Olympics Open with Spotlight on Chinese Culture
(Away from worldwide pro-Tibet protests)
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Blood Olympics 08-08-08
Preliminary transcripts: Tonight, far from the opening ceremony, the Olympics are prompting thousands of Tibetans to protest what they refer to as the "blood Olympics" as thirteen-hundred Tibetan refugees are purportedly... [Listen to latest NPR audio]
Protest Zones, in theory, at least
The Chinese government has designated three Beijing parks for approved protests. Would-be demonstrators must apply at least five days in advance. Expect plenty of open space in those parks during the games.
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National Public Radio (NPR)
Morning Edition, August 8, 2008 · Beijing is ready for the Olympics. That's what organizers said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony, which began at an especially auspicious time: 8:08 p.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month in the year 2008. Eight is a lucky number in China.
The festivities began with a chain of fireworks from Tiananmen Square in central Beijing to National Stadium, nicknamed the Bird's Nest, on the northern edge of the city. Details of the ceremony have been "a closely guarded secret," NPR's Howard Berkes, who is in Beijing, tells Renee Montagne.
Ceremony watchers won't see dancing cross-dressers or a lawn mower drill team, which performed in Sydney in 2000. There won't be cowboys and Mormon pioneers, as there were in Salt Lake City in 2002. And no half-naked Greek gods, like in Athens four years ago.
"Olympic hosts like to celebrate the unique aspect of their culture," Berkes says. "And for the Chinese, this is an opportunity to introduce the world to a China that many Chinese believe is maligned and misunderstood."...
In the past two days, Berkes says, the security presence in Beijing has increased. There are soldiers with metal detectors, guards with bomb-sniffing dogs, and dozens of soldiers with riot shields. About 100,000 police and soldiers are on duty in the city....Amid pollution, protests, and impressive pomp and circumstance, the curtains rise Friday on the XXIX Summer Olympics in Beijing....
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While athletes settled into the high-rise residential apartments of Olympic Village,
protesters staged demonstrations elsewhere, criticizing China's human rights policies at home and abroad. For the next 16 days, the world will be bombarded with a similar mixture of diplomacy and sweat. Thousands of athletes will compete in an array of sports....
Read full NPR story.
Olympics put NBC in Bind:
Will News Division Cover Protests?
By David Folkenflik
Morning Edition, August 7, 2008 · NBC has a lot at stake in the 2008 Olympic Games. That includes the reputation of the network's news division and its bottom line. Its position is complicated by the fact that NBC's role in the Olympics is one of observer and partner.
