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100 days to Beijing Olympics

PHOTO: XINHUA/AP

FLYING HIGH: With just a hundred days to go for the August games, the Olympic torch is on a spectacular journey to the world's tallest peak. Chinese mountaineers taking the flame to Mount Everest spread a flag with the Olympic logo at the base camp, at an altitude of 5,200 metres, in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday.

Thousands of Chinese people flocked to Tiananmen Square on Wednesday to have their photographs taken in front of a giant clock that counts down the days and hours to the Olympic Games that Beijing will play host to in August. The number next to the “days” label on the clock had turned to 100.

Revellers also thronged the Forbidden City, to the north of Tiananmen, its red lacquer pillars and gilt awnings glinting in an Olympic-ready state. Large parts of the Chinese capital have in fact undergone a facelift, at a cost of $40 billion. A slew of iconic structures, such as the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium and the Norman Foster-designed airport terminal, have come up.

— PHOTO: AFP

Souvenir: Tourists posing in front of the Beijing Olympics countdown clock on Wednesday.

But, for a city that has been on Olympic time ever since it won, back in 2001, the bid to host the Games, the mood seemed to be more subdued than might have been expected. The events following the disorder in Tibet in March, including the repeated attempts on the Olympic torch during its international leg, have left a bitter taste in the mouth for many Chinese. Moreover, the foreign media’s portrayal of the events has been widely perceived as biased. This has fuelled a strong wave of nationalism in the country.

Millions of Chinese have signed online petitions against Western media outlets, demanding apologies for the “lack of objectivity” in their reporting. Boycott calls against certain foreign products and businesses have also been made.

Jack Wu, a 20-year-old student from Shanxi Financial University who had made his way to Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, said the Western media had “spoilt the mood of the Olympics.” But he was nonetheless confident that the Games would unveil a “new” China to the world. “The world will see every Chinese person’s desire to be No. 1,” he said.

Hu Jin Chun, a 43-year-old historian, chipped in. “For the last 100 years China has only been a big country in Asia. Through the games we will become a big country in the world.”

The 100-day countdown was celebrated in the capital with a series of events including a marathon race around the Olympic Green and a song competition featuring celebrities including Jackie Chan. In the meantime, the Olympic torch arrived in Hong Kong, signalling the start of the domestic leg of the relay.

With the torch safely back on Chinese territory and talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama’s envoys on the cards, there are some signs that the worst of what International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge called the “crisis” facing this year’s Games, may be coming to an end.

However, with only 100 days left for the opening ceremony, Beijing continues to face certain challenges. Chief amongst these will be the manner in which any public disorder are dealt with during the period of the event.

In addition, Beijing’s polluted air and traffic-snarled streets continue to give pose before municipal planners some worries. Ethiopian athlete and world record holder Haile Gebreselassie announced earlier in the year that he won’t run the marathon event because of the possible risk to his health from pollution.

The IOC itself has said the air quality may put endurance athletes at risk.

The organisers of the Beijing Games have said all these concerns would be addressed in time for the Olympics.

Plans have been announced to keep some 1.3 million cars, almost half the city’s total, off the road during the Games. Construction work will be halted and factories kept closed to ensure better air quality.

The possibility of terrorist attacks is also a contingency that the city is preparing for. Last Friday, Interpol warned that China must be prepared for a possible Al-Qaeda attack on the Olympics, as well as a potentially violent disruption from pro-Tibet protesters. Li Ling, a 40-year-old photographer, who spent Wednesday afternoon taking shots of the carnival-like scenes at Tiananmen, is however, confident. “Nothing will spoil the event,” she says.

“The greater the challenges the more we are determined to put on a good show. The Olympics will show the world how powerful and influential our country has become.”

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