China’s Genocide Olympics -By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

The Beijing Olympics this summer were supposed to be China’s coming-out party, celebrating the end of nearly two centuries of weakness, poverty and humiliation.
Instead, China’s leaders are tarnishing their own Olympiad by abetting genocide in Darfur and in effect undermining the U.N. military deployment there. The result is a growing international campaign to brand these “The Genocide Olympics.”
This is not a boycott of the Olympics. But expect Darfur-related protests at Chinese Embassies, as well as banners and armbands among both athletes and spectators. There’s a growing recognition that perhaps the best way of averting hundreds of thousands more deaths in Sudan is to use the leverage of the Olympics to shame China into more responsible behavior.
The central problem is that in exchange for access to Sudanese oil, Beijing is financing, diplomatically protecting and supplying the arms for the first genocide of the 21st century. China is the largest arms supplier to Sudan, officially selling $83 million in weapons, aircraft and spare parts to Sudan in 2005, according to Amnesty International USA. That is the latest year for which figures are available.
China provided Sudan with A-5 Fantan bomber aircraft, helicopter gunships, K-8 military training/attack aircraft and light weapons used in Sudan’s proxy invasion of Chad last year. China also uses the threat of its veto on the Security Council to block U.N. action against Sudan so that there is a growing risk of a catastrophic humiliation for the U.N. itself.
Sudan feels confident enough with Chinese backing that on Jan. 7, the Sudanese military ambushed a clearly marked U.N. convoy of peacekeepers in Darfur. Sudan claimed the attack was a mistake, but diplomats and U.N. professionals are confident that this was a deliberate attack ordered by the Sudanese leaders to put the U.N. in its place.
Sudan has already barred units from Sweden, Norway, Nepal, Thailand and other countries from joining the U.N. force. It has banned night flights, dithered on a status-of-forces agreement, held up communications equipment and refused to allow the U.N. to bring in foreign helicopters. The growing fear is that the U.N. force will be humiliated in Sudan as it was in Rwanda and Bosnia, causing enormous damage to international peacekeeping.
Another possible sign of Sudan’s confidence: an American diplomat, John Granville, was ambushed and murdered in Khartoum early this month. Many in the diplomatic and intelligence community believe that such an assassination could not happen in Khartoum unless elements of the government were involved.
Chinese officials argue that they are engaging in quiet diplomacy with Sudan’s leaders and that this is the best way to seek a solution in Darfur. They note that Sudan has other backers, and that China’s influence is limited.
It is true that since the start of the “Genocide Olympics” campaign (www.dreamfordarfur.org) a year ago, China has been more helpful, and it’s only because of Chinese pressure on Khartoum that U.N. peacekeepers were admitted to Darfur at all. But the basic reality is that China continues to side with Sudan — it backed Sudan again after it ambushed the U.N. peacekeepers — and Sudan feels protected enough that it goes on thumbing its nose at the international community.
Just a few days ago, Sudan appointed Musa Hilal, a founding leader of the Arab militia known as the janjaweed, to a position in the central government. This is the man who was once quoted as having expressed gratitude for “the necessary weapons and ammunition to exterminate the African tribes in Darfur.”
Other countries also must do much more, but China is crucial. If Beijing were to suspend all transfers of arms and spare parts to Sudan until a peace deal is reached in Darfur, then that would change the dynamic. President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan would be terrified — especially since he is now preparing to resume war with South Sudan — and would realize that China is no longer willing to let its Olympics be stained by Darfuri blood.
Without his Chinese shield, Mr. Bashir would be more likely to make concessions to Darfur rebels and negotiate seriously with them, and he would no longer have political cover to resume war against South Sudan. That would make long-term peace more likely in Darfur and also in South Sudan.
I’m a great fan of China’s achievements, and I’ve often defended Beijing from unfair protectionist rhetoric spouted by American politicians. But those of us who admire China’s accomplishments find it difficult to give credit when Beijing simultaneously underwrites the ultimate crime of genocide.
China deserves an international celebration to mark its historic re-emergence as a major power. But so long as China insists on providing arms to sustain a slaughter based on tribe and skin color, this will remain, sadly, The Genocide Olympics.

Transportation “On The Move” in Beijing!

Last week marked some big changes in the way people living and visiting Beijing will get around the city during the Olympics.
Proving the pace at which Beijing is changing, when I got back last Monday from a 10 day trip through China I was bombarded with news of changes that took place while I was away.
Even though the changes span every sector, having just spent a week and half riding the rails through the guts of the country, transportation is hot on my mind.
It’s also a hot topic on the minds of Beijingers.
The long anticipated Airport express, Line 10, and Olympic branch subway routes were opened up after over 5 years of construction.

All three lines are specifically designed to help handle the high volume of visitors Beijing will be seeing during the Olympics.

For guests arriving at the airport, the Airport Express line will provide a quick and cheap way to get to the heart of Beijing. Now instead of the 70 Rmb ($10 U.S.) cab ride into town, Olympic visitors can hop on the Airport express line and pay 25 Rmb ($3 U.S).

Once they reach the last stop of the Airport Express they can transfer to the Line 10 subway which services the major hotel areas.

The line 10 also transfers to the Olympic branch line where riders can connect with most major Olympic venues.

With the new line 10 easing pressure off of the other routes, it is now guaranteed that Olympic guests won’t have to engage in the elbow to elbow brawling that usually takes place while trying to board the Beijing subway during rush hour.

Although, at a mere $4 U.S. a pop, I get the feeling foreign guests will be opting to take taxis most places anyways.

For those taking taxis, the policy requiring odd-even license plate numbers to alternate driving days went into effect Sunday.

The new policy has expected to take somewhere around 3 million cars of the roads.

Already this has had a dramatic impact on Beijing’s car congestion.

I first witnessed the difference on Tuesday night when instead of the 45-minute stop and go ride I usually take to my favorite restaurant, the ride was a smooth 20 minutes. Where there was once a four lane highway filled with unmoving motors there is now a light sprinkling of traffic.

Coincidentally, the air pollution levels for the last two days have been minimal.

Beijing also began running two brand new double decker busses designed for foreign friends looking to explore the city.

With air-conditioning, extra-wide soft seats (to fit the larger foreign frames), Imax style windows, and Chinese/English commentary, the new busses will whisk 60 passengers through the historical and Olympic related sites of the city in luxury.

Though it’s very unlikely that any expats will find themselves taking public busses, Beijing also began running 10 out of 34 new bus routes.

As for me, after spending over 55 hours on the rails, 30 which were spent standing (they actually issue standing tickets), I have decided that I will avoid public transportation for a while.

Olympic ideal not burning bright in Italy

(CNN) -- The debate about the Olympics in China hasn't had much impact in Italy.
Hot themes such as boycotting the Games never really made it to the front pages here, and there were no protests or episodes of violence that were seen on the streets of Paris and London when the Olympic torch came through those cities.
It is true that this time the Olympic torch didn't touch Italian soil as it did before Athens 2004 but still the main feeling here is of a general disinterest.
This may be because Italians are interested in football more than in any other sport, and the other big event of the summer, Euro 2008, is much more relevant from a media's point of view than the Olympic Games.
Mediaset will be there in Beijing of course with four journalists in the field, but at the moment we're not particularly pushing them with "battage" or any other preliminary coverage.
In Italy, China is still perceived as a very far away place and there is a quite blurred idea of what the Olympics may mean to the Chinese people.
It is hard to predict the effect the Games will have over the commercial relations and geo-political equilibrium between western countries and "the Celestial Empire."
Even so, there is something decadent in the way our sports media has had to concentrate on particular stories related to fencing, swimming, rowing, or any other sport that Italians excel in, in order to maintain their share of viewers from the general public.
Because of this, we have neglected to cover the discussions on the general and historical context of where the Games will take place. In some way, this is a kind of betrayal toward theChinese population.
China is focusing on Beijing 2008 as an event of global interest and the place where the rest of the world will see what China is able to do.
The Chinese people seem to be whole-heartedly supporting the Games, but there is the issue about their freedom to criticize their political system and own personal freedoms.
The Beijing Games then is not just for sport's sake, and it's a difficult task western journalists face to let the rest of the world understand its significance.

Swiss won't miss Olympics, but football takes first place

(CNN) -- Yes, we have Roger. Yes, we developed the "Bird's nest" Olympic stadium. But in Switzerland, the 2008 Summer Olympics are still far away -- and not just geographically.
For once, the Olympics are in second place.
Things will probably be different when the Olympics are almost upon us. But for the moment, the Swiss are focusing on another major sporting event taking place in 2008.
With its neighbour Austria, Switzerland is hosting the European football championship, Euro 2008.
Euro 2008 is the most important European sports event there is. It takes place in June, just two months before the Olympics. Switzerland has never hosted such a large-scale competition before. So it's Euro 2008 first, Olympics second.
Compared with other Olympic years, the Games aren't a big issue yet. Nobody doubts that this will change once the football is history.
The month of July will give weary sports fans (and sports journalists) time to recover. In August, everybody should be ready for the next big party, the Olympics.
But until then, we're taking one day at a time. The Summer Games play nothing like the same role in Switzerland as the Winter Games do. With Switzerland being an alpine country, winter sports are very popular.
The most important alpine downhill skiing races always get the best TV ratings of all sports events. When there are the races in Wengen around noon on Saturday or Sunday in the middle of January, Switzerland stands still.
In the Winter Games -- to be held next in Vancouver in 2010 -- Switzerland has medal hopes in every second or third competition, not just in downhill skiing, but also in bobsleigh, figure-skating and curling, to name just a few.
At the Summer Games, tiny Switzerland faces much greater competition, and medal hopes are scarcer. In any event, Switzerland is sure to bring two big stars to the Summer Games.
One of them is already there: the famous "Bird's nest," the all-new national stadium which will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the track and field competitions.
The "Bird's nest" was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. They won the Pritzker Prize, one of the most important awards in architecture, in 2001, and are well-known for their conversion of the Tate Modern in London.
Jacques Herzog and Pierre De Meuron were both born in Basel in 1950. Quick quiz: Which sportsman was born 31 years later in the same town? It's easy for the Swiss, but maybe not for everybody else. Did you guess Roger Federer? Correct!
The four-time World Sportsman of the Year has won nearly every title in tennis, except the French Open, the Davis Cup and an Olympic gold medal.
In Sydney in 2000, a young Federer lost the bronze medal to Frenchman Arnaud Di Pasquale. In Athens in 2004, an early loss against a then almost-unknown Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic came as a huge shock.
Roger Federer has stated on several occasions that the Summer Games are one of this year's main goals. It will be a tough summer for him, starting with the French Open, followed by Wimbledon, the Games and the US Open.
Can he win all four of them? If anyone can, he can -- although he faces tough competition, led by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Lucky in love, unlucky at cards? Or is it the other way round? At the Olympic Games, Roger hasn't been too lucky on court. It's a different story off court, though. It was in Athens in 2000 that he met and fell in love with Mirka Vavrinec, who represented Switzerland in the women's tournament.
And did you know that Switzerland has its own Chinese gold medal winner? Gymnast Donghua Li left China in 1988 -- another sportsman to fall in love with a Swiss woman. He competed for his new country at Atlanta in 1996 and took home the gold medal in the pommel horse

Sri Lanka ready to 'go for gold'

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- Sri Lanka's National Olympic Committee has finalized the list of its athletes who will represent the nation at the forthcoming Olympic Games to be held at the Chinese capital, Beijing, this year.
The Sri Lankan team of three men and four women includes athletic sensation Susanthika Jayasinghe; javelin thrower Nadeeka Lakmali; badminton player Thilini Jayasinghe; shooter E.M. Senanayake; and boxer Anuruddha Ratnayake. In addition, the NOC has included Mayumi Raheem and Daniel Lee for the swimming events.
This time, too, Sri Lanka is pinning hopes on veteran athlete Susanthika Jayasinghe, who will be competing at the Olympics in the women's 100-meter and 200-meter events.
Although she stands at No. 31 in the IAAF rankings list for the 100-meter sprint, it does not exhibit her true potential. Her best performance in the 100-meter this year was 11.24 seconds, recorded at the Doha-Qatar Super Grand Prix last month.
Susanthika's pet event is the women's 200 meters, for which she won the bronze at the Sydney Olympics, eight years ago. According to the IAAF rankings, she stands at No. 8 in the 200-meter rankings. Her best time in 200 meters for this year is 22.73 seconds, recorded at the Carson Adidas Track Classic last month.
The other person to watch is boxer Anuruddha Ratnayake. The flyweight boxer is the first Sri Lankan boxer to be featured in the Olympics in 40 years. Sri Lanka was last represented in boxing at the Mexico City games held in 1968.
The Sri Lankan media has already begun a huge "Go for Gold" campaign to motivate Ratnayake to bring Sri Lanka its first Olympic medal in boxing in its 60 years of connection with the world's greatest sports show.
Another Sri Lankan is making history at this year's Olympics; Thilini Jayasinghe, who becomes the first Sri Lankan women's badminton player ever to represent Sri Lanka at the Olympics.
The Sri Lankan public, as well as the athletes, appear not to be happy with the way authorities have committed the necessary support for the athletes in preparation for the Olympics.
However, many are of the belief that either Susanthika or Anuruddha will bring honor to their motherland at the Beijing Olympics.

Author: '60 Olympics brought Games into modern world

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The subtitle of David Maraniss' new book, "Rome 1960" (Simon & Schuster), is "The Olympics That Changed the World."
Maraniss acknowledges that the subtitle -- the publisher's idea -- is hyperbolic, but says he's happy to defend it. Maraniss says the 1960 Games did mark a turning point in Olympic and sports history.
"You see the ushering in of the modern world, for better for worse," he says in an interview at CNN Center.
Maraniss observes the Rome Games were a coming-out party for a country, Italy, defeated 15 years earlier in World War II, and the rest of a rebuilding continental Europe. It was also the first Olympics commercially televised in America -- if on a limited basis, given that film had to be flown across the Atlantic each night for broadcast the next day. (The American broadcaster, CBS, paid the princely sum of $600,000 for the American rights, a fee that wouldn't even buy the average 30-second ad on NBC in 2008.)
The Games showcased what would become the shoe wars -- a German, Armin Hary, wore Puma during the race and Adidas on the medal stand in an effort to play both sides.
The competition also included the first confirmed use of doping in the Olympics, when a Danish bicyclist, Knud Enemark Jensen, passed out during a road race in the scorching Italian sun. Jensen died hours later, the cause eventually traced to a blood-circulation drug.
The Rome Olympics also had political resonance, Maraniss adds. The Soviet Union, which had only joined the Olympic movement in the 1950s, had been embarrassed by its team's performance at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The Soviets were determined to exploit the propaganda value of their athletes, promoting achievements at every turn -- particularly at the expense of the United States, which was still grappling with how to showcase its African-American and women athletes when each group faced resistance at home.
"The Cold War had a profound impact on blacks and women in the United States," says Maraniss. Watch Maraniss talk about the Games' significance »
Though the team was full of gifted black athletes, he notes -- including Rafer Johnson, Ralph Boston, Wilma Rudolph and her fellow Tennessee State Tigerbelles, and John Thomas -- these same athletes suffered from discriminatory laws in America and were keenly aware of attitudes overseas, where they were treated as equals by their international hosts. And women's athletics, in those days long before Title IX, were an afterthought.
Maraniss, who says the Olympics were "a huge part of my childhood," was fascinated by this microcosm of a changing world. "This book [was] a way to illuminate history and sociological changes through politics and sport," he says.
The Games were rich with characters. Besides Johnson, the famed decathlete who became the first African-American to lead an American delegation in the Games, and Rudolph, the runner who overcame a sickly childhood to win three gold medals in Rome, there was an 18-year-old boxer who "was like an obstreperous little brother" to his teammates, Maraniss says. After Cassius Clay won the light-heavyweight gold medal, the world would come to know his bigger-than-life personality -- particularly after he became known as Muhammad Ali.
Maraniss was also intrigued by now-forgotten athletes and their Olympic stories. One, the talented runner Dave Sime -- he won a silver medal in the 100 meters -- was recruited by the CIA to help convince a Russian long jumper, Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, to defect. Sime's attempt was ruined by an overbearing agent known as Mr. Wolf who frightened Ter-Ovanesyan at a restaurant meeting.
Another, Joe Faust, finished in 17th place in the high jump but to Maraniss defined an Olympic ideal -- one of thousands of athletes who may not medal but simply give their all in competition.
Faust, who once considered becoming a Trappist monk, saw high-jumping as a spiritual activity, Maraniss says. "He would rise in penance and fall in gratitude," he observes. Today Faust, now in his mid-60s, lives in an adobe house on the side of a hill, a spartan domain with books, a computer, a filing cabinet and a sofa bed. While visiting him, Maraniss noticed the backyard -- a small area mostly filled with junk. But at the bottom, the author says, "there was a mattress, two poles and a crossbar," where Joe Faust can continue his spiritual education.
Some of 1960's figures became stars. Jim McKay, the former Baltimore newspaperman who CBS used to present its films, was soon hired away by ABC's Roone Arledge and became that network's face of sports for the next three decades. Rudolph's fame was such that, upon returning to her native Clarksville, Tennessee, she forced the Jim Crow town to integrate a parade honoring her.
Others have seen their reputations decline. Avery Brundage, the imperious American head of the International Olympic Committee, has become identified with the worst aspects of Olympian elitism. "I tried to give Brundage his humanity, but in many ways he's reprehensible," says Maraniss, noting Brundage's anti-Semitism, petty defenses of amateurism ("Slavery Avery," some athletes called him) and general pomposity.
"He does have his defenders -- he kept the Olympics together, and his belief in the Olympic movement was strong," Maraniss says. "I can accept that and still believe he was a complete jerk."
Maraniss, the author of biographies of football coach Vince Lombardi, baseball player Roberto Clemente and President Bill Clinton, is now pondering biographies of two other notables: Barack Obama and Billie Jean King. Politics and sports -- is there anything else he'd like to try?
"I love history, sociology, politics and sports. I'm not worried about being pigeonholed by that," he says. "It's a pretty broad spectrum."

China to set up Olympic protest zones

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Beijing will set up specially designated zones for protesters during next month's Olympics, a security official said Wednesday, in a sign China's authoritarian government may allow some demonstrations during the games.
Worries about terrorist attacks, both from international groups and Muslim separatists from western China, and about protests of any kind have prompted one of China's broadest security clampdowns in years. The overall effect is that while Beijing looks cheerful, with colorful Olympic banners and new signs, the city feels tense.
Vehicle checkpoints ring Beijing. Visa rules have been tightened to keep out foreign activists. Police have swept Beijing neighborhoods to remove Chinese who have come to the capital to complain about local government misdeeds, and known political critics and underground Christians have been told to leave.
But Liu Shaowu, director for security for the Beijing Olympic organizing committee, said Wednesday that areas in at least three public parks near outlying sporting venues have been set aside for use by demonstrators.
The remarks were the first public confirmation that Beijing may tolerate a modest amount of protest at an Olympics that the government hoped would be flawless, boosting its popularity at home and China's image abroad.
"This will allow people to protest without disrupting the Olympics," said Ni Jianping, director of the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, who lobbied Chinese leaders to set up the protest zones.
It was not clear how easy access would be to enter the zones. Liu and Beijing police would not say if special permission would be needed. A human rights campaigner criticized the move as cosmetic, and Beijing has already refused visa requests for known foreign activists.
A Beijinger whose restaurant was demolished in the city's Olympic makeover and who was jailed for trying to organize a protest, Ye Guoqiang, was taken from the Chaobai Prison on Tuesday to an unknown location, four days before he was due to be released, the monitoring group Chinese Human Rights Defenders said Wednesday. Police in Ye's old neighborhood said they were not aware of the case.
Liu, the security official, said police were trying to strike a balance between the need for safety and the desire for festiveness.
"We truly do want to preserve the festive and joyful atmosphere of the Olympic Venues," Liu told a news conference. "At the same time we want to reduce the impact security has on daily life."
He said threats from terrorism were real, given the international climate, and that the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected in Beijing presented a ripe opportunity for infiltration.
In approving the protest zones, Liu said officials noted that Athens set up such areas for the 2004 games. The Salt Lake City Winter Games of 2002 did too. "We have already designated specific areas where people or protesters who want to express their personal opinions can go to do so," Liu said.
Protests have become commonplace in many parts of China in recent years, especially by state industry workers upset about layoffs and farmers angry about land confiscation. But China's leadership remains wary about demonstrations in the capital or large-scale protests anywhere, fearing they could snowball into widespread anti-government movements. Three violent protests have occurred in far-flung provinces in recent weeks.
In a sign of Chinese nervousness, the special protest areas are not near the Olympic green where most venues and medal ceremonies are concentrated, but rather are in outlying parks: the World Park in the southwest, 3 miles from the softball venue; the Purple Bamboo Park in the west, south of the volleyball arena; and Chaoyang Park in the east where beach volleyball will be played.
Liu also reiterated that Chinese regulations require that all protesters apply and receive permission in advance, though he sidestepped questions about whether that included the special zones. Ni, the Shanghai scholar, said that Chinese protesters may be allowed only in the rather far World Park, not in the other venues.
"Designating unilaterally 'protest zones' for demonstrators does not equate to respecting the right to demonstrate because in this situation control comes first and the right second," said Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch's Asia Division.
Still, supporters of the zones said the move was a step forward. Susan Brownell, an American academic at Beijing Sports University who wrote a proposal that Ni forwarded to government officials, said her research found that the zones would help deflect criticism from all but the more extreme rights groups -- an argument she thought the government bought.
"It was about placating the West. They were really concerned about social order," Brownell said. "They must have come up with a plan to improve social order rather than make it worse."

Olympic terror fears as China bus bomb kills two

At least two people were killed by bombs placed on board buses in a southern Chinese city this morning, causing consternation three weeks before the Olympics open.REUTERSThe first explosion happened at 7.05am on board a bus at a stop on People's Road West, one of the main thoroughfares of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province. Yunnan borders Vietnam, Burma and Tibet in China's far south.One person was killed and another ten injured, according to local media. Websites showed photographs of the bus with a gaping hole in its side and glass all over the road.The second explosion happened on another bus on the same road about an hour later. Another person was killed and a further four injured.According to some reports, there was a third explosion later in the morning, in which two people were killed and one injured, but this was discounted by some local officials.The motive for the attacks was unclear, but police said they were clearly acts of sabotage."According to preliminary investigations, the explosions were cases of man-made, deliberate sabotage," a spokesman said. Police were using roadblocks and checkpoints in a bid to catch those responsible, according to the state news agency.The authorities have repeatedly warned of the danger posed by terrorism to the Beijing Olympics, using it to justify intense security preparations in the capital.They say there is a particular threat from "Uighur and Tibetan separatism". Uighurs are Muslim, and the main ethnic group in Xinjiang province to the north-west, and police say a Uighur separatist group known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement is linked to al-Qaeda.Yunnan is an ethnically diverse province, home to large numbers of both Tibetans and Muslims. But Chinese cities are also occasionally hit by more mundane acts of terror, in which aggrieved citizens take revenge for lack of legal recourse by random acts of violence.At the weekend, there was a violent riot in a Yunnan town close to the Burmese border about the price a state rubber company was paying local farmers. Two people were shot dead by police as they tried to restore order.

Putin to attend Olympics launch

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, his spokesman confirmed.Putin, formerly Russia's president, joins a host of world leaders including US President George W Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy who have confirmed their participation in the ceremony on August 8.Leaders are expected to hold talks during the Games, although Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that plans were still being worked on.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper are among those who have said they plan to stay away.A spokesman for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev could not immediately confirm his plans.Officials in many EU states have called for a boycott over China's human rights record, which was recently highlighted by a brutal crackdown in Tibet.In March, Russia said mixing politics with the Olympics was "unacceptable."Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi is to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. Many saw Putin's participation in the bidding process as key to securing those Games and Putin has made it his personal project.

Development in Tibet irked the miscreants

Lhasa (Tibet), July 21, (ANI): The recent demonstrations by people of Tibet, which disrupted the normal life, according to the Chinese have harmed development work being carried out by the Chinese Government.The vice chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Baima Chilin, who was recently in Lhasa, has blamed the Dalai Lama and his supporters who, according to him, instigated violent protests in Tibet.During the anti-China riots on March 14, the activists had allegedly burnt several shops and a school building in Lhasa. The violence left 18 people dead and several others as injured.While giving details of several development works being carried out by the Central government with the help of local government to a team of foreign mediapersons, Baima Chilin claimed that over 98 per cent of the students were receiving primary education at present in Tibet.In 1959, during Dalai Lama’s rule here, more than 90 percent of the people of Tibet were illiterate, he added.He admitted that transportation facilities in Tibet were not in very good shape at the moment, but all efforts were being made to improve them and soon there would be good infrastructure in the region.There had been, he claimed, steady improvement in agricultural production.According to available figures, in 1978 Tibet’s per capita GDP was 375 Yuan. It rose to 10,430 Yuan in 2006. Output value of Agriculture, Forestry, Animal husbandry and Fishery in Tibet during 1959 was 14,417 units, which has also risen to 704,765 units in 2006.The export and import trade value in 1970 was 10,30,000 (1.03 million) US dollars. In 2006, it was over 176.18 million US dollars. Output of major crops like Rice, wheat, winter wheat and Qingke Barley has also risen to many folds in the region.Total grain production in 1959 was 182,905 tonnes. In 200, it was 923,688 tonnes. The figures say that the financial revenue of the region has also risen from 133.02 million Yuan in 1959 to over 2.56 million Yuan in 2006. In Beijing, Dong Yunhu, the Director General of the State council information office said that Tibet issue is an issue of modernization of Tibet.Yunhu said since 1959 when the Tibet was taken over by the Chinese Government from the clutches of Dalai Lama, the Central government decided to work for Tibet’s modernization and for the uplift of the inhabitants in the region, which is also and main human right issue.He alleged that most of the income of the monasteries and other religious places situated in Tibet was either spent for the maintenance of standard of living of the masters of the monasteries and not much had been spent over the development of Tibet and its people’s welfare.“It was the policy of the China's government to speed up development works in Tibet” Yunhu said.The rapid development in the region, it is argued, has forced Dalai Lama's supporters to run away from the monasteries.Yunhu said that the Dalai Lama and his administrators would find it difficult to maintain the pace of reforms in Tibet undertaken by the Central government of China. The Dalai Lama, he alleged, was not qualified to administer Tibet properly.Dong said that if Dalai wanted to return to China he could come as a Chinese citizen.While expressing his views on India China relations, Dong said, " I believe that the friendship between India and China is not only important for South Asia but for the whole world.”Dong appreciated the steps taken by India to contain the impact of demonstrations by the supporters of Dalai Lama against China during the march of Olympic Torch in New Delhi. He urged India to stop Dalai Lama and his supporters to indulge in activities against China.The Chinese and Tibetans leaders in Lhasa admitted that the issues connected with Tibet were difficult to solve and looked for support from India.

Guess who's not invited to the Olympics?

Reuters[Monday, July 21, 2008 00:23]By Benjamin Kang LimBEIJING - The Dalai Lama may be the guest of honour of U.S. President George W. Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders, but you won't find Tibet's exiled spiritual leader on the Beijing Olympics guest list.Also missing from the list is Ma Ying-jeou, the Harvard-educated, democratically elected president of self-ruled Taiwan which Beijing has claimed as its own since their split in 1949 amid civil war, despite a recent thaw in relations.The Dalai Lama's appearance could have helped repair China's international image, which was dented by a government crackdown following rioting among Tibetans in March -- the worst in the Himalayan region since 1989. But China fears he would steal Chinese President Hu Jintao's thunder."It's supposed to be Hu Jintao's Olympics, but it'll become the Dalai Lama's Olympics if he attends," a source familiar with government policy said requesting anonymity.The Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, had said during a visit to London in May that he hoped to attend the August 8-24 Games if talks between his envoys and China produced results.China has not rejected the Dalai Lama's overtures outright, but hopes were dampened when the closed-door talks ended with the government-in-exile accusing China of lacking sincerity.The Chinese government has blamed the Dalai Lama and his followers for instigating the March unrest and attempting to sabotage the Olympics, charges he has repeatedly denied.For China, the Games are supposed to showcase the prosperity and modernization of what is now the world's fourth-biggest economy after three decades of economic reforms and rapid growth.AND MA?Ma is a different story. China has mixed feelings for the Taiwan president, who is opposed to Taiwan formally declaring independence, a stance Beijing welcomes.But Ma has repeatedly urged China to politically reassess the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests -- anathema to the country's leaders.Beijing has sought to push Taiwan into diplomatic isolation and considers the island a province that must eventually return to the fold, by force if necessary."(Dignitaries) attending the Olympic opening are all heads of state, but China does not recognize Taiwan as a state," Taiwan political analyst Andrew Yang said by telephone."How will (Hu Jintao) address Ma Ying-jeou? 'Taiwanese leader' won't be acceptable to the Taiwan people or Ma."Hawks in the Chinese government are opposed to the Dalai Lama's visit, worried that thousands of Tibetans would flock to Beijing by plane, train, bus or horseback to catch a glimpse of their revered god-king, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.There are more than 10 ministerial-level government and Communist Party bodies with a stake in blocking the Dalai Lama's return, including the local governments of Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, the Ministry of State Security, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Liberation Army and the paramilitary People's Armed Police.For China, domestic stability during the Olympics is far more important than international applause."Even if there are people who want to change things, they would have all sorts of worries," Wang Lixiong, a Chinese author and expert on Tibet, said in an interview."In China, government officials do not hope for achievements but they hope to avoid committing mistakes," Wang said, referring to political risks for the leadership.

John Nichols: Obama, McCain & Tibet

The Capital Times[Monday, July 21, 2008 00:21]President Bush has announced that, despite China's violent crackdowns on dissent in Tibet and its support for the brutal dictatorships of Sudan and Burma, he will attend next month's opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.In response, Barack Obama distinguished himself from the man he seeks to replace.Asked whether he, as president, would convey legitimacy on the Chinese government's recent actions by attending the opening ceremonies, Obama said, "In the absence of some sense of progress, in the absence of some sense from the Dalai Lama that there was progress, I would not have gone."This was not Obama's first statement regarding Tibet or the Dalai Lama, who this week is in Wisconsin as part of a visit to the United States.In a foreign policy address delivered in March, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee member said that the advancement of human rights must be a central U.S. priority. And he pointedly declared, "We can start now by speaking out for the human rights and religious freedom of the people of Tibet."Around the same time, Obama announced, "If Tibetans are to live in harmony with the rest of China's people, their religion and culture must be respected and protected. Tibet should enjoy genuine and meaningful autonomy."While Obama's election would represent a clear break with the compromised commitments of the Bush administration -- and of the Clinton administration before it -- the jury is still out on Republican John McCain.Without a doubt, McCain is more sensitive to concerns regarding China's human rights abuses than Bush. This spring, when the Chinese crackdown in Tibet turned particularly violent, the senator from Arizona issued an excellent statement."I deplore the violent crackdown by Chinese authorities and the continuing oppression in Tibet of those merely wishing to practice their faith and preserve their culture and heritage. I have listened carefully to the Dalai Lama and am convinced he is a man of peace who reflects the hopes and aspirations of Tibetans. I urge the government of the People's Republic of China to address the root causes of unrest in Tibet by opening a genuine dialogue with his holiness, the Dalai Lama, aimed at granting greater autonomy."At the time, McCain suggested that he might also boycott the opening ceremonies as a protest against Beijing's policies.In recent months, however, McCain has been increasingly critical of Obama's emphasis on diplomacy and respecting human rights when it comes to international affairs. When Bush announced he would attend the opening ceremonies, McCain made no formal move to condemn the decision.While Obama has been firmer in his embrace of human rights, McCain's past statements suggest a consciousness of what is at stake in the dispute over China's treatment of Tibet that runs far broader than that evidenced by George Bush or Bill Clinton during their presidencies.As such, though Bush's decision to attend the opening ceremonies is both disappointing and embarrassing, 2008 might yet be the year when America moves from the shadow of complicity into the sunlight of a more genuine commitment to human rights.

Exiled Tibetans to go on hunger strike from July 28

July 21st, 2008 - 8:11 pm ICT by ANI - Email This PostDharamsala (Himachal Pradesh), July 21 (ANI): The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) will go on a hunger strike from July 28 in New Delhi against the 2008 Beijing Olympics.The protest would be a part of the ”Tibetan People’’s Mass Movement” programme.Tsewang Rigzin, the president of TYC, told reporters in Dharamshala on Monday that they were demanding the “immediate end to the gruesome suppression of Tibetans inside Tibet and the unconditional release of all Tibetan political prisoners.”“We are also demanding convincing evidence to prove the well-being and the whereabouts of his holiness Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet, and to allow independent and neutral international fact finding delegation media and humanitarian organisations to assess the current situation in Tibet,” added Rigzin.China resumed fence-mending talks with envoys of Tibet’’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on July 1st in a move that could burnish its international image weeks before the Chinese capital hosts the Olympics.It is the second closed-door meeting between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government since rioting erupted in Tibet in March and heaped international pressure on China to deal with the Nobel laureate, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against the Chinese rule.About 134,000 Tibetans live in exile, a vast majority of them in India or Nepal. Of them less than half were born in their homeland.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/exiled-tibetans-to-go-on-hunger-strike-from-july-28_10074257.html

TYC to launch second “Tibetan People’s Mass Movement”, vows protests during Beijing Olympics

Tibetan Youth Congress readies to launch its second phase of the Tibetan People’s Mass Movement ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and vows series of protests before and during the Games and reiterated its call on International community to “Boycott Beijing 2008 Olympics”, saying “No Olympics in China until Tibet is Independent”Dharamsala, July 21: With 2008 Summer Olympics due to begin in Beijing in less than three weeks, Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) today announced it would launch the second phase of its “Tibetan People’s Mass Movement” ahead of the Games to highlight the issue of Tibet and its people’s plight.The Tibetan youth body, which struggles for the restoration of Tibet’s independence and decisively opposes Beijing’s right to host the prestigious international sporting event because of its “appalling Human rights record” and its ongoing oppression on Tibetan people in their homeland, also vowed to stage series of protests worldwide before and during the Beijing Games.“We have consistently stood by ‘No Olympics in China until Tibet is Free’ right from the start when China was given the right to host the Games in 2001,” TYC president Mr Tsewang Rigzin said during a press conference at the organisation’s head office here.The organisation, which claims over 30,000 members worldwide, plans to first launch an “Indefinite Fast for Tibet – without Food and Water” on July 28 in New Delhi before formally launching the second phase of the “Tibetan People’s Mass Movement” on August 7, on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.“To protest against the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the continuing colonial occupation of Tibet by China, Tibetan Youth Congress will launch and “Indefinite Fast for Tibet – without Food and Water” on 28th July, 2008 at New Delhi as part of the Tibetan People’s Mass Movement”, Mr Rigzin said.The youth congress leader, however, insisted that his organisation’s activities would be based on the “principles of nonviolence and Gandhi’s tradition of ‘satyagraha’ (Insistence on Truth)”.“TYC will begin Tibetan People’s Mass Demonstration on 7 August, 2008 based on the principles of nonviolence and Gandhi’s tradition of ‘satyagraha’ (Insistence on Truth)” Mr Tsewang said, however, declining to give specific details of the number of participants and the exact venue for the entire protests. He said the details would be revealed later at an “appropriate time” for specific campaigns..“TYC will also organise many other campaigns throughout the Olympics”, Rigzin said, adding “With the start of ‘Indefinite Fast for Tibet – without Food and Water’ in New Delhi, all regional chapters of TYC will organize campaign against Beijing Olympics in their respective regions throughout the world”.According to Rigzin, TYC’s decision to carry out the second Phase of the movement before the Beijing Olympic Games was made according to the resolutions passed during the organisation’s General Body Meeting held in September 2007 at Dharamsala and the Annual Working Committee Meeting in July 2008 at Manali.TYC’s first Tibetan People’s Mass Movement against China was launched in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on August 8 last year to mark a one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympics. Over 25,000 Tibetans from India, Nepal and other countries are said to have taken part in it. The movement somehow turned out to be the single biggest protest gathering of Tibetans in exile and largest since the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city, in 1959.The first phase of the Movement, marked by a day-long peaceful demonstration, was disrupted, however, with the then TYC president calling on Tibetan demonstrators for its immediate end. With it an indefinite hunger strike by 14 Tibetans that began earlier on July 8 and continuing on its 33rd day was also ended.The then TYC leaders described the People's Mass Movement as an "effort to bring about a renewed vigour and vitality in the Tibetan movement” and called it a “departure from the traditional approach of appealing to the international community for support” by “putting direct pressure on the Government of People's Republic of China (PRC) by creating a situation where they have no choice but to respond” to their stated demands. The organisation’s executive members also vowed to resume the mass movement’s second phase at a later appropriate time.Reacting to China’s allegations calling TYC a Terrorist organisation engaged in violent activities, Mr Rigizn said the accusations are baseless devoid of any evidence. “In our almost 40 years of struggle for Tibet’s independence since TYC was formed in 1970, we have always adopted peaceful and non-violent strategic methods to achieve our goal,” he said.“The Chinese people deserve to host the Olympic Games but what the Tibetans and the Chinese people deserve more now is freedom; freedom of speech, of religion, of association, of equal opportunity, or electing their own government, of feeling safe in their own homes,” Mr Tsewang said of the Beijing’s right to host the games.“The day might not be far when Tibet will again be an independent nation and the Chinese people would be free from the inhuman communist regime, only then it will be the right time for Beijing to host the prestigious Olympic Games. But not now,” he said. “Not while the butchers of 1.2 million Tibetans remain in power. Not while the communist butchers of 70 million Chinese remain in power,” Tsewang added.For him Olympics are a “symbol of freedom and peace, an international event where friendship and brotherhood are celebrated” through sport. He accused the International Olympic Committee of breaching the ideals of the Olympics by honouring China with the right to host the games.Tibetan Youth Congress is the largest Tibetan non-governmental organisation outside Tibet and seeks to restore Tibet’s independence, a stand opposed to the “middle-way approach” seeking “real and meaningful autonomy” for Tibet as advocated by the exiled Tibetan Leader the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

Busy Sports Bars To Watch The 2008 Olympics: by Mario Stewart

If you don't get a ticket for your favorite team match and wish to experience the great feeling and live action, NYC has a lot for you. New York has a lot of great sports bar that gives you the same feeling just like a live match in front of you. These places are ideal to enjoy with friends along with a chilled pint of beer.
The busy sports bars in NYC welcome all the alumni groups and the games lovers where they catch the action of the game along with the great food discounts and superb drinks from all over the world. The sports bars have numerous TV's in order to make you feel as if you are sitting in the stadium and do not miss even a single action. Viewing a match along with the other game lovers makes the atmosphere more lively and vivacious. These busy sports bars have few sports zone with a lot of pool tables. Ping pong and bowling arrays. It is completely fun to enjoy a game in these bars.
Now for the people who wish to watch the 2008 Olympics and for some reason can not make it to go and see the match live, they can enjoy the game in the superbly organized sports bar which gives you the same feeling just like watching a live match along with mad crowd.
Some of the great busy sports bars in New York City are:
ESPN Zone: It is one of the best busy sports bar in New York. The game lovers enjoy watching the game in the huge screening room with extra sound effects. This bar is a two storey bar spread over an area of about 33,000 square foot. It has 11 Zone Thrones, speakers and tray table with chairs. This sports bar gives you a feeling as if you are actually in the stadium.
Tonic East: It is the hottest and newest multi- level sports bar that stands out due to its awesome décor and lighting. It is a cool, classy and elegant place with rich wood furniture, padded sofas and great private booths with superb sound system and lighting. This place has huge plasma Televisions and a spectacular patio. The menu and drinks in this bar is electric with a lot of choices for everyone.
Slate Plus: It is among the most unique and dramatic venues in New York. Positioned in Flatiron District, this bar is spread over an area of about 16,000 square feet. This lounge has very comfy sofas and chairs that create an atmosphere of a lively living room. A lot of games are also offered here like billiards table and ping pong tables. Slate Plus has great facilities and services of a restaurant. Enjoying a game with great food and drink is all what is offered here.
New York has numerous sports bars that are made keeping in mind about the sports lovers. These places offer a marvelous atmosphere that gives a feeling of watching the game live and enjoy to the fullest.