Olympics in China
by Casey Flynn
The games of the 29th Olympiad in 2008 have been awarded to the city of Beijing. The International Olympic Committee picked China over rival bids from Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, Turkey, and Osaka, Japan.
Beijing won on the second round of a secret ballot. Toronto received 56 votes, while China edged them out with 1.3 billion votes.
In the above picture, the Chinese Olympic committee breaks out in celebration. They then went outside to their vehicles, parked in a row in the front of the building (picture below) and headed out to join the larger celebration.
The announcement set off an official celebration of fireworks, songs and flag-waving by thousands of people in Millennium Square in the western part of the Chinese capital.
Unfortunately during the celebration, there was an explosion at a Chinese fireworks factory, and in the picture above, the workers from the factory are screaming in sheer terror as they run for their lives.
"Comrades! We express our deep thanks to all our friends around the world and to the IOC for helping to make Beijing successful in its Olympic bid," President Jiang Zemin shouted to the crowd after he and other members of the cabinet and Communist Party politburo appeared briefly on stage in Beijing. "But Comrades, I have even better news, CBS has just awarded us, 'Survivor IV: Tibet'"
In Communist party headquarters in Beijing, they sent out thank you notes to the IOC. The thank you notes were in a stack of letters that included bills for the bullets used to execute political prisoners - addressed to their respective families.
The above picture is of the Chinese Red Army (I believe) near the Tibetan holy city of Lhasa. They have guns with bayonets; have you met any Tibetan Buddhist; they're not exactly the concealed-handgun type of folks.
Already human rights groups are up in arms about the decision to award the Olympics to China. Wang Chung, a former Chinese political prisoner, told his harrowing story about his imprisonment in China to Wolf Blitzer of CNN news.
After seven years I was finally let out, and I went to the checkout station of the prison to gather my personal effects. I received back my wallet, my watch, some family pictures, my diary, and the rest of my personal effects. The guard asked me, "Is anything missing?" "Yes," I replied, "My left kidney." (See Wang Guoqi, in testimony to U.S. lawmakers, he described coordinated procedures between surgeons and Chinese government officials to extract convicts' organs immediately after executions. Type that name in search engine to get that result).
Nevertheless, Chinese officials want to put their past history of human rights abuses and memories of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square behind them and present a new image of the modern China.
When the games arrive in 2008, Chinese Olympic officials plan to have some representative figure of the new China light the Olympic flame, while the Red Army holds down the Dalai Lama inside the bowl that will hold the flame.
Indeed, the Olympic torch - with a 'Made-in-China' emblem - is already working its way through China, presently in Tibet. As it moves towards the capital of Lhasa, the Olympic torch is immolating Buddhist monks and burning Tibetan Buddhist villages.
While the IOC was debating about whether to award the Olympics to China, the following was taking place:
1. China began construction on a 35-meter tall nondescript cinder block structure, named "the Monument to Tibet's Peaceful Liberation", on top of a razed, 1500-year Buddhist temple, near the Potala Palace, once the winter residence of the now exiled Dalai Lama. President Jiang Zemin thanked the Tibetan people for helping to build the structure in their capacity as 'concrete filler'. Part of the structure will be used to commemorate those who took part in "Tibet's liberation", especially members of the People's Liberation Army, but most of the building will be used as clothing factory for 'Old Navy' tec. vests.
2. They attempted to sell the American EP-3 surveillance plane (knocked down on Hainan Island) on e-bay.
Other observations about the upcoming Olympics:
1. The slogan of the Atlanta Olympics was: 'Bringing Nation's Together', Sydney, 'Peace in the New Millennium', and now China has unveiled their new slogan: "Good with Math".
2. The officials food of the Atlanta Olympics: Barbecued Chicken, Sydney: Shrimp on the Barbie, and now China has announced that the official food for the 2008 Olympics will be: Szechwan Cat, served at the 5.95 Chinese buffet in the Olympic Village (100% free-range, alley cat; no frozen pre-packaged cat).
3. Official quote of the 2008 Olympics: Confucius says: "In the presence of a good man, think all the time how you may learn to equal; in the presence of a bad man, turn your gaze within, and one more thing, we – Chinamen – all look alike.
4. Warning to American tourists for the 2008 Olympics: Don't ride any rickshaws with Firestone tires. In the hotels of Beijing, those little red books do not contain quotes from the New Testament. While walking around the streets, hold your purse very close to your side, protecting your kidneys.
