Chinese prepare to live in hell for 2008 Summer Olympics

No smoking, no littering and many other no-doings expect Beijing during summer Olympic Games. Beijing authorities intend to put quite a number of restrictions into practice for the time of the Games. Many of those novelties will seem to be rather unpleasant and unusual for many natives of the Chinese capital. Apparently, organizers of the Olympics 2008 are going to make them most comfortable, ecology-friendly and safe Olympic Games. Being, as the hosting city, will have to sacrifice many of its traditions and customs, as it usually happens in such cases.

A whole bouquet of various restrictions and prohibitions will come into force during the summer of 2008 in Beijing. Smoking in public places, storing dangerous minerals at school labs, the use of ﾵcarsﾧ with odd numbers on even days, etc will be strictly prohibited. Beijing authorities pay special attention to ecology. Free plastic bags will be banned in Chinese food stores all across the nation. The new rule will come into force in June. The Chinese will have to use traditional bamboo baskets or non-expendable bags made of textile fabric.

A number of prohibitions will touch upon the media. Rumor has it that the authorities will restrict entrance to Beijing shortly before the Olympics. Prices on visas to China will raise too.

The 2008 Summer Olympics will open on August 8, 2008 and run through August 24, 2008. The opening ceremony will commence at 08:08:08 CST at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic games were awarded to Beijing, People's Republic of China after an exhaustive ballot of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 13, 2001. The official logo of the games, titled "Dancing Beijing," features a stylized calligraphic character jing (meaning capital), referencing the host city. The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five Fuwa, each representing one color of the Olympic rings. The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. Athletes will compete in 302 events in 28 sports, just one event more than was on the schedule of the Athens games of 2004. Several new NOCs have also been recognized by the IOC.

By May 2007, construction of all thirty-one Beijing-based Olympic Games venues had begun. The Chinese government is also investing in the renovation and construction of six venues outside Beijing as well as fifty-nine training centers. Its largest architectural pieces will be the Beijing National Stadium, Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Centre, Olympic Green Convention Centre, Olympic Green, and Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. Almost 85 percent of the construction budget for the six main venues is being funded by US$2.1 billion in corporate bids and tenders. Investments are expected from corporations seeking ownership rights after the 2008 Summer Olympics. Some venues will be owned and governed by the State General Administration of Sports, which will use them after the Olympics as facilities for all future national sports teams and events.

It was announced on July 8, 2005 that the equestrian events are to be held in Hong Kong because of "uncertainties of equine diseases and major difficulties in establishing a disease-free zone." The five venues outside Beijing will be located in Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Qinhuangdao.

The Beijing municipal authority has declared that more than 70 local laws and decrees would be made before the 2008 Summer Olympics which would banish local people who don't have hukou (residency permits) of Beijing. It would also banish vagrants, beggars, and people with mental illness from the city. The municipal authority also made it clear that it would strengthen border control, call for a "special holiday", or forcible shutout, to make Beijing citizens stay at home during the Olympics. It also seeks to strengthen controls over Chinese and foreign NGOs and forbid any protests during the games. The government has also strengthened its laws relating to prosecution of those deemed to be disseminating material not beneficial to the state.

The Geneva-based group, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions has claimed that 1.5 million Beijing residents will be displaced from their homes for the Olympics event. Beijing's Olympic organizing committee and China's Foreign Ministry have put the number at 6,037. As of May 2005, 300,000 residents have been evicted in preparation for the games. Police in Beijing placed many people under arrest for protesting against the evictions.

Questions and Tasks:

1. Why do countries fight hard for the right to hold the Olympics?

2. This event have already lost its sports spirit and turned into a political competition. What do you think about it?

3. Who rips the benefits of such events?

4. What dangers can sportsmen face in the hosting country?

5. How come that the locals have to suffer to please the forthcoming guests?

World doomed to hunger and wars

UN experts warn: long-standing conflicts set off by higher food prices are in store for the world.

“Imminent wars will break out due to worsening living conditions in poor countries,” Jean Ziegler, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food said. Within the past two months prices on rice increased by 52 percent, while grain prices soared by 84 percent. As a result, several countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America were hit by mass riots and revolts of the hungry.

Experts associate the price growth with several factors. First of all, food demand is increasing rapidly in such developing countries as China and India. Secondly, the record-high prices on ﾵfuelﾧ affect food prices. Thirdly, expensive traditional fuel and developing modern technologies whip up global economies’ interest in biofuels which can be obtained from such raw materials as maize, rye, sugar and palm oil.

“In the near- and medium-term prospects food prices will be going up, which will bring more hunger. It will be a different kind of hunger. Food shortages in developing countries used to be caused by draught or other similar factors. That’s why people had nothing to eat. Nowadays, most countries have enough food. But it is so expensive that people cannot afford it,” said Nancy Roman, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) Director.

UN diplomats warn developed countries that if the West fails to take urgent measures, trouble spots will increase in number and will threaten global democracy and stability. Meanwhile, IMF and World Bank experts acknowledge that growing food prices may result in millions of hungry people and threaten the whole global economic system. “Price fluctuations affect developing countries, in the first place. Urgent measures are necessary to curb ﾵinflationﾧ and prevent serious conflicts,” the IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick also called for urgent measures to keep food prices down. According to Zoellick, food prices doubled within the last three years, which may inflict poverty on millions of people. He particularly mentioned that the problem of declining living standards may concern not only the current, but future generations as well.

Finance ministers of several countries who participated in the meeting of IMF and World Bank experts are certain that it is indispensable to work out more flexible procedures of helping countries that suffer from global catastrophes. Plans to double loans for African farmers were regarded as priority measures to keep growing food prices low. The World Bank is also due to increase staple supplies to the developing countries where riots are under way.

Besides, Zoellick called on all countries to allocate money to the UN anti-hunger programme before May 1 of the current year. According to the programme, 500 million dollars are to be spent to assist the hungry.

Questions and Tasks:

1. How will the world change in a hundred years? What will happen?

2. What can people do to avoid the worst?

3. Do you care about it?

4. What is more important to “live now” or “think about future”?

5. When will the apocalypses be?

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