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Beijing Olympics: the spying games There’s more to the imminent Olympic Games in Beijing than meets the eye. So what’s hidden behind the slogan of One World, One Dream? Isabel Oakeshott, Michael Sheridan and Flora Bagenal in Beijing Two weeks ago, the Whitehall mandarins, ministerial aides and officials who will be in Beijing when the Olympic Games open on Friday were summoned for what they thought would be a series of pro-forma chats with MI5. What they heard was hair-raising. “It was all very James Bond,” according to one of the 100 or more who were called in by the...

Two Britons arrested over Tibet flag protest in Beijing Jane Macartney and Will Pavia in Beijing Four protesters have been arrested after a Briton and an American scaled two flood-lighting poles near the centre of Beijing's tightly patrolled Olympic park this morning and unfurled banners calling for Tibetan independence. Despite intense security that had been ratcheted up further in preparation for the arrival of the Olympic torch relay in the Chinese capital today, the protesters were able to display Tibetan flags and two 140 square-foot banners beside the iconic Bird's Nest Stadium that will host the Olympics opening ceremony on...

A U.S. cyclist arrives wearing a mask at Beijing airport to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, August 5, 2008. (Yves Herman/Reuters)

Expert urges China visitors to encrypt data Aug 3, 2008 - 9:02:10 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's blocking of Web sites has embarrassed the International Olympic Committee, but a computer security expert said on Thursday that visitors to Beijing also needed to protect their data from prying eyes. "People who are going to China should take a clean computer, one with no data at all," said Phil Dunkelberger, chief executive of security software firm PGP Corp.

Beijing Started to Search Passenger's Bags After Bus Explosion By Boxun Aug 1, 2008 - 2:49:29 AM On July 30, one bus of line 120 exploded in Beijing, the incident has been covered up. Source told Boxun, the explosion happened after 8pm. On July 31, workers on the bus received order to search passenger's bags. Bus line 120 passes Tiananmen, the location of explosion and damage are unkown.

Olympic Games show China through a glass, darkly As the opening approaches, preparations reflect a disturbing side of the communist regime Jonathan Fenby Olympic Games news The opening of the Beijing Olympics in eight days' time will, as always planned, attest to China's spectacular material progress since Deng Xiaoping launched market-led economic reform exactly 30 years ago. The array of venues, the gleaming new buildings, the urban infrastructure installed for the Games, will also reflect the genuine pride of a nation that, while still far from rich by Western standards, has made more people better off in a shorter time...

Aussies 'can pull out' over Beijing smog 28th July 2008, 12:56 WST Australian athletes will not be pressured into competing at the Beijing Olympic Games if the air pollution poses a threat to their health and safety. Australian Olympic Committee vice president Peter Montgomery said athletes had the freedom to pull out of events if Beijing's $17 billion push to improve the air quality fails. Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, an asthmatic, has pulled out of the long distance event in Beijing due to concerns the smog would cause lasting damage to his lungs.

The renowed French stage director Ariane Mnouchkine has shot three videos related to the Beijing Olympics. In the first video, a Tibetan lama sits on the track and a bunch of police officers and "goons in blue/white track suits" rush over to remove thim. In the second video, an European diver loses his concentration when he spots a human rights protestor removed by the police. In the third video, the backs of French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife are shown when a protestor waving a Free Tibet is shot right in front and blood is splattered on the arm...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US lawmakers Wednesday accused China of reneging on a commitment to improve human rights when it won the right to host the Olympics, saying it had instead intensified a crackdown on dissent. "There were early indications that China was prepared to improve its behavior as the games approached," said Howard Berman, the Democratic head of the House of Representatives foreign affairs panel. But "the hope was short-lived, as China failed to honor these commitments," he said, citing as examples Beijing's "failed" pledges to allow greater press freedoms and improve its general human rights situation. Reporters Without Borders...

Olympic Athletes Wearing Masks Could Cause China to Lose Face U.S. Committee Developed a Model in Secret; Jarrod Shoemaker Ponders the Geek Factor By CHRISTOPHER RHOADS and STEPHANIE KANG July 21, 2008; Page A1 U.S. triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker has a decision to make at the opening ceremony of the Olympics next month in Beijing: Should he strap on a mask? Chinese officials insist the notorious Beijing air will be cleaner by August, making such contraptions unnecessary. Concerned about the pollution, the U.S. Olympic Committee is distributing a high-tech mask, developed in secrecy, to its more than 600 Olympians. If athletes...

Across China, Security Instead Of Celebration Washington Post[Saturday, July 19, 2008 11:54] Police Crack Down on 'Hostile Forces,' Apply New Safety Measures By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service YENGISHAHAR, China July 19 - Shortly after dawn on July 9, the local government here bused several thousand students and office workers into a public square and lined them up in front of a vocational school. As the spectators watched, witnesses said, three prisoners were brought out. Then, an execution squad fired rifles at the three point-blank, killing them on the spot. The young men had been convicted of having connections...

Police kill two in SW China clash: reports Sat Jul 19, 10:58 PM ET Police have killed two people in a clash with villagers in southwestern China in the latest outburst of social unrest in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, an activist group and state media said on Sunday. The clash occurred Saturday morning in remote Yunnan province when more than 1,000 local rubber growers protested in a dispute over the sale of their crops, the Hong Kong Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said. Police called in to quell the protest in Menglian county then battled with the...

Candid Camera: Severe Atmosphere, Beijing Police Patrol with Assault Weapons for First Time By Boxun Jul 18, 2008 - 3:09:14 PM With less than 20 days until the Olympics, Beijing's streets have seen an increase in Peoples Armed Police in full riot gear, police with special duties and regular beat police. The police are carrying semi-automatic assault weapons for the first time. From the grim expressions on these policemen's faces, it is clear that they are prepared for a surprise attack. Beijing citizens expressed to Boxun that not even after the military crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989 did police...

Beijing to close airport during Games opening ceremony Reuters - Friday, July 18 By Ian Ransom ADVERTISEMENT BEIJING, July 17 - Beijing will restrict aircraft landing and taking off during the Olympic Games opening ceremony on Aug. 8, airline officials said on Thursday, forcing the rescheduling of dozens of flights due to security concerns. Domestic media reports quoted unnamed aviation sources as saying that Beijing Capital Airport would be closed to all "non-Olympic" traffic between 8 p.m. and midnight on the evening of the opening ceremony. A spokesperson from Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific confirmed the reports, and said the airline...

Qingdao Experiences a Mysterious Epidemic, Experts Suspect Epidemic Cerebrospinal Meningitis Jul 16, 2008 - 3:11:11 PM In July Qingdao Experiences a Mysterious Epidemic, Experts Suspect Epidemic Cerebrospinal Meningitis In July 2008, at the hospital affiliated with Qingdao University, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, and other large hospitals, every day tens of thousands of people exhibiting common cold symptoms have been referred from small and medium sized hospitals around the city. These patients all exhibit common symptoms including extreme headaches, vomiting, high fevers that do not break and other symptoms of illness. Senior citizens and children are exhibiting even more extreme symptoms that...

Beijing 2008: China invites Sonia, not PM or Prez 14 Jul 2008, 0006 hrs IST,TNN NEW DELHI: Eighty heads of state and government will grace the Beijing Olympics in August but PM Manmohan Singh will not be among them. Not because he is too busy, but because he was not invited. In fact, neither India's head of state nor government have been invited, with the invitation going to its most important politician, Sonia Gandhi. The Congress chief is unlikely to attend, leaving that job to sports minister M S Gill. But even if you are really charitable, it can't be...

I was evicted because of security clampdown for the Beijing Olympics Jane Macartney in Beijing I will miss the tree-lined alley in the heart of Beijing that has been my home for three years. But the security clampdown for the Beijing Olympics has edged into even this narrow lane. It was always clear that the Olympics would disrupt the lives of the people of Beijing, that security would be intense and the rules and regulations deeply intrusive. But it's always a surprise when this happens to you. The underlying factor in all this is fear. Fear pervades the system in...

China's "Live" Olympic Broadcast Will Be Delayed 10 Seconds to Avoid Airing any Embarrassing Political Episodes By chinafreepress.org Jul 8, 2008 - 11:41:36 PM To avoid broadcasting any undesirable incident, China's government has instituted a 10-second delay on the "live" broadcast of the Olympics. According to sources, the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party has ordered all regional television stations to implement a 10 second delay on their "live" Olympic broadcast. This delay order is meant to protect against any political protest--whether shouting a slogan or unveiling a banner--being broadcast, including any by foreign athletes in competition or...

Olympic Games: China curbs Tiananmen Square live broadcasts Broadcasts from Tiananmen Square have been banned Ashling O'Connor Olympics Correspondent The Chinese authorities have banned round-the-clock broadcasts from Tiananmen Square during the Olympics. Beijing Games organisers yesterday cited fears of overcrowding as they told international broadcasters that they could set up live positions only between 6am and 10am and 9pm and 11pm local time because of competing demands for the world's largest urban square from tourists, heads of state and other VIPs. The restrictions mean that the BBC's stock-in-trade live interview with its correspondent will be missing from primetime news programmes....

Sarkozy not welcome at Olympics, say China media Thu Jul 3, 2008 6:35am EDT By Chris Buckley BEIJING (Reuters) - China made a barely veiled swipe at French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday and state media warned he can expect a cold public shoulder if he attends the Beijing Olympics after he threatened not to go over Tibet. Sarkozy has said he will decide next week whether to attend the opening of the Games in August, with his choice depending on how talks go between Beijing and the Dalai Lama's envoys. China often lashes out at foreign leaders for meeting...

China in major battle against locusts; hopes to prevent migration to Beijing BEIJING - More than 33,000 exterminators have been dispatched to battle a locust infestation in northern China. The official Xinhua news agency says officials hope the effort will prevent a potentially disastrous migration to the Beijing area during next month's Olympic Games. The insects, which devour crops, routinely plague Inner Mongolia, which is home to one-fifth of China's grasslands. Xinhua quotes one top agriculture official as saying China has launched a `full prevention plan' to prevent locust migration during the Games. Under the plan, some 200 tonnes of...

Beijing's water supply in state of crisis Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:12am EDT By Chris Buckley BAODING, China (Reuters) - China's ambitious hopes for a "green" Beijing Olympics have magnified, not relieved, the city's reckless dependence on water from strained underground supplies and a mammoth canal project, a critical report says. Beijing has promoted its 2008 Games as a nature-friendly festival of sport, but water for the expanses of greenery and sparkling waterways greeting visitors in August will be pumped from sources already battered by over-use and over-engineering, says Probe International, a Canada-based conservation group. "With each new project to...

Chinese call for Kung Fu Panda ban after Steven Spielberg pulls out of Olympics By Richard Spencer in Beijing Last updated: 2:22 AM BST 21/06/2008 Nationalist young Chinese are urging the country's censors to ban the Hollywood film Kung Fu Panda, in revenge for Steven Spielberg's decision to pull out of the Olympics. Spielberg was due to have been artistic adviser to the Games' opening ceremony, but announced he would no longer be taking part in protest at China's support for the Sudanese government, accused of war crimes in Darfur. His decision caused an uproar on China's active and often...

THE TORCH IN THE WILD WEST Faking the Olympic Spirit in China's Muslim Region By Andreas Lorenz The Olympic torch is in China's far West and security is tight. Still, there are some who came out to celebrate the event -- 200 invited guests and a handful of well-trained Uighar schoolchildren. Journalists were watched closely. A gigantic statue of Mao waves to the people who have gathered in his shadow on Wednesday morning to celebrate the Olympic flame. But despite the size of the stone figure, there aren't many milling about on Kashgar's main square: Perhaps 200 invited guests --...

China said discouraging tourist travel to France By HENRY SANDERSON – 11 hours ago BEIJING (AP) — France seems to be falling off the itinerary of Chinese tourists, in a display of China's pique at French support for protesting Tibetans and angry demonstrations against the Olympic torch on the streets of Paris. Some Chinese travel agents have stopped selling tours to France in recent weeks, in some cases removing offerings from their Web sites. Others said demand for such trips had plummeted by 20 percent or more. "Our business as a whole is now 33 percent lower than that of...

Now that the shock of the earthquake, which they could not control, in Sichuan province has dissipated somewhat, China's leaders are focusing again on something that they think they can control: people. Sports fans attending the 2008 Olympics in Beijing will have a long list of rules to carry in their pockets along with their tickets. On its Web site last week, the Chinese Olympic organizing committee listed a set of restrictions for the 500,000 overseas visitors expected in August. Olympic spectators are being told not to bring in "anything detrimental" to China, including printed materials, photos, records or movies.

Japanese police officers stand on guard as pro-China supporters wave Chinese national flags before the start of the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008. Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai, left, looks at Olympic flame attendants charged with the flame during the starting ceremony for the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan, Saturday, April 26, 2008. Pro-China supporters cheer as a police officer stand on guard before the start of the Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan April 26, 2008. Holding small Chinese flags and a placard welcoming the Beijing Olympic torch relay,...

April 24, 2008 Chinese spectators 'attacked Tibet protesters at Canberra torch relay' Paul Larter, in Brisbane Mobs of Chinese supporters were accused of assaulting pro-Tibet campaigners on the sidelines of the Olympic torch relay in Australia today as scuffles broke out and at least seven protesters were arrested. There was none of the violence or disruption that marred the torch relay in London or Paris, and the Olympic flame travelled uninterrupted through Canberra, the capital. But observers said that behind the barricades Chinese nationals assaulted Tibetan activists and tore down their flags. Confrontations between an estimated 15,000 China supporters and...

China visa curbs criticised by foreigners Reuters - Friday, April 18 12:21 pm HONG KONG (Reuters) - Foreigners travelling to China from Hong Kong are being subjected to new visa restrictions ahead of the Beijing Olympics, which one foreign business chamber has criticised as inflexible, costly and lacking transparency. (Advertisement) Hong Kong, a gateway to China for foreign businessmen given the convenience of shuttling across the border on swiftly obtained China visas, was hit this week by tightened rules amid increased security just months before the Games begin. Citizens of 33 countries, including India, Pakistan, Iraq and Nepal, have been...

Anti-French protests erupt in central China and Beijing AFP[Saturday, April 19, 2008 12:25] Locals burn a French national flag outside a Carrefour supermarket in Qingdao, Shandong province April 18, 2008. Chinese official media have sought to temper nationalist calls to boycott foreign businesses accused of backing Tibetan independence, urging angry citizens to focus on economic development. (Stringer/Reuters) BEIJING, April 19 - Hundreds of Chinese citizens protested on Saturday in the central city of Wuhan and in Beijing against France's attitude towards Tibet and the Olympic Games, according to police and witnesses. Many of the demonstrators congregated in front of Carrefour,...

For days, Lobsang Gendun has been staying in a hotel, avoiding his telephone and trying to duck an Olympic firestorm that he had no part in creating. Since last week, when his name was mistakenly linked to a protester in Paris who tried to snatch the Olympic torch from an athlete in a wheelchair, Gendun has been inundated with blistering and sometimes threatening phone calls and e-mails. Internet sites posted his name, address, phone number and even a map of his neighborhood along with inflammatory comments. His employer has been accused of keeping a "terrorist" on the payroll. It's true...

China's ally Pakistan holds top-security Olympic torch ceremony in stadium to foil street protests Pakistan hosted its leg of the troubled Olympic torch relay today in an invitation-only event guarded by tight security imposed by its pro-China government. Clearly worried about the possibility of protests or attacks on the high-profile ceremony, thousands of police stood guard with sniffer dogs. Protests against China's human rights record in Tibet have dogged the torch in London, Paris and San Francisco, but Pakistan has gone to great lengths to avoid trouble during the Olympic symbol's 22-hour visit. Televised live - the only way the...

April 16, 2008 CNN apologises to China over 'thugs and goons' comment by Jack Cafferty (CNN) Jack Cafferty was forced to apologise for his comments towards China Alexi Mostrous CNN was forced to apologise today after a news commentator called the Chinese as a “bunch of goons and thugs”. Jack Cafferty made the comments on April 9 on CNN’s political programme, The Situation Room, in which he also described Chinese products as "junk". In a statement, CNN said: “It was not Mr. Cafferty’s nor CNN’s intent to cause offence to the Chinese people, and we would apologise to anyone who...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A boycott of Olympic ceremonies by world leaders over China's crackdown in Tibet would be an evasion of responsibility and less effective than quiet diplomacy, the U.S. national security adviser said on Sunday. The remarks by White House adviser Stephen Hadley come as a challenge to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has said she will not attend the opening ceremony of this year's Beijing Olympics, and to those calling for President George W. Bush and other leaders to do the same. "I think unfortunately a lot of countries say 'well, if we say we are not going...

Chinese bloggers claim Coca-Cola backs Tibetans Tania Branigan in Beijing The Guardian, Wednesday April 9 2008 Article history About this articleClose This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday April 09 2008 on p17 of the International section. It was last updated at 00:05 on April 09 2008. First Tibetan exile groups attacked Coca-Cola for sponsoring the Olympic torch relay. Now the soft drink company is under fire from the other side of the political divide - with Chinese nationalists boycotting the brand after a blogger claimed one of its adverts supported Tibetan independence. The poster - spotted in a...

BEIJING — China faced rare criticism of its human rights record from the head of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday, even as calls for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Games grew louder in Europe and the United States. The president of the Olympic committee, Jacques Rogge, called on the authorities in Beijing to respect their “moral engagement� to improve human rights in the months leading up to the Games and to provide the news media with greater access to the country. He also described the protests that have dogged the international Olympics torch relay as a...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentine runners relayed the Olympic torch past fenced-off protesters on Friday, as hundreds of China supporters in red windbreakers tried to reverse weeks of bad publicity for the host of the Summer Games. Activists opposing China's human rights record unfurled banners and promised "entertaining surprises" but pledged to keep their demonstrations peaceful after protests marred stops in London, Paris and San Francisco. Hundreds of spectators cheered as Chinese delegates wearing Argentina's blue-and-white lit the torch from a lantern that has carried the flame from the site of the ancient Olympic games in Greece. Mayor Mauricio Macri...

April 11, 2008 Japan bans tracksuited Chinese torch guards, as relay moves to Buenos Aires Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent The "thug" Chinese security guards who have accompanied the Olympic torch on its route through London, Paris and San Fransisco, will not be allowed to make a repeat performance in Japan. Matters of security on Japanese soil will be handled by the domestic police alone, and that principle will not be compromise just because it is the Olympics, said the Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission in Tokyo. “I do not personally accept the idea that they will run...

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. secretary-general has told China's government that he may not attend the August's opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Asked later whether Ban Ki-moon would not be attending the Olympics, spokeswoman Marie Okabe said in a news conference, "Yes. That's correct." "The secretary-general had conveyed to the Chinese government some months ago that he may not be in a position to accept the invitation to attend this important event due to scheduling issues," Okabe said. Ban is planning "a substantive visit to China" instead, Okabe said. Human rights campaigners have called on...

Who are the men in blue? Chinese paramilitary team protects Olympic flame AP[Wednesday, April 09, 2008 03:01] By Anita Chang BEIJING, April 6 - They wear bright blue tracksuits and Beijing Olympic organizers call them "flame attendants." But a military bearing hints at their true pedigree: paramilitary police sent by Beijing to guard the Olympic flame during its journey around the world. Torchbearers have criticized the security detail for aggressive behaviour, and a top London Olympics official simply called them "thugs." "They were barking orders at me, like 'Run! Stop! This! That!' and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, who...

Torch divides San Francisco's Chinese community By Adam Tanner 1 hour, 46 minutes ago San Francisco's large Chinese American community is divided about the Olympic torch's passage through their city on Wednesday, with some saying protesting the symbol headed to their ancestral home could prove an embarrassing distraction. "A majority of Chinese Americans are proud of China in the way they have raised the standard of living," said Rolland Lowe, who practiced as a doctor in the city's Chinatown for 43 years before retiring two years ago. "China used to be called the sick man of Asia and for them...

Officials put out Olympic torch 3 times By JEROME PUGMIRE and ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writers 1 hour, 12 minutes ago Security officials extinguished the Olympic torch three times Monday as protests against China's human rights record turned a relay through Paris into a chaotic series of stops and starts. Despite massive security, at least two activists got within almost an arm's length of the flame before they were grabbed by police. Officers tackled many protesters and carried off some of them. A protester threw water at the torch but failed to extinguish it and was also taken away. At...

April 6, 2008 UN pulls out of North Korea Olympic torch ceremony amid fears of propaganda coup Michael Sheridan, Far East Correspondent THE United Nations has withdrawn its staff from the Olympic torch run in North Korea amid concerns that the relay will be used as a propaganda stunt. The decision followed a heated internal debate among foreign donors, who face a constant battle with Kim Jong-il’s government in their efforts to get food and aid to impoverished people. It is believed to be the first acknowledgment by the world body that the Olympic torch relay is a political event...

Beijing seeks PR advisers on Tibet By Jim Pickard in London and Richard McGregor in Beijing Published: April 4 2008 01:48 | Last updated: April 4 2008 01:48 The Chinese government is set to hire an international public relations agency in the wake of the Tibet crisis. The agency will advise it on strategies to repair its image before the Beijing Olympics. Several British and US agencies were invited to interviews with Chinese officials to discuss a contract, which includes pre-games PR strategies, media training and market research on western perceptions of China. The winner has not yet been announced,...

MUMBAI, India (Reuters) - India's marksmen are threatening to boycott the Beijing Olympics unless the government steps in to help alleviate a shortage of ammunition for training.

CHINA has told Australia its army should oversee the local leg of the Olympic torch relay amid mounting security concerns. Chinese officials have asked Australian Federal Police to hand over security to its own forces to ensure protests do not mar the relay when it lands in Australia next month. The move – which has been rebuffed by the AFP – comes as Beijing reels from an embarrassing relay launch in Greece when human rights activists hijacked the event. China has responded by radically cutting back its relay legs in cities where it expects more trouble, police sources told The...

March 25, 2008 Arrests made after police crack down on China protests at Olympic torch ceremony John Carr in Athens Anti-China protesters evaded tight security to disrupt yesterday’s Olympic torch ceremony, raising fears that the flame’s procession through London in a fortnight may be similarly hijacked. Three men from a French media rights group breached a police cordon around Olympia to unfurl a flag demanding a boycott of this summer’s Beijing Olympics. Later ten Tibetan activists staged a protest in the town’s main street before they were detained or chased off by Greek police. Tenzin Dorjee, a Tibetan activist who...

via translation - ALERT - UL-2008 - Two men are trying to disrupt the ceremony ignition OLYMPIA (Greece) - Two men attempted to grab the microphone during the speech of the head of the Chinese Organizing Committee for games (Bocog), Liu Qi, ceremony, lighting of the flame in Olympia, according to several witnesses.

EU parliament Pres. says Olympics boycott should be considered By DPA and Haaretz Service Tags: Hans-Gert Poettering, China A boycott of this summer's Beijing Olympic Games should be considered if China does not re-evaluate its actions in Tibet, the president of the European Parliament said in an interview to be published in a German newspaper on Sunday. "Beijing must decide. It must negotiate with the Dalai Lama immediately," Hans-Gert Poettering told the mass circulation Bild newspaper. Poettering added that boycott measures were justified, if there was no attempt at reconciling the differences. "We should not exclude the possibility of a...

Guns, drugs, explosives, and poisonous and radioactive materials will be banned from Beijing's Olympic venues, a security official said yesterday. Animals, drinks, radio equipment, and banners and oversized flags will also be prohibited, but guide dogs and small flags on poles shorter than 1m will be allowed, Zhu Yijun, from the Beijing Olympic security command center, said at a press conference to announce the new security regulation. Drinks are banned to remove the risk of spectators throwing containers, while radio equipment makes the no-go list as it may disturb TV broadcasts and the operation of security equipment, he said. Banners...