure tax for international flight (90yuan/p),
customs fee; China Visa fee; optional tours/meals. Gratitude to guide and
driver is not included.

We offer a lot of excellent travel routes all over China. You may get more
information from our website. If you are interested in the above schedule or
any others, please drop me a line. I'll be very happy to attend to your
enquiry.
Really look forward to cooperation between us in near future.
Best wishes,

Beijing Travel Guide

2007-12-21T15:01:00.000-08:00

Beijing Travel Guide
Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is not
only the nation's political center, but also its cultural, scientific
and educational heart as well as a key transportation hub. Beijing has
served as a capital of the country for more than 800 years.

The city has many places of historic interest and scenic beauty,
including the Forbidden City--the largest and best-preserved ancient
architectural complex in the world; the Temple of Heaven--where Ming
and Qing emperors performed solemn rituals for bountiful harvests; the
Summer Palace--the emperors' magnificent garden retreat; the Ming
tombs--the stately and majestic mausoleums of 13 Ming Dynasty
emperors;

And the world-renowned and genuinely inspiring Badaling section of the
Great Wall. Large-scale construction has brought great changes to
Beijing since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949
that adds more and more new attractions to the mysterious old city.

For more information about Beijing Attractions and Beijing weather

tour guide in Beijing China

2007-12-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

welcome to China,I am an English guide with National English Guide
Certificate.I am a humorous native guy with 176cm height.you want to
have a flexible and easy comfortable trip in Beijing just contact me
.very experienced and enthusiastic.I can be your personal tour guides
in Beijing, help you to arrange the tour in other cities in China. With
my help you will have a wonderful travel or successful business. I will
try my best to make good arrangements for you,let you see more and know
more about Beijing.Also i will let you know the real life here.
contact Meteor

Top Hotels china travel beijing 2008

2007-12-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

Top Hotels china travel beijing 2008

Hotels Top Hotels
Hilton Beijing★★★★★
Address: 1 Dongfang Road, Dongsanhuanbei Road, Chaoyang
General tel: 010 5865 5000

Standard room rate(RMB): 2,200

Owner: Oriental Arts Building Co., Ltd.
Year of opening: 1994
Number of floors: 25
Number of rooms: 375
Number of suites: 45

Facilities: Fitness centre, Beauty Salon, Swimming Pool, Bar, Coffee
Shop, Boutique, Business Centre, In-Room Broadband Internet Access,
Satellite TV
Restaurants: Western, Panasian
Ballroom: 400
Credit Cards: Visa, Master Card, JCB, American Express
Meeting rooms: 7 meeting rooms
Special features: Unwind in the Hilton Beijing hotel's 22nd-floor
Executive Lounge. Do business in one of 4 meeting rooms or the fully
equipped business centre or log onto the free wireless internet access
in public areas. The hotel is located in the business district, just
20 minutes from the airport and Beijing's attractions. Dine in one of
5 restaurants and bars. Enjoy Asian flavors at the Hilton Beijing
hotel's 24-hour Elements restaurant, specialty coffees at Caffè Cino
and creative cocktails at Zeta Bar. Play squash, keep fit in the fully
equipped gym or drift away with a relaxing sauna and massage at the
Hilton Beijing hotel. Discover Beijing attractions from the iconic
Tian'anmen Square and red-walled Forbidden City to the Summer Palace's
solace. Located in Chaoyang business district, Hilton Beijing hotel
has 4 meeting rooms, an Executive Lounge, business center and wireless
internet access in public areas. Stay in a Deluxe Room or a light
Executive Room with Executive Lounge access. All rooms in the Hilton
Beijing hotel have high-speed internet access.

Beijing tours

2007-12-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

Currently preparing for the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing is investing
billions into becoming an economic powerhouse. Beijing is a
fascinating urban destination for tourists keen to immerse themselves
in China's long and colourful history and culture - and its unique,
vibrant take on city living, 21st century style.

beijing tour operator:
http://www.itourschina.com/City_tour/list.asp?guidekind=1&guidename=B...

The frenetic building activity is creating a bold and stylish new
Beijing that will surprise even if you have visited just two years
ago. However, old Beijing is still to be found and is easily explored
in the teahouses and temples, the hutongs and courtyards - and the
many museums.

In no other capital on Earth can you enjoy such a wide variety of
gourmet restaurants. Beijing offers excellent value dishes from all of
China's eight regional styles of cuisine, not to mention korean, thai,
japanese and all manner of western dishes too.

Visit the world renowned and exquisitely beautiful Temple of Heaven,
set in large and lively gardens. Nightlife in Beijing is kaleidoscopic
- from dizzying acrobatics, martial arts displays and street theatre
to delicate puppetry, outdoor ballroom dancing, the ubiquitous karaoke
and trendy nightclubs. In addition, many shops in Beijing are open
until 10pm and there are restaurants on every street, often with the
choice of outdoor dining under red lanterns.

Beijing's new-found confidence on the world stage is best experienced
during an evening spent strolling through this wonderfully welcoming
city that retains an intimacy one would find hard to match.

Beijing China World

The Inner Court within the Forbidden City.
Explore China's imperial past in this vast and magnificent World
Heritage site.
This Beijing guide consists of three main sections.

First is the photo-based guide to over 30 places of interest,
including the 'top 5' - the Great Wall of China near Beijing, the
Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and Beihai
Park.

The second section of our Beijing guide discusses chinese culture,
food, transport and nightlife - and the forthcoming 2008 Beijing
Olympics.

The third section of our Beijing guide discusses the practicalities of
a trip to Beijing - visa requirements, money, telephone, buying
antiques, etc.

Our selection of recent news stories.

2007-12-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

History of Beijing
Human activity in the Beijing area goes back about half a million
years, to when 'Peking Man' lived in ZhouKouDian, in the southwestern
suburbs of today's Beijing. The climate at that time was warmer and
more humid than it is today and forests and lakes in the area
supported large numbers of living creatures.

The fossil remains of Peking Man, his stone tools and evidence of the
use of fire, as well as later tools of around 18,000 years ago, bone
needles and articles of adornment from the age of Upper Cave Man are
the earliest cultural relics on record in China today - and among the
earliest in the world.

Tiananmen Gate, between the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.
Emperor Wu was the first to declare the site of Beijing as the capital
in 1057 BC. Subsequently, the city has gone by the names of Ji,
ZhongDu, Dadu, then finally Beijing when the name was chosen by the
Ming Dynasty Emperor ChengZu in 1421. Before 1949, Beijing was known
as Peking by the Western world. Beijing was once again the capital
only when Mao ZeDong declared the People's Republic of China on
October 1st 1949.

'BeiJing' literally means 'north capital', in line with the common
east asian tradition whereby capital cities are explicitly named as
such. Another chinese city similarly named is NanJing, meaning 'south
capital'. At times in history, the capital was declared to be NanJing
rather than BeiJing, according to whether the then current powerbase
lay to the north or south of China.

'YanJing' is another popular informal name for Beijing, a reference to
the ancient State of Yan that existed here during the Zhou Dynasty.
For example, there is the locally brewed 'Yanjing Beer'.

Size and Location

China is bordered by the countries of Indochina to the south, has
Russia and Mongolia to the north, rising-star India to the south west,
and Korea and Japan to the east.

Beijing's Latitude: 39° 55' North
Beijing's Longitude: 116° 23' East

Beijing is an independently administered municipal district, situated
in the northeastern part of China at an elevation of 43.5m above sea
level. Beijing municipality is centered around the capital.

Today, Beijing City covers an area of about 7,000 square kilometers
running 38 kilometers from ShiJingShan in the west to TongXian in the
east.

Beijing Municipality (equivalent to a province in China's
administrative structure) has a total area of 17,000 sq km (about
6,500 sq miles), stretching 160 kilometres from east to west and over
180 kilometres from north to south. The population is about 15 million
of which about 10 million have permanent resident status.

Beijing Municipality borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south
and, for a small section, in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the
southeast.

Beijing is China's second largest city in terms of population, after
Shanghai.

Beijing is widely recognized as the political, educational and
cultural center of China, whereas Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate
in the economic field.

The 38 kilometer long Chang'An (Eternal Peace) boulevard that runs
from east to west through central Beijing concentrates on state,
political and economic affairs. The central areas around the Palace
Museum (Forbidden City) and city gates as well as the lakes -
ZhongNanHai, BeiHai and HouHai - have been designated as protected
landmark districts that retain the features of Old Beijing.

Transportation

Beijing is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads
and expressways entering and leaving it in all directions. It is also
the focal point of many international flights to China.

Following economic reforms, Beijing has evolved to be an important
transportation hub. Sadly, although it was probably necessary, most of
Beijing's city wall was removed between 1965 and 1969 to make way for
the construction of the 2nd Ring Road.

The traffic network now consists of five concentric ringroads (the
outer three are expressways), 28 radial roads (9 express ways), and
underground and suburban railways that are being further developed to
improve links from the center with outlying areas and surrounding
towns, plus several long distance railway routes and an international
airport.

Following the economic reforms of Deng XiaoPing, the urban area of
Beijing expanded greatly. Formerly within the confines of the 3rd Ring
Road, the urban area of Beijing is now pushing at the boundary of the
recently-constructed 5th Ring Road and even the 6th Ring Road that is
currently under construction. Many areas of Beijing that were formerly
farmland have now been developed into residential or commercial
neighborhoods.

Tourism in Beijing

One of the temples at the Summer Palace. Meander the expansive grounds
and take a Dragon Boat across the beautiful lake.
Experience the ancient Chinese ideal of harmony between Man and
Nature.
China is one of the world's most visited countries. Tourism is now
increasing rapidly and is forming an ever more important part of the
economy. It has been projected that China may become the world's
number one tourist destination by 2020.
Historical Beijing is a key attraction. The Forbidden City receives
over 10 million visitors each year (foreign and domestic). In 2005,
over 3.6 million foreign tourists visited Beijing, constituting an
increase of 15% from 2004.

With an eye to the future, an increasing number of historical,
cultural and revolutionary sites in Beijing are being renovated and
opened to the public, a process that started long before Beijing won
hosting of the 2008 Olympics.

Time Zone
Beijing's time zone is UTC/GMT +8 hours.

The whole of China shares the same time zone. There is no daylight
saving time (or 'summer time') at the moment.

Beijing Takes Complete Control Over Hong Kong By MARTIN LEE

2007-12-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

Beijing Takes Complete Control Over Hong Kong
By MARTIN LEE

The honeymoon is over. Beijing's patience is running out. Hong Kong's
recently re-appointed chief executive, Tung Chee Hwa, is about to
install
the necessary legal mechanisms to enable Beijing to suppress the free
press
and dissident groups in Hong Kong.

After many months of careful planning, a consultation paper entitled
"Proposals to Implement Article 23 of the Basic Law" (Hong Kong's
mini-constitution) was released this week by the chief executive.

Article 23 is the most controversial provision in the Basic Law, which
was
promulgated by the National People's Congress in Beijing on April 4,
1990.
This was exactly 10 months after the Tiananmen massacre on June 4,
1989, a
bloody crackdown of what was a peaceful student movement for democracy
and
clean government in mainland China, which drew support from almost the

entire population of Hong Kong.

The timing of the passage of the Basic Law was unfortunate, because it
came
at a time when the Beijing leaders were not even sure of their own
ability
to remain in power. So control was the key word, including over Hong
Kong
affairs. Article 23 therefore requires the Hong Kong Special
Administrative
Region to enact laws to prohibit treason, secession, sedition,
subversion
against the Central People's Government, theft of state secrets and to

prohibit local political groups from having any ties with foreign
political
bodies.

This article has the clear potential to enable Beijing to exercise
absolute
control over the mass media as well as all dissident groups in Hong
Kong.
And fear of being prosecuted is likely to cause the local mass media to

practice even more self-restraint.

More than five years have now elapsed since the handover on July 1,
1997,
and Hong Kong has been extremely stable politically without any such
laws.
But Beijing still wants more control. Two months ago, Qian Qichen, the

Chinese vice-premier responsible for Hong Kong affairs, said publicly
that
Article 23 should be implemented now.

Indeed, all the indications are that the Hong Kong government has been
in
close touch and has reached agreement with Beijing over both the
contents
and timetable for the proposed legislation. This is to ensure that what
is
enacted in Hong Kong will not be inconsistent with the laws in mainland

China even though, under the "one country, two systems" policy and the
Basic
Law, Hong Kong should be left to legislate those provisions "on its
own."
Nor is Beijing supposed to have any power of veto over laws enacted by
the
Legislative Council, Hong Kong's legislature.

So the consultation period of three months is but part of a
public-relations
exercise to win the public's support, in order to shut up any concern
that
may be expressed both in Hong Kong and abroad. But the public will not
be
told the entire truth. Instead, the proposals are all couched in broad

principles and without specifics.

Who can ever object to a law of treason which imposes a penalty of life

imprisonment (for there is no capital punishment in Hong Kong) on
anyone who
joins forces with a foreign power to levy war against the People's
Republic
of China and overturn its government?

But in the same breath, there is a proposal to give additional powers
to the
police. These will allow the police, on the decision of a
superintendent, to
break into and search a person's home or office without a sea
rch
warrant for
most of the Article 23 offences, if he reasonably believes that the
investigation of such an offense would be seriously prejudiced without

immediate entry.

The devil is in the details. But for the Hong Kong government to win
public
support, the devil must not be exposed during this consultation period.
And
the public cannot be expected to read the entire document anyway,
particularly in a gloomy economic climate in Hong Kong when people are
more
worried over the possible loss of their jobs and pay cuts.

But a careful reading between the lines reveals a number of time bombs.
The
following are just two examples:

The most hated people in mainland China must be the Falun Gong
followers who
have long been branded as an evil cult, imprisoned and expelled from
China.
The Falun Gong followers in Hong Kong are currently tolerated by the
Hong
Kong government, although some local as well as foreign Falun Gong
practitioners have been recently arrested and prosecuted in the courts.
And
Mr. Tung, protected by privilege during a recent session in the
Legislative
Council, called the Falun Gong an evil cult.

Under the present proposals, so long as Beijing decides and states that
the
Falun Gong "endangers national security" in mainland China, and that
the
Hong Kong Falun Gong is a branch of the mainland group, the Hong Kong
government would have to take action against Falun Gong followers in
Hong
Kong. In other words, the initiative lies with Beijing.

As for the press, take the hypothetical example of a newspaper that
publishes an article stating that a prime commercial site in the
Central
district of Hong Kong presently occupied by the People's Liberation
Army
would soon be released to the Hong Kong government so that it could be

redeveloped into a large office and commercial complex. If such
information
had come from an unauthorized source, then both the newspaper and the
reporter who wrote the article would be committing a criminal offense
under
the new law, which seeks to protect "information relating to relation
between the Central Authorities of the PRC and the HKSAR," and be
liable to
a prison term of up to five years.

These are shocking scenarios for anyone in any country or territory
where
there is supposed to be the rule of law. Many people outside Hong Kong
will
no doubt wonder why Mr. Tung and his government will do this in Hong
Kong.
The answer is simple: Beijing wants it done.

Mr. Tung would not have been given a second term of office on July 1,
but
for the open support given to him by the top three Beijing leaders. And
with
the recent establishment of a so-called accountability system, which
makes
all senior officials accountable to Mr. Tung, who is in turn only
accountable to Beijing, the Hong Kong government will do everything as

directed by their masters in Beijing.

As for the undemocratically constituted legislature, only 20
legislators out
of a total of 60 members will vote against government proposals, and
the
majority of 40 will support them no matter how bad they are. Further,
there
is effectively no possibility of there ever being a fully
democratically
elected legislature in Hong Kong unless Beijing gives the nod, which
will
only happen if the Beijing leaders are confident that the pro-Beijing
political parties will win elections on a one-person, one-vote basis.

The only thing remaining is an independent judiciary -- but what can
the
most independent judge do to protect human rights if the law in fact
gives
those powers to the government? With the passage of these laws under
Article
23 of the Basic Law, Beijing's control over Hong Kong will be complete.

Mr. Lee is chairman of the Democratic Party, a democratically elected
legislator and a former member of the Basic Law Drafting Committee

IOC awards internet rights in China for 2008 Olympics to CCT

2007-12-21T05:10:00.000-08:00

The International Olympic Committee ( IOC) announced on Tuesday that CCTV.com, a part of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, has been awarded the internet and mobile platform exhibition rights within China for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. As a member of the
Read more

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Tuesday that CCTV.com, a part of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, has been awarded the internet and mobile platform exhibition rights within China for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. As a member of the Read more

Airport notches up 50m passengers

2007-12-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

The Beijing Capital International Airport announced its annual passenger throughput hit a record of 50 million yesterday and would reach 53.31 million by year-end, enabling it to possibly become the world's eighth largest airport by passenger volume.

Li Bianzhuo, a Beijinger in his 30s working in Guangzhou, was the lucky 50-millionth passenger. He arrived yesterday morning aboard a China Southern flight from Guangzhou on a home visit.

Li was invited to act as a supervisor of the airport's services.

Last year, the airport was ninth among the top 10 world airports by passenger traffic, with a passenger transport volume of 48.65 million, according to Geneva-based Airports Council International (ACI) statistics.

"The 50-million mark is a critical point. In the days after it is reached, airport growth would be even faster than before," Professor Li Xiaojin, with the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin, told China Daily yesterday.

Citing the results of research on world airports' development, Li explained that airports with such passenger volumes have enough flights to attract even more passengers seeking convenience.

Yang Guoqing, vice-minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC), said yesterday the airport would accommodate an estimated 64 million passengers next year, when Beijing hosts the 2008 Summer Olympics.

"That will place the airport among the world's top five airports by passenger volume," Yang said.

The airport's new third terminal would open in February, making it one of the largest airports in the world. By then, the airport would be able to handle 82 million passengers annually, up from the current capacity of 35.50 million.

Yang denied worries that the airport's passenger flow might drop after 2008, saying his confidence came from two factors: The airport's important location and its push to become a major air hub in the Asia Pacific region.

It is currently the second largest airport in Asia by passenger volume, after Tokyo, with a passenger throughput of 65.81 million, last year.

But it is agreed that the airport still needs to do more to become an international aviation hub.

Sun Defu, a senior official with the Civil Aviation Administration for the North China Area, told China Daily that airport would need to at least improve the transfer service to attract more international travelers.

"The airport should rearrange the flight schedule to solve flight connection problems and help transfer passengers save time," Sun said.

Growth of China's civil aviation sector is among the fastest in the world, and 15 percent of its passenger flow comes through Beijing.

The airport first reached an annual passenger volume of 10 million in 1993 - 35 years after it opened. But the increase from 40 million to 50 million took only two years

form: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-12/06/content_6302984.htm

Tennis: women's singles Olympic medal 'attainable'

2007-12-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

China will strive for medals in both women's singles and doubles events at the Beijing Olympics, national team head coach Jiang Hongwei told a press conference in Guangzhou.

Grand Slam champions Zheng Jie and Yan Zi have re-ignited fans' gold-medal desires on the heels of the record-breaking success of Li Ting and Sun Tiantian at the Athens Games. But Jiang said a singles medal is also at top of his list.

"China's Olympic goal is to win medals in both singles and doubles events," Jiang said. "As long as our players are healthy for the Beijing Olympics, I think the goal is accessible."

The Chinese team had an unlucky year as the team's top players suffered injuries and the losses increased. But now that top players Li Na and Zheng Jie have returned from injury, the team will be at full strength when it begins its final sprint to the Olympics next month.

"Olympics is the number one thing in the next season," Jiang said. "We will have different programs specifically designed for the Beijing Games. Now we have 50 staff members working with our five elite players. I think not even Roger Federer can have so many people serving him."

According to the Olympic rankings system, the top 50 singles players and top 10 doubles players will automatically be on China's roster.

"I hope we will have four players in the singles draw and two pairs in doubles. If we are able to enter with such a massive force, we will have a chance to achieve what we are dreaming of."

The last year has been a bad one for Chinese players, who had made significant progress by winning gold at the Athens Games and winning doubles trophies at the Australian and Wimbledon Opens.

But two-time Grand Slam women's doubles winner Zheng Jie and China's current female No 1 Li Na both missed half of the 2007 season with injuries. Without its leading stars, the rest of the team could not keep up last year's momentum.

The 24-year-old Zheng, who partnered with Yan Zi to win the women's doubles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006, injured her left ankle in Roland Garros this year and hasn't taken the court since.

To keep his players healthy, Jiang will let the team play fewer tournaments and plans to skip most of the clay-court season.

"We have to pick and choose," he said. "Our Olympic players won't compete in small tournaments anymore as they will focus on Tier I and II events only.

"We won't play the whole clay and grass season because it used to be our most challenging time. The players got sick and injured during it."

Jiang also said Sun Tiantian, one half of the Athens gold-medal team in 2004, will team up with singles ace Peng Shuang as the second pair following Zheng and Yan.

form: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-12/19/content_6332046.htm

How to Run 16 Laps of a 100 Metre Olympic Course

2007-12-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

Steps

Warm up by jogging about 50 metres one way and then jogging back. Don't go too fast; you'll be exhausted and won't be able to run 30 metres!
Jog the first lap and then normally run the second lap. Switch off between jogging and running for each subsequent lap.

Diving

2007-12-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

Diving will be held at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay.

There are eight events in the diving program, being men's 3-metre and platform, women's 3-metre and platform, men's synchronized 3-metre and synchronized platform and women's synchronized 3-metre and synchronized platform.

Beijing 2008

2007-12-19T18:57:00.000-08:00

Beijing 2008: Readiness Takes A Step Closer to Reality

25 October 2007

Bringing to a close its next-to-last meeting before the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games begin, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission today marked an important milestone in its review of preparations for August next year. The three-day meeting with the Beijing 2008 Organising Committee (BOCOG) was the first held since the IOC visit in August, and was the opportunity to fully appraise the results of the test events held over the past months. The meeting gave the Commission members details of Games preparations as well as status reports on how BOCOG and the local Beijing authorities plan to address matters such as air quality, ticketing and the Olympic Torch Relay.

From Understanding to Operational Reality

“The BOCOG team has once again shown us that they have understood what is needed to organise top quality Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Hein Verbruggen, Chairman of the Coordination Commission. “The feedback that we have been receiving from the International Federations and athletes alike, specifically from their experiences at the test events, shows us that BOCOG has been able to translate that understanding into an operational reality. However, in these final months, the need for continuous action is imperative.”

Athletes’ Review

This week’s meeting also brought IOC Athletes’ Commission representatives to Beijing for a review of service levels for athletes at Games time, including a look at the Olympic Village. Their review is a regular part of Games preparations to ensure that the needs of the athletes are met and conform to the high standards expected from the Olympic Games.

The athletes’ representatives group was made up of Olympians Robert Ctvrtlik (volleyball), Rania Elwani (swimming) and Yaping Deng (table tennis), who were selected by the Commission to independently represent the athletes’ interests.

Hong Kong

Before arriving in Beijing, a delegation from the Coordination Commission also visited the co-host city of Hong Kong, where the Beijing 2008 equestrian events will be held. Members visited both venues in Beas River and Sha Tin. They also held meetings with the Hong Kong Equestrian Company, and representatives of the local government and sports authorities. Following the visits and meetings, the Commission members were all highly impressed by the facilities and services that will await the equestrian community in August 2008.

Beijing 2008

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 will take place from 8 to 24 August 2008. The Games in Beijing will play host to the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic programme. Approximately 10,500 athletes are expected to participate in the Games with around 20,000 accredited media bringing the Games to the world.

form: http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/beijing/full_story_uk.asp?id=2366

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Tickets

2007-12-19T18:55:00.000-08:00

14 May 2007

Tickets for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are now available to Olympic fans worldwide through various channels depending on their country of residence.

Chinese residents wishing to obtain Beijing 2008 Olympic tickets should visit the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) website.

Olympic fans from other countries looking for information regarding Beijing 2008 Olympic tickets should contact the National Olympic Committee (NOC) in their territory of residence. Some NOCs may have designated an Official Ticket Agent in order to assist the general public to obtain tickets and services related to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

To find out where you can purchase tickets for the Games please visit the official BOCOG ticketing website.

Fans are reminded that only tickets purchased from or obtained through official/authorised sources will enable entry to venues. Detailed information on official/authorised ticket sources, in particular a list of authorised ticket resellers (in China and internationally) is available on the official Beijing 2008 ticketing website. Fans having purchased or obtained tickets from unofficial or unauthorised sources run the risk of having those tickets cancelled, being refused entry and/or being asked to leave the venue, without receiving a refund or qualifying for an exchange of ticket. Neither the International Olympic Committee nor BOCOG nor any NOC may be held liable for any consequence (such as, without limitation, any loss or damage) related to a ticket purchased from or obtained through an unauthorised or unofficial source.

form: http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/beijing/full_story_uk.asp?id=2156