[Feature] Beijing Olympics herald a return to China’s powerful past

Beijing radiates outward from the Forbidden City. To the south of the ancient palace spreads Tiananmen Square, whose courtyard the Emperor would gaze across. Atop the hillock to the North is Beihai Park. Though the city's area is ten times larger than that of Seoul and 17 million people reside within its tenuous boundaries, the cityscape is visible in its entirety from Beihai Park, due to the flatness of the metropolis.

To the east of the Forbidden City is a line of skyscrapers, reminiscent of New York's. Beijing's other monuments - its huge tower cranes - are also a sight to behold. High-rise buildings, including some 110 hotels, are under construction in every direction. The work continues 24 hours a day and, as a result, buildings spring up overnight. Beijing has devoted some $US30 billion to the building of structures for the 2008 Olympics and the general improvement of the environment. There are many roads making concentric circles around the Forbidden City. Construction is in full swing between the two outermost roads. Such will be the scene of the "Olympic Town" to be used for the opening ceremonies on August 29, 2008.

Chinese authorities will use the Beijing Olympics to promote Chinese culture and technology abroad as well as to celebrate national character within the country. Last year, China conducted a "practice drill" of sorts for the Olympics at the China-Africa Forum, at which the presidents of 35 developing African nations were present. Chinese authorities mobilized 810,000 police, public officials, and retired party members to maintain peace and order as well as to control traffic. In order to quell congestion problems in the city center, government workers handed over their car keys for the duration of the forum and got around on foot. Thanks to such efforts, the city streets were as quiet as they would be on a holiday. After the festivities ended, the government thanked the people for their "voluntary cooperation" via mobile phone text message.

However, the goals of winning the most medals and smoothly running the Olympics are but minor aims in China's grand scheme. Indeed, China's true hope is to prove to all that it is, indeed, the center of the world, as its traditional name of "Middle Country" suggests. This is seen in the ambitious plans to send the Olympic Torch to Beijing only after bringing it to the top of the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest in the Himalayas. They are preparing special equipment for the torchbearer to endure the oxygen deprivation and fierce cold of the summit.

Since the reforms of 1978, China has achieved an average annual growth of nearly 10 percent. It has the fourth largest GDP, and holds over $US1 trillion in foreign reserves. That said, China's GDP last year of $2.7 billion was one-fifth that of the United States, and though China produces 70 percent of the world's watches, they only earn 10 percent of the total profits that the timepieces bring in. Internally, they must face such problems as excessive investments, the impoverishment of the rural sector, and wealth polarization.

Even so, self-confidence accrued from unprecedented economic growth has combined with a sense of traditional pride. Yan Xeutong, director of Tsinghua University's Institute fo International Studies said, "There is definitely a goal of attaining economic superiority, and thanks to China's management abilities, growth in quantity and quality will continue."

A Beijing taxi driver said, "China is big, so the results of this Olympics will be greater than those achieved through the Seoul Olympics."

Park Seung-ho, the chief of the Samsung Economic Research Institute in Beijing said that "the potential of the domestic market, the improvement in policies, and economic utilitarianism all present reasons for optimism. Recently, pessimistic voices have become as loud as the optimistic ones, but we think that the authorities will be able to effectively manage things."

Last year, the government-run CCTV broadcast and released on DVD a popular television show titled, "The Rise of Great Nations," which reawakened the Chinese people's belief in their nation's centrality among the countries of the world. In analyzing the rise and fall of nine great historical powers, including the Netherlands, England, and the U.S., the television show was seen as a declaration to the Chinese people that their nation would also travel down the path of greatness. Furthermore, it conveyed the message that a national strategy for achieving elite status had already been determined. Many viewers spoke of a common perception that, although not explicitly indicated by the drama, China would be the tenth nation to ascend to greatness. Tsinghua University's Yan Xeutong said, "Chinese people saw the message of that TV show as an all-too natural conclusion. This type of thought began long ago, as witnessed in the Han, Tang, Ming, and Qing empires. If they do not become the strongest nation, they will hold their leaders to blame." Professor Kenneth Lieberthal of the University of Michigan spoke in an interview with TIME of a new sense of Chinese self-confidence, of a belief that the 21st century belongs to China.

CCTV frequently broadcasts stories regarding Iraq and Iran. There are few people as interested in global events and trends as are the Chinese. While China on the one hand promotes economic integration through ASEAN, it also invests in Central Asia and Africa, as well as Latin and South America, thus spreading its economic influence. The tenet of Sinocentrism underlies all of these endeavors. Many Chinese believe that their race and culture are superior, and that China belongs at the center of world affairs. Such a belief was present 200 years ago, as well, when Chinese bragged of being at the heart of the world, and that the world's center could be found within the walls of the Forbidden City. Thus, many feel now that their current prosperity is a resumption of their traditional power, which was "briefly interrupted." As Yan Xeutong said, "the Chinese do not think that they are pursuing something new and unfounded, but are rather recovering something that belongs to them."

The current Chinese leadership is fulfilling the late Deng Xiaoping's words, to "exclusively focus on economic development for 100 years." Though economic development may plant dreams of democratization and threaten the Communist Party, if the Communist Party is to stay in power, it has no choice but to carry out development plans. The Communist Party has drafted detailed plans to carry out their country's development, and is currently implementing reforms to provide the locomotion to propel such growth. After all, economic growth is the common goal of all.

Immanuel Wallerstein of Yale University asserted that the decline of U.S. hegemony, which began after the Vietnam War, has accelerated in the wake of 9/11. He argues that ruling powers are focusing on military might, while the nations that will succeed them in power are instead focusing on economic matters. Wang Jisi, Dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University said, "America's soft power is declining rapidly, and international political multi-polarity is inevitable." It would seem that Wallerstein's assertions are indeed proving true.

Though the Chinese speak of peace and harmony, China has always treated as friends those who cooperate with its will, and those who rebel as enemies. Sinocentrism will one day play a greater role in Chinese foreign relations. The Beijing Olympics will not be remembered as a signal of China's new rise so much as festivities marking the restoration of the Chinese empire. In effect, in relation to developing domestic conditions, the flame of Chinese nationalism will begin to burn brighter.

source: english.hani.co.kr

Beijing to build Olympic boulevard

(CRI) Updated: 2007-02-05 09:46
The 2008 Olympic Games winners will be asked to leave their handprint or footprint on the 1.3 kilometer long Olympic Boulevard, Beijing plans to build in 2007.

The blueprint of Beijing Olympic Boulevard.

Vice Director of Beijing Municipal Develop and Reform Commission, Wang Haiping, said the 200-meter wide boulevard will stretch from Huandao Road on the North Fourth Ring Road to the south gate of the Olympic Park.

The construction will cost around 120 million yuan (15 million U.S. dollars).

The design of the boulevard will conform with the environment-friendly, humanistic ideals of the Beijing Games.

The road and footpath will be constructed from absorbent and skid-resistant material, while energy-saving lights will line both sides of the street. Two fountain squares at the beginning and end of the boulevard will provide the public will an ideal place to rest and relax. In addition, ten sports sculptures will continue the Olympic theme throughout the boulevard.

Like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Olympic boulevard will contain handprints and footprints from the 2008 Olympic champions.

Beijing`s past lies under its future

Beijing, Jan 27: Underneath the state of the art Olympic venues that will project a thoroughly modern image of China to the world in 2008 lies a 2,000-year-old reminder that Beijing also has a long and rich history. Excavations on the land where the iconic "Bird's Nest" national stadium and "Water Cube" aquatic center now dominate the city's skyline have unearthed a Han Dynasty graveyard. After surveying more than a million square meters of land at all 31 venue sites in the city, archaeologists said they had discovered more than 700 tombs and 1,500 artifacts, from jade belts to Ming dynasty glassware. "Now we have a much clearer picture of what existed underground, 2,000 years ago this was a concentration of tombs," Kong Fanzhi, head of China's Cultural Relic Protection Bureau, told reporters on Friday at a 500-year-old temple on the Olympic Green. The temple, dedicated to a Taoist goddess, is a group of wood framed buildings with traditional Chinese tiled pavilion roofing and stands as a stark contrast to the "Water Cube" with its groundbreaking exterior of translucent cushions. "The government attaches great importance to the preservation of the relics," Kong added. "So we've had a lot to do in the building of the venues." PLANS CHANGE The site of the Olympic Green was chosen specifically because it was outside the walls of the Yuan and Ming Dynasty cities, Kong said, but the discovery of the temple had forced planners to site the aquatic center 100 meters north of its original home. Another temple of similar Ming vintage dedicated to the "dragon god of rivers" sits opposite what will be the athletes' village with a quartet of stone, obelisk-bearing "ninth sons of dragons" guarding the entrance. Used as housing since the 1911 revolution ended imperial rule in China, both temples are having their wooden structures replaced and the roof tiles and fierce gargoyles restored. Excavation of the graves at the site of the "Bird's Nest" had revealed bricks and mortar tombs for the ordinary people with special porcelain vessels containing the remains of monks, Kong said. Kong's colleague Song Dachuan said the biggest surprise had been the discovery of a cluster of graves of eunuchs with "exquisite artifacts" at the shooting venue to the west of the city. Bureau Report

Favorable Visa Rules for Beijing Olympics

To cater for the influx of foreign visitors next year when China hosts the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, favorable visa rules will be in place, a senior immigration official said yesterday.

Anyone with valid Olympic Identity and Accreditation Cards (OIAC) will be allowed to enter China without a visa one month before and leave during the four weeks after the Games, Li Changyou, deputy director of the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, said at a press conference.

The Games will be held from August 8 to 24 meaning cardholders can enter the country without a visa from July 8 to September 24.

It's a common practice for host countries to offer visa-free entry to OIAC holders. The OIAC is a personalized card granted by the International Olympic Committee that gives its holder the right to attend the Games for participation or in a work capacity.

Li said China had already loosened some requirements including the granting of one-year employment permits to people coming to work in the run up to the Games.

China currently offers visa-free entry to nationals of Singapore, Brunei and Japan for 15-day stays.  Visitors from the United States, Canada, South Korea, Australia and several European countries can stay for 48 hours without a visa if they enter via Shanghai.

Li said China may offer some other favorable policies next year to make it easier for foreign visitors to enter China. "We'll respect Olympic conventions and the Olympics' Charter and consider anything that is beneficial to ensuring a successful Games."

(China Daily January 26, 2007)

Water Cube membrane structure completed

 

Water Cube membrane structure completed 
Updated:2006-12-26 

(BEIJING, Dec. 26) -- With the year of 2007 approaching, good news came from the construction sites of the Olympic projects -- the membrane structure of the outside layer of the National Aquatics Center was completed on the morning of December 26.

Construction of the landmark project, also called the "Water Cube," officially started on December 24, 2003. The work on concrete and steel structures was finished in July 2006. On August 1 this year, installation of cushions of membrane structure was officially launched.

With the closure of the outside membrane layer project, the installation of inside cushions will be under way, in a synchronized manner with the indoor fit-up and decoration. Installation of electromechanical equipment and pipes is currently going on and indoor fit-up and decoration will start by the end of the year. The whole project will be completed at the end of 2007.

In accordance with the plan, the venue test event will be launched at the National Aquatics Center in February 2008.

The material of membrane structure is called ETFE, or ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene, used for the first time in China. It is also the largest and most complicated membrane system in a single building project internationally. The construction staff of the National Aquatics Center completed all works and fulfilled the goal as planned after overcoming many difficulties, successfully carrying out membrane structure research and independent innovative construction practice.

Beijing Olympics Video -One World, One Dream