One thing that most people expected the Beijing Games to be was controversial and this week has accomplished just that. I must admit I found it rather interesting to see and read the reactions to the news that Lin Miaoke, the little girl in the red dress who sang “Hymn To The Motherland” to start the Opening Ceremonies, was only lip-syncing during the presentation. The singer who we heard that night has been revealed to be Yang Peiyi, who won the competition to sing this song during the Opening Ceremonies, but who at the last minute was replaced by Miaoke because of her physical appearance.

As expected, many commentators who spoke out against this deception by the Chinese organizers used this to prove their point that the Chinese government couldn’t be trusted and as such, the Beijing Games were a sham. Really. Someone had better tell Michael Phelps to put a hold on the celebration then. Granted, this is a disappointing revelation, but a bit of context is needed here. Click here to continue reading »”The Controversial Faces of The Beijing Games”

Yesterday, the world was treated to a visual spectacle as the Beijing Olympics finally arrived. Watching coverage of the Opening Ceremonies, I noticed that every time a new country arrived in the stadium for the Parade of Athletes, the commentators pointed out the star athletes in that team or at least what sports they would be participating in. Sometimes, they even shared stories about what one athlete in that country’s team had endured or what they went through to get to this point – stories that helped heighten the sense of wonder and appreciation for all the years of hard work these athletes did to reach this pinnacle of sports. Noticeably absent in these commentators’ remarks were any comments about China’s human rights record or political stances on world issues. And that is exactly as it should be – after all, how many of us would appreciate watching the Stanley Cup, the World Series, Wimbledon, the World Cup or any other major sporting event and hear comments being made about the host nation’s foreign or domestic policy? Is that really why we’re watching these events? No, it’s not. It’s not about any of that; instead, these are sporting events where the focus must be on the competing athletes and their respective performances. Click here to continue reading »”Beijing Opening Ceremonies – Let the Protests, er, Games Begin”

A new controversy surrounding the Beijing Games erupted this week and once again, in a rather predictable fashion, calls for boycotting the Olympics rang out across the Net. Reporters from around the globe arriving in Beijing this past week to cover the Games found themselves being denied access to certain sites on the internet. It turned out that the Chinese government’s assurance that they would not censor the internet during the Beijing Games had gone unfulfilled. In addition, there were reports that the air quality in Beijing was still a concern as a haze could be seen in the air despite various efforts put into effect by the Chinese government to curb the levels of air pollution.

Apparently, that was then and this is now. Speaking at his first press conference in Beijing today, IOC president Jacques Rogge announced that many of the internet sites that were found to be blocked earlier in the week are now accessible to foreign journalists and Olympic officials have announced that the air quality in Beijing for the last six days has been deemed “adequate” for the Olympic Games. Click here to continue reading »”The Beijing Olympics Fiasco – Who’s Really To Blame”

While away on vacation, I heard a news report about the upcoming Beijing Games that, in addition to being responsible for causing a fair amount of head shaking, had me pondering about how the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010 will be received. The report in question dealt with the announcement by Chinese officials that they will be putting in place a ban on the serving of dog meat, known in China as xiangrou (translation – “fragrant meat”), in all official Olympic venues during the Beijing Games next month. Apparently, like the 1988 Seoul Games, the Chinese Olympic officials want to make sure there won’t be any dog meat offerings on restaurant menus out of fear that it would upset the tourists. I don’t know about you, but I found this news rather disturbing.

Now to be clear, this isn’t about any issues regarding the farming or slaughter of dogs as a source of meat, nor is it yet another vegetarian’s attempt to demonstrate the evil behind eating animals since I’m not a vegetarian. Click here to continue reading »”Hello, Beijing – Hold the Dog, Please”