* * * C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t * * * (News Global) Special Issue ======================================= ***** The Bid for Olympic Games ***** ======================================= Sunday, September 19, 1993 Table of Contents # of Lines ============================================================================= 1. News Briefs (4 Items) ................................................. 44 2. China is Approaching Olympic Bid Vote with a New Strategy ............. 50 3. Sydney's Hopes High as Olympics Decision Nears ........................ 63 4. Manchester Bid Ready for the Sprint Finish ............................ 62 5. Berlin Waits for Olympic Decision, Divided and Downbeat .............. 117 6. Istanbul is the Olympic Outsider ...................................... 94 7. Beijing Students Taught Manners as Part of Olympic Campaign ........... 25 8. No Manipulation of Vote: Replied by Top Chinese Officials ............. 66 9. With Eyes on Olympics, China Pursues Airline Safety ................... 60 10.China Discounts Official's Olympic Boycott Threat ..................... 39 11. Will Olympics Push China Toward Democracy? ........................... 59 12. High Rollers Decide 2000 Olympic Games Destiny ...................... 105 ============================================================================= [Editor's note: We'd like to caution readers this mail is over 800 lines] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. News Briefs (4 Items) ................................................. 44 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Reuter, 09/14/93] SYDNEY -- Heading the Australian team for Olympic vote will be prime minister Paul Keating, followed by former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The Sydney delegation would have about 72 staff and officials. There will be a further 116 people, mainly corporate sponsors, supporting Sydney's bid but paying their own way. (Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu) ___ ___ ___ [Reuter, 09/08/93] ISTANBUL -- A huge Turkish delegation, headed by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, will attend the crucial International Olympic Committee meeting in Monte Carlo in support of Istanbul's bid. Ciller, Turkey's first woman prime minister, would lead a 250-member delegation. Ciller and Sports Minister Sukru Erdem will help give Turkey's final presentation before the IOC decides. (Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu) ___ ___ ___ [soc.culture.china, 09/14/93] On September 10, Global Committee for Cam- paign of Supporting Beijing's Bid For the Olympics 2000 (CSBBO) sent the supporting letter with 3901 signatures to IOC HQ in Lausanne, Switzerland and Beijing Bidding Committee. Until September 13, the letter had been sent to IOC members of Thailand, India, Britain, Italy, France, Germany, United States, Denmark, Finland, Bulgaria, Greece, Norway, Portuguese, Spain, Sweden, Belgium and Canada. (Forwarded by: ; Abridged by: Chengyan Liu) ___ ___ ___ The Australia Tibet Council is starting a fax campaign against Beijing's bid in its newsletter urging various organisations to send fax to IOC to say "No Olympics for China Day" whilst others supporting Beijing's bid encouraging similar fax campaign to say "Olympics for China". International Olympics Committe's fax number is +33 93 25 8203 (Forwarded by: Shiping Li; Abridged by CND) ___ ___ ___ [UPI, 9/15/93] BERLIN -- Suspected opponents of Berlin's bid for the 2000 Olympic Games set off three small bombs Wednesday causing damage but no injuries, police said. The bombs, which exploded between 3 and 4 a.m., damaged branches of Daimler-Benz, the Berliner Bank and the Hertie department store chain. All three concerns have been key backers of the city's bid to win the 2000 Olympic Summer Games. "We suspect those who carried out the attack are from the militant anti-Olympics camp," said a police spokeswoman. Opponents of Berlin's Olympic bid have made a series of firebomb and other attacks on concerns supporting the Games over the past year. (Forwarded by: C. Mok) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. China is Approaching Olympic Bid Vote with a New Strategy ............. 50 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: C. Mok Source: UPI, 9/15/93 BEIJING -- After months of national hubris over Beijing's bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, China is approaching next week's decision on the host city with a new strategy: acknowledging it might lose and rounding up the usual suspects to blame. The Chinese government has lavished an unprecedented lobbying campaign and vast national prestige on its bid, hoping to counter a worldwide chorus of opposition unheard since Moscow's bid two decades ago for the 1980 Games. More recently, however, the Beijing Olympic Bidding Committee (Bobico) and the government press have been laying the groundwork to cope with the huge loss of national face should the International Olympic Committee (IOC) choose a rival city. "We should look at this issue with a magnanimous feeling," the Beijing Evening News said in a commentary last week. "If we don't win the hosting right, we have nothing to regret and will continue striving to develop the Olympic spirit." But Bobico Secretary General Wan Siquan was less magnanimous in comments also reported by the official media, declaring there was "no fault" in his group's efforts and shifting the blame to China's favorite whipping targets: the United States and the Western media. Resolutions by the U.S. Congress opposing Beijing on human rights grounds had "affected" the bid, he said, and the premature leak of an IOC inspection report that criticized Beijing allowed Western media to file "selective and even distorted reports." The controversy over China's bid has eclipsed its actual merits, with opposition coming from even the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama over Chinese communist repression in his homeland. Human rights organizations have gone so far as to compare the Beijing bid with the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which were used by Adolf Hitler to validate his rule and Nazism. In response, China has undertaken a smile offensive -- freeing political prisoners and easing domestic repression slightly -- and courted the IOC with sometimes shameless lobbying. Chinese officials have kowtowed openly to IOC members, hosting them on posh trips and even offering a priceless terracotta statue to an Olympic museum, saying later it was only a loan -- although all bidding cities are open to similar criticism. The Chinese are sending a 200-member delegation to Monte Carlo for the IOC vote, headed by Vice Premier Li Lanqing and highlighted by China's gold medalists from previous Olympics, including gymnast Li Ning, diver Gao Min and table tennis ace Deng Yaping. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Sydney's Hopes High as Olympics Decision Nears ........................ 63 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: C. Mok Source: UPI, 9/15/93 SYDNEY, Australia -- Sydney is buoyed with high hopes of winning the race to host the Year 2000 Olympic Games, fervently believing its bid to be the best. Most Sydneysiders believe only politics or commercialism stand in the way of a favorable decision when the International Olympic Committeee (IOC) meets in Monte Carlo on September 23. Sydney's taxi driver sceptics point to the mouth-watering potential market that China's 1.1 billion hungry mouths pose for principal multinational sponsors. They also point out a decision in favor of Beijing could be justified behind the facade of easing China into the 21st century and propelling it further towards the West. But if the game's fair, they say, Sydney is a 'cert'. And this vibrant, sparkling city, on arguably the most beautiful harbor in the world, is already gearing up for a gala all-night, nationwide party to celebrate the big occasion. The state government is hosting an open-air party at Circular Quay, promising to rival the 1988 bicentenary celebrations, for thousands expected to stay up to await the fateful decision, which will be beamed live by television at 4-20 a.m. local time on Friday, September 24. Leading local variety artists will keep people entertained throughout the night. If Sydney wins, a giant fireworks display will light up the harbor. If Sydney loses, a laser beam will say congratulations to the winning city on the sails of the Opera House. Hundreds of other parties are being organized in homes, hotels and clubs throughout the nation. And to help liven things up, Australia's publicans have banded together to give away a free drink to every customer during the night in a national, million-dollar toast to success. Around 5,000 members of the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) have agreed to buy a free drink of the customer's choice at 8p.m. on September 23. And win or lose the partying will continue when the government hosts another "Thank you Sydney" party at the Darling Harbor Exhibition Centre the following Saturday. "The party will go on regardless of the decision because, whatever happens, we gave it our best shot," said New South Wales state premier John Fahey. Olympic bid officials are quietly confident, but are at pains not to say so publicly for fear of appearing to be pre-empting IOC delegates and tilting last-minute votes Beijing's way. Bid spokesman Rod McGeoch was quick this week to deny a front-page article in the mass circulation Sydney Sun-Herald under the banner headline "Sydney Games officials say: It's Ours." "I have not spoken to the Sun-Herald. I am the official spokesman and that is not the view being issued from this office," he said. He warned the race for the Games was far from over and no city could claim supremacy over the other candidates and said his committee would continue to work as hard as they could right up to September 23. But officials do point out that the Sydney bid has already been judged the best technical bid by the IOC's Enquiry Commission in its report released last July. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Manchester Bid Ready for the Sprint Finish ............................ 62 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: C. Mok Source: UPI, 9/15/93 MANCHESTER, England -- Bob Scott, the chairman of Manchester's candidacy for the 2000 Olympics, likens the bid campaign to a 1,500-meter race. "We are on the last lap coming off the final bend and we are on the shoulders of Sydney and Beijing ready to strike," he said of the five-city contest which also features Berlin and Istanbul. That was last month. Now Scott has lined up the world's fastest human, Linford Christie, for the vital sprint to the finish line at Monte Carlo where the 90 voting members of the International Olympic Committee make their decision on Sept. 23. Christie, the reigning world and Olympic 100-meter champion, will accompany the team for Manchester's 55-minute presentation to the IOC in a tour de force spearheaded by Prime Minister John Major. Major, a sports enthusiast, has pledged full Government support and visited IOC President Juan Antonia Samaranch at the Committees's headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland to promote the bid. Major's commitment was confirmed by his decision to support Manchester in Monte Carlo and a government pledge of up to 75 million pounds ($110 million) of funding to ensure work begins on facilities. "I believe we have a winning plan and we will seek to demontrate to the IOC that there could be no better site for the Millennium Games than Manchester. "We are going for gold -- not least because in this competition there are no prizes for coming second," the premier said. Scott sees Christie's presence as a strong counter against rival Sydney, who eight months ago used a comment the athlete made about the Australian weather to indicate support for its bid. Christie's Monaco mission is a double-edged weapon -- swiping at Sydney and underlining the backing for Manchester by Britain's athletes. Scott, a theatrical impressario by profession who sees the Olympic arena as live drama, is a shrewd campaigner. He knows the value of star billing. One of Britain's most famous sporting heroes, Bobby Charlton, who survived the Manchester United 1958 air disaster and went on to become the highest goalscorer in English soccer history, has been an integral part of Scott's bid team. Manchester fared badly in the bid to host the 1996 Olympics which went to Atlanta, but Scott repeatedly emphasizes the current candidature is much more substantive. "When we came back from the IOC session in 1991 and the vote for Atlanta we were determined to have three significant changes for our 2000 bid," he said. "Firstly we had to to expand the base of our bid by getting more people involved, then we had to have facilities built, or least being built, rather than just models. Finally we had to have the government on our side. "We have been triumphantly successful in these three areas. Moreover our bid for 2000 is far more compact and much more environmentally sound than our proposals for 1996." Scott said Christie and Charlton would play leading roles in the formal presentation to the IOC members. "They are both well loved sportsmen and known throughout the world. They are fully behind the bid." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Berlin Waits for Olympic Decision, Divided and Downbeat .............. 117 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: C. Mok Source: UPI, 9/16/93 BERLIN -- The German capital is waiting, divided and downbeat, for the Sept. 23 decision to decide the host for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. A pall has been cast over the effort to land he games following repeated reports the city has failed to attain frontrunner status. "The 'favorite' has never won," says ever-optimistic Axel Nawrocki, chairman of the city's Olympia GmbH, which is co-ordinating Berlin's sometimes accident-prone attempt to win the Games. But throughout the summer, the German media has relentlessly driven home the view that rival bidders have already lapped the unified German capital in the bid race. For Berlin the Games would have tremendous political symbolism at the start of the new millennium. More than anything, the Nov. 9, 1989 opening of the Berlin Wall symbolized the end of the Cold War and crowned earlier proposals by President Ronald Reagan for the Olympics to be held in Berlin to bridge the gap between East and West. Seven years from now, the 2000 Games would give the city and country a world-class stage to celebrate a unified and rebuilt Germany set to play a leading role in the post-Cold War Europe of the new century. Lofty symbolism aside, Nawrocki says Berlin's bid has several advantages including the central location of the Olympic village, the media center and the venues -- all of which will will be connected by a fast commuter train, the Olympia Express. Eleven of the sites for the Summer Games already exist and eight are currently under construction, including the cycling hall and a large multi-purpose hall. Three further facilities are planned, regardless of whether the Games come to Berlin or not and only three extra sites will have to be built if Berlin wins the Games. The IOC has praised Berlin's planned sporting events sites, the transport system and security concept. Calculations by Nawrocki show the 2000 Summer Games costing the city $2 billion and bringing in $2.17 billion, thus making a profit. But Nawrocki's projection of $850 million profit from the sale of Olympic commemorative coins, made by the German mint, has raised eyebrows as other Olympic bidders have planned on far less revenue from similar schemes. A further question mark hangs over private financing for one of the large multi-purpose halls -- the city government is now expected to donate the property on which the hall will be built in order to prevent the fine-tuned budget proposal from running into the red. Broader financing projections for the Berlin Olympics have been shored up by a veritable who's who consortium of German big business, led by Daimler-Benz CEO Edzard Reuter, which has pledged a $621 million loan guarantee to cover any losses made by the Games. Finances aside, Berlin's application for the 2000 Games has been marked a serious of scandals and faux pas. These include allegations that Olympia GmbH employees compiled files on the sexual interests of the 91 voting members of the International Olympic Committee; the resignation of the first Olympic GmbH manager, Lutz Gruettke, following allegations that advertising contracts were handed out to cronies; and wrangles over $1,863 daily payments to German sports stars, such as swimmer Michael Gross, for services as Olympia GmbH "Ambassadors." As IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch diplomatically put it: "In the beginning Berlin's application was not prepared with German thoroughness, but now it is working well." But if Samaranch is finally convinced that Berlin has got its act together, a majority of Germans remain unconvinced of the merits of the bid, despite the $37 million already spent on PR by Berlin. "There has been no big enthusiasm for the Games on the River Spree," concluded a recent report in the Berliner Morgenpost daily. Preoccupied with the costs of German unification, a recession, and rising crime, most Berliners remain distracted from the Games. Germans are sharply divided over the question of Berlin's Olympic application. A recent opionion poll showed 58 percent of Berliners supporting the Games with 34 percent against. A nationwide poll by the Infas institute revealed 61 percent of Germans think the country "cannot afford" an Olympics in 2000. The cost concern also worries Germany's finance minister, Theo Waigel -- nicknamed the minister for debt due to the country's deficit spending to finance unification -- pointedly said he would prefer an application for the Olympic Games in 2004. Not all opponents of the 2000 Berlin Games are peaceful. Militant anti-Olympic groups, drawing heavily on Berlin's violent, left-wing "Autonomen" movement, have built a shadowy "NOlympics" campaign, which has firebombed city department stores backing the Games, smashed windows of banks, and sent a video to IOC members featuring a masked man preparing to hurl a stone saying "We will be waiting for you." In the city's Prenzlauer Berg district, NOlympics activists recently painted a three-story high wall mural which showed a clearly dead and bleeding Berlin Olympia bear being roasted on the spit. More deadly opposition to the Olympic spirit comes from Germany's resurgent neo-Nazi movement. At least 26 people have been killed in rightist attacks in Germany over the past 20 months -- almost half of them foreigners. Despite the backing of people like Ruth Owens, the widow of the legendary black athlete Jesse Owens -- who sprinted to victory at the 1936 Berlin Olympics to the obvious displeasure of Adolf Hitler -- supporters remain fearful the bloody trail left by German rightists could well damage the bid. German tennis star Boris Becker has also voiced concern over the boost a Berlin Olympics could give to neo-Nazis. "There are enough right-wing extremists in Germany who would start talking about the Master Race if we started to win lots of medals in a Berlin Olympics," Becker said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Istanbul is the Olympic Outsider ...................................... 94 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: C. Mok Source: UPI, 9/16/93 ISTANBUL -- "Let's meet where the continents meet" is the catch phrase Istanbul has chosen for its bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, underlining its unique geographical position linking Europe with Asia. "Blending the modern and the ancient, the city offers an ideal site for emphasizing the values of Olympic movement as humanity crosses the threshold into the next millenium," Turkish bid officials say. They point to a first-ever chance to simultaneously hold the games on two continents. But the rhetoric can't hide the fact that Istanbul is the outsider of the five bidding cities, with little chance of winning the Sept. 23 vote. Despite its long shot status, the Turkish parliament last April ratified a bill which identified and provided funding sources for the organization of the Games. The income includes revenue from the sports and national lotteries, horse racing and an annual allocation from the consolidated budget. Istanbul's proposed budget for hosting the games is $1.2 billion with a projected surplus of $207 million. This surplus will be used to cover the travel expenses of the athletes and officials who participate in the Games. A further $3 million will be set aside from Istanbul's budget to cover the traveling costs of journalists from the developing world. By the year 2000 Istanbul will have more than 80,000 hotel beds and all are within easy reach of all the venues and Istanbul's center. Istanbul is planning to stage all the events within a 25 mile radius and provide accomodation for all the athletes in a single village. The Olympic village will be built as part of a satellite town already being developed near Lake Kucuktekmece on the European side. It will comprise approximately 140 five-story buildings arranged around 10 large parks. With the accent on a compact Games, the furthest traveling time from the village to any venue will be only 40 minutes and 15 of the 25 sports will be contested in the Olympic Park, 25 minutes from Istanbul's city center. The other proposed venues are all within easy reach of the village and the park, Turkish officials say, adding that while only three venues already exist, four are currently under construction and plans are well underway for the others. All venues will be completed two years before the opening of the Games. Istanbul, with a population of more than eight million, suffers badly from heavy traffic and pollution. But local experts say that as more than 50 percent of the air pollution comes from chimney smoke, usage of natural gas will greatly reduce the problem. The city has also embarked on a plan to transfer traffic to ring roads and increase the capacity and variety of mass transit facilities. With the completion of the subway system currently under construction, the residential areas will be tied to work centers in the city which, according to the officials, will greatly reduce traffic congestion. But, as with Beijing, another bidding city, Turkey's human rights record is considered a major obstacle with torture allegations and the ongoing Kurdish separtist issue topping the list of concerns. The London-based Amnesty International, in its report of November 1992, claimed political killings were reported almost daily in Turkey. Officials, however, say that torture is not systematic and that individual cases are brought to courts. On the Kurdish issue, the government officials say Turkish troops are fighting the illegal Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the southeast which attacks villages. Since August 1984 some 6,000 people have been killed in PKK-related violence. Turkey's first woman Prime Minister, Tansu Ciller, will lead Turkey's bid team in Monte Carlo but it will be a major surpise if the IOC members reward her with a yes vote. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Beijing Students Taught Manners as Part of Olympic Campaign ........... 25 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Daluo Jia, Source: AP, September 7, 1993 Beijing -- As part of China's campaign to win the 2000 Olympic Games, students in Beijing are being taught to speak politely and to give their seats to old people, an official newspaper reported Tuesday. Foreigners visiting China often are surprised at the lack of common courtesy. Little things, like lining up or saying 'please' and 'thank you,' are often lacking, while spitting, littering and fighting to get on buses or to be first in line are commonplace. The China Education News (Zhongguo Jiaoyu Bao) said Beijing unveiled the 'Rules for Manners Among Primary and High School Students' in the spring as part of the city's efforts to be named to host the 2000 Olympic Games. The rules teach children to take off their hats when they hear the national anthem, to sit up straight, to speak politely and use words such as 'excuse me,' 'please' and 'thank you.' The students also have been told to give their seats to women, youngsters, the elderly and soldiers, to help the disabled and to be quiet during performances. The rules did not mention spitting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. No Manipulation of Vote: Replied by Top Chinese Officials ............. 66 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: Reuter, September 15, 1993 MONTE CARLO -- China's top Olympic official denied on Wednesday that the release of political prisoners and a recent spate of Chinese world records had been timed to help Beijing secure the 2000 Games. Western critics have speculated that the recent release of a number of political dissidents and an unprecedented burst of four women's world records in six days by Chinese runners had been aimed at boosting Beijing's Olympic ambitions. China has spared no pains in its efforts to obtain the 2000 Games when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) makes its choice next Thursday from five bidding cities -- Sydney, Beijing, Manchester, Berlin and Istanbul. But He Zhenliang, IOC vice president and head of the Chinese National Olympic Committee, said the release of political prisoners and last week's world records were unrelated to the bidding process. He denied that the release on Tuesday of Wei Jingsheng, one of China's foremost political dissidents, was an attempt to soften up the IOC. "I'm a bit surprised. When someone is arrested according to our law, outside people make a lot of noise about human rights," He said. "Then, when we release someone, we are also criticised by those who say we are doing it because of the bid. What should we do? Please tell us. Everything we do is according to our law, but people always want to cri- ticise us." When Wei was freed after serving 14 years of a 15-year sentence imposed for advocating democratic change, diplomats in Beijing said his release was clearly linked to the Olympic vote. He Zhenliang also scoffed at suggestions that the run of world records by Wang Junxia and Qu Yunxia had been timed to promote Beijing's bid. "They had no connection with the bid. They were the result of many years of effort in track and field," he said. Wang chopped a colossal 42 seconds off the 10,000 metres world record last week before smashing the 3,000 metres mark twice in 24 hours. She was competing in China's National Games, in which Qu also beat the 13-year-old record for the 1,500 metres. But He said the dates for the National Games had been arranged four years ago, long before the IOC voting schedule was known. "The Chinese aren't such good planners. I laugh at people who think we can foresee everything." He also dismissed Western allegations that the success of China's swimmers at last year's Barcelona Olympics and their track and field athletes at the Stuttgart world championships last month was achieved by doping. "For those who didn't know about our training methods it was a surprise. I understand that. But what I can't understand is why this is always attri- buted to doping." "It's not correct. We have our anti-doping programme and we have strict measures to fight against doping, internationally and domestically," He said. Referring to the revolutionary endurance training used by coach Ma Junren, He said: "We're not selfish people, we wish to share our experience with others. The coaches and even the athletes of all other countries are welcome to come to China and undergo the same training programme, if they can endure it." Lou Dapeng, vice president of the Chinese athletics federation, added: "We would like the world to know how we train, that it's not just a matter of taking a few tablets." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. With Eyes on Olympics, China Pursues Airline Safety ................... 60 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: New York Times, 9/15/93 Written by: Patrick E. Tyler BEIJING -- Worried that its effort to become the host to the 2000 Olympic Games could be undermined by safety concerns among foreigners who fly on China's airlines, Chinese aviation authorities have announced a major crackdown on safety violations. For anyone who has flown in China, the new safety drive is much overdue. China's economic takeoff has produced a boom in air travel -- and accidents -- with the increase in new domestic airlines last year allowed by the breakup of the state air monopoly in 1988. At a recent news conference, Yan Zhixiang, deputy director-general of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told reporters: "The aviation sector, which is undergoing rapid expansion, has failed to carry through rules on air safety and security." Lax safety and security standards prompted one passenger association in the United States to quip in its newsletter that flying in China was more dangerous than strolling through the streets of Sarajevo. An exaggeration, to be sure, but the barbs from abroad have been reinforced by so many scare stories from China's frequent fliers that the leadership was forced to crack down before the country's air safety record was thrown onto the list of reasons China's critics have been compiling to keep the 2000 Games away from here, airline industry officials say. International aviation officials are loath to say China's air fatality record is worse than that of other developing countries, in part because China still does not report its safety data to industry organizations. But China's aviation authorities themselves said last week that the total of 331 deaths in commercial airliner crashes in the last 13 months was intolerable and constituted a warning that safety systems had gone awry. Among the worst aspects of the system is air-traffic control, where old radars and inadequate communication systems at times keep controllers in the dark about what is going on. Flight delays are also epidemic these days. The aviation authority's most recent figures show that delays in scheduled flights jumped from 8 percent in May and June last year to 18 percent this year and that most of those delays were due to air-traffic control problems. Airline officials say air-traffic controllers often have little choice but to delay flights because the bulk of China's airspace is reserved for the military. When narrow civilian flight corridors fill up with traffic, controllers cannot assign flights to parallel military corridors without getting permission from the military, another time-consuming procedure. Steps China has taken to improve its performance include signing contracts with international aviation companies to help Chinese airlines set up new maintenance and training programs. Boeing is running a large pilot-training program as part of its contracts to sell billions of dollars in new aircraft here. British Airways has just signed a 12-month contract with China Southern Airline to help develop its maintenance program. But in the largest aviation improvement program for the Olympics the Chinese authorities hope to entice foreign airlines and investors to build or modernize 100 airports nationwide by the year 2000 to meet an estimated demand of 180 million annual passengers, a tripling of the estimated 60 million yearly passengers now. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10.China Discounts Official's Olympic Boycott Threat ..................... 39 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: C. Mok Source: UPI, 9/17/93 BEIJING -- China's Olympic bidding committee Friday disavowed a senior official's threat that China might boycott the 1996 Atlanta Olympics if it loses the 2000 Games, saying the official's remark was "not representative." Officials of the Beijing Olympic Bidding Committee (Bobico) were clearly embarrassed by the furor over the threat made by Beijing Vice Mayor Zhang Baifa, Bobico's chief executive, in an interview with an Australian television network. In the interview with Australia's SBS network, conducted last week and to be broadcast Saturday, Zhang complained about the resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives opposing Beijing's bid on human rights grounds. "If we failed in the bid, I could write to the U.S. House of Representatives and complain that they interfered with the bid and that I had to take revenge," Zhang said, according to a transcript of the interview. "For instance, they've passed a resolution objecting to our Olympic bid," he said. "On the other hand, we could boycott the U.S. in the 1996 Games in Atlanta." Zhang reportedly told SBS off-camera the view was his personal opinion, and Bobico officials in Beijing swiftly played down the comments. "We have not heard that Mr. Zhang has ever said such a thing," said a Bobico spokesman. However, the spokesman said, "it's his opinion and his opinion is not representative of the authority" of the committee. "The bidding committee and the Chinese government have insisted a boycott of the Olympics is harmful to the spread of the Olympic spirit all over the world," he added. Earlier Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also discounted criticism Thursday by British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd, who said China did not deserve the Olympics. "Where to hold the Olympic Games is not decided by certain politicians," the ministry said in a brief response. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Will Olympics Push China Toward Democracy? ........................... 59 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Yang Chang-qing Source: U.S. News & World Report, September 20, 1993 BEIJING -- The billboards along Beijing's Avenue of Eternal Peace pro- claim, "A more open China awaits 2000 Olympics," and stickers on every taxicab in the city shout, "Beijing 2000." With such slogans, a casual visitor might be forgiven for concluding that the Chinese capital had won its ambitious bid to host the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. In fact, five cities are still vying for the millennial games -- Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul, Manchester and Sydney -- and the International Olympic Commit- tee won't select the victor until September 23. If the comfort of the athletes were all that mattered, Sydney would have the competition sewn up. The IOC has praised the city for its safety, excellent hotels and transportation, and existing sports faci- lities. The same report termed Beijing's bid "realistic and solid" but criticized the city for its inadequate telecommunications, pollution and paucity of foreign language speakers.From China's point of view, Beijing deserves the Olympics in spite of these drawbacks simply because of the size of China's population -- 1.17 billion--and because China is both an Asian and a developing nation. The summer games have been held only twice in Asia (Tokyo and Seoul) and only twice in the developing world (Mexico City and again Seoul). "No matter how you look at it, it is our turn this time," says Chen Xitong, president of Beijing's Bid Committee. China and its Western supporters see the games as an enormous opportunity to remake the nation's tarnished global image. The last time China had the world's full attention was in 1989 when TV viewers witnessed the suppression of thousands of Chinese protesters in Tiananmen Square. Beijing's foreign boosters suggest that Chinese leaders, at the very least, would have to avoid Tiananmen-style crackdowns and honor the broad outlines of their pledges to Hong Kong, which returns to Chinese rule in 1997. China would also have to welcome floods of foreign visi- tors and media. The model is Seoul, where, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch has boasted, the 1988 games helped foster economic growth and democratization. Opponents of Beijing's bid argue that bestowing the games on China would confer international legitimacy on a regime that routinely restricts its citizens' most basic liberties. Richard Dicker, staff attorney for Human Rights Watch in New York, notes that in China, "The practice is not to loosen things up to make a good impression with foreign visitors and foreign journalists but to tighten down so no discordant voices emerge." Dicker sees a parallel not to Korea but to Moscow in 1980, where the games "had no appreciable positive effect on human rights in the country." If China loses its bid, expect Beijing to heap blame on the American Congress. This summer, the House passed a non-binding resolution urging the U.S. IOC delegate to vote against China's bid, and 60 senators signed a letter to the IOC arguing against holding the games in Beijing. Combined with U.S. sanctions against China for selling M-11 missile technology to Pakistan and the apparently false accusation that a Chinese ship en route to Iran was carrying chemicals for weapons, Washington's role in opposing China's Olympics bid will keep bilateral relations strained. If China is chosen as host, Chen has promised to engrave the names of all IOC members and gold medalists on the Great Wall. And what if Sydney wins? An Australian academic suggests that China might ever so slightly alter the Chinese character for Olympic to make the character for Australian, so the billboards would read. "A more open China awaits the Australian games." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12. High Rollers Decide 2000 Olympic Games Destiny ...................... 105 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu Source: Reuter, September, 13, 1993 LONDON -- The high rollers of international sport jet into Monte Carlo this week for a global numbers game that will decide the destiny of the 2000 Olympics. At stake will be a multi-billion dollar jackpot and the unique prestige of staging the millennium Games. And if the diplomatic muscle of Beijing can overcome the technical superiority of Sydney, the choice could in- fluence the international political scene for decades to come. The last-ditch quest for votes amid the lush watering holes of Monte Carlo will attract around 1,000 delegates from the five bidding cities -- Sydney, Beijing, Manchester, Berlin and Istanbul. Even Monte Carlo's regular casino clientele, striving to beat the odds at the green baize tables, will break off from the action when International Olympic Commi- ttee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch announces the result in 10 days' time. Although Samaranch himself will not take part in the ballot, about 90 voting IOC members are due in Monte Carlo, where the ultimate prize will go to the first candidate to reach an absolute majority of 46. But the IOC can be notoriously unpredictable in its voting patterns -- increas- ingly so since the fragmentation of the former communist east bloc -- and many Olympic insiders believe the ballot could turn out to be the closest ever held. After a 2.5-year game of manipulation and bluff by the rival cities not even Samaranch, arguably the shrewdest operator in world sport, can be sure who will turn out to be the aces and jokers in the Olympic pack. On technical merit, the clear favourite is Sydney, which is making Aus- tralia's third straight bid following failed attempts by Brisbane in 1986 and Melbourne 1990. Sydney has an obvious trump card in its faci- lities, which are easily the best among the five candidates. But although the Sydney bid has been described as technically near-perfect by one IOC official, the Australians recognise the strength of the political, dip- lomatic and economic cards held by Beijing. So successful has the IOC been in generating a multi-billion dollar turnover from the Games that cynics have suggested a dollar sign could be added to the five rings of the Olympic logo. And with the lure of China's population of 1.2 billion as a largely untapped market, the IOC's silky-smooth marketing specialists can see further riches flowing from a Beijing Olympics. There is also a feeling in some quarters within the IOC, including Samaranch, that the millennium Games must be celebrated somewhere "special." China, with the world's most ancient civilisation and a fifth of the global population, would live up to that billing. But the most difficult card in Beijing's hand is China's record of human rights violations -- an issue which seems sure to be a factor in the voting despite Beijing's best efforts to make it go away. Paradoxically, the U.S. House of Representatives may have unwittingly boosted Beijing's prospects with a July resolution opposing China's bid on human rights grounds. The IOC is hugely sensitive to political interference in its affairs and a senior IOC member estimated that the resolution probably added four to five extra votes to Beijing's tally. But such a shift could be countered by continuing pressure from U.S. based human rights groups whose lobbying of individual IOC members has ensured that the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators will remain on the agenda in Monte Carlo. Beijing's supporters within the IOC turn the argument around and say that awarding the Olympics to Beijing would help reduce the level of human rights violations and speed China's progress up the world economic ladder. Some Olympic observers believe that a potential stand-off between Sydney and Beijing could allow Manchester to sneak in as a compromise winner. The Manchester bid has won substantial praise for its technical strength despite being widely regarded as more worthy than glamorous. But the northern English industrial city has clearly made up ground on the two front-runners in recent months. "Manchester has strengthened its position, there's no doubt about that," an IOC member said, "although in my judgement it's still a two-horse race." But the two leading horses could conceivably run each other to a standstill, allowing Manchester to gallop past and win by a nose. Present predictions give Beijing about 35 votes on the first ballot, which may not be enough if it is unable to attract a substantial switch in its favour in subsequent rounds. Sydney is expected to raise 20-25 votes in the initial ballot, but can look forward to increasing that tally as other candidates fall by the wayside. Berlin and Istanbul will almost certainly have to content themselves with fulfilling the maxim of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic movement, that taking part is more important than winning. However, after a textbook demonstration of how not to run an Olympic bid campaign, Berlin at least has reason to hope that it can avoid total humiliation in Monte Carlo. The glittering success of the recent world athletics championships in Stuttgart -- where China's athletes had to fend off further accusations of doping -- and a favourable technical report by the IOC should ensure that the Germans at least reach double figures. When the Olympic die is finally cast, Monte Carlo can return to its main business of persuading the suave and sleek or the broke and desperate to unload a sackful of cash at the green baize tables. +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Executive Editors: Chengyan Liu (U.S.A.) & XU Ming Yang (Australia) | | Coordinating Editor: XU Ming Yang | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | China News Digest (CND) offers the following services: | | (1) Global News (Daily) (2) US Regional News | | (3) Canada Regional News (4) Europe & Pacific Regional News | | (5) Hua Xia Wen Zhai (Weekly Chinese Magazine) | | (6) InfoBase: anon FTP to CND.ORG[132.249.229.100]:pub/InfoBase | | To subscribe or get info, mail request to: CND-INFO@CND.ORG | | To contribute news, please send it to: CND-EDITOR@CND.ORG | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+