Olympics Countdown
After several months of counting down, the Olympic Games 2008 are finally just a week away. Beijing has been highly criticised over the last few weeks because it has not yet managed to clean up the air pollution problem to a standard which the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has been counting on.
With just 8 days to go, can China pull one out of the bag? Media reports have claimed the city plans to cut 95% of all motor vehicle usage for the 48 hours preceding the opening ceremony – a move which will bode well with competitors, visitors and perhaps vital to the Games themselves. This restriction however, is one that will incapacitate Beijing residents, leaving them confined to public transport and non-motorised ways of travel such as walking and cycling.
China is well known for only providing limited and censored internet access within its perimetres, however the IOC announced yesterday that the 21,500-odd journalists and news media travelling to Beijing for the Games will be allowed near-unrestricted online access.
“Sensitive”, non-Games related websites such as those associated with the governmentally-prohibited spiritual group Falun Gong, and the Amnesty International website which condemns the Chinese nation for its inability to respect human rights quotas, will continue to remain inaccessible in China throughout the Games.
Earlier this year the Chinese government unblocked the English-language Wikipedia website, in what some say was owing to pressures from the IOC. However, the “sufficient, convenient internet access” which will be made available for journalists to be able to do their job for the Olympics will expire in October, when full Web restrictions will be reinstated in China.
NZS.com will be covering the Games daily with an Olympic Medals tally, don’t forget to check back each day from August 10 for updates on the New Zealand Olympic team’s winnings!
