China All Geared For The Olympics

Thanks to People’s Daily, I finally landed on the soil of China, the world’s most populous country, to attend the Second 10+3 Media Cooperation Forum in northern China’s port city of Tianjin on May 19.

The meeting however was held just a week after a major earthquake devastated Wenchuan County in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, causing major casualties and property loss.

Despite the tragedy, China soldiered on, and as a perfect host, organisers took the media on a tour to Tianjin Port, Tianjin Binhai area and the Olympic Centre Stadium.

After spending a couple of days in Tianjin, we then departed on May 21 (Wednesday) for Beijing. There we visited the purpose-built Olympic venues such as the open air National Stadium, also known as the 'Bird's Nest' which will host the opening ceremony.

Themed ‘Beijing Olympic Games: Sharing the Success’, the forum was sponsored by People's Daily and presented by the Tianjin Daily News Group.

At the forum in Tianjin, People’s Daily president Zhang Yannong said the Beijing Olympics provided an excellent opportunity for media cooperation and the media were expected to participate actively in reporting.

“People of all countries, especially Asian neighbours, will share the event through an objective, accurate and comprehensive report,” he said.

Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of Bejing Olympics Committee (BOCOG) said the Games would help strengthen the understanding and friendship between the peoples of China, Asean, Japan and Korea, and further improve the exchanges and cooperation in the political, economic and trade, cultural and sports fields.

“Hosting the Olympics, is the century long expectation of the Chinese nation. Beijing is the third Asian city to host the Summer Olympics, after the 1964 Tokyo Games in Japan, and 1988 Seoul Olympics in the Republic of Korea. Beijing 2008 Olympics is not only the glory of China, but also the glory of Asia.”

Meanwhile, China has assured athletes and spectators of a safe Olympics after 16 policemen were killed in an a attack in the western region of Xinjiang on Monday. The opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games will be held this Friday.