Glittering inaugural of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing
Monday, 11 August 2008
Fazle Rashid from New York
CHINA justifiably prided itself on the fact that the entire world watched with awe and admiration the glittering inaugural ceremony of the 29th World Olympiad. The quarters who wanted to disrupt the games by raising such flimsy questions of air pollution, lack of security, violation of civil rights, and absence of religious freedom themselves admitted that what they witnessed on Friday evening in Beijing was simply awesome.
But this piece is not about the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the newspapers around the world have been flooded with stories of the inaugural function by the wire services. It is about the romance of 17,000 young couples who had set August 8 as the day of tieing the knot.
About 17,000 couples chose the opening day of the Olympics to convert their romance into marriage. One such couple admitted that they were caught by the Olympic fever. The government wished all such couples and presented them with Olympic souvenirs and century of matrimonial bliss. The figure 8 has some magical value for the Chinese. It is good luck for our country and good luck for our relationship said a couple who got married.
At a Beijing hospital there were 20 per cent surge in delivery cases. Many mothers who opted to be a part of the auspicious day wanted to go for a Caesarean section but the hospitals were unable to meet their wishes. Many would-be parents chose a hospital that is close to the Olympic village in the hope that it would bring good luck for the new born. There have been politically motivated protests in Europe and in other parts of the world 'denouncing' China's not so favourable human rights record. What is a matter of significance is the sudden burst of sympathy for Uighur Muslims who are demanding independence. Tibetians who are being instigated by various anti-China quarters also took part in demonstrations in New Delhi and Kathmandu. The behind-the-scene instigators are not much sympathetic to the cause of the Tibetian people, their primary target was to defame Beijing and disrupt the Olympic games. There were protests in London, Madrid, Berlin, Stockholm, Lisbon, Amsterdam and New York.
The demonstration in Paris outside the heavily guarded Chinese embassy Reporters sans borders, an advocacy group of journalists that focusses on press freedom joined the Amnesty International campaigners for Tibet and Uighurs, a Muslim minority in China. The anti -China effort that received the most attention was in Beijing itself. Reporters without borders pirated a radio frequency and broadcast criticism of China in Mandarin, English and French, the New York Times reported last Sunday. We lost the battle for a boycott of the opening ceremony but it does not mean that we will keep quiet, Reporters sans border said. If we talk more about human rights in China, it is because of the protests like these. Noise is good, one protester said.
It was pure and simple jealously, a China supporter said. China's all round performances pushing behind many rich, wealthy and influential countries has clearly upset its adversaries. The successful beginning of the Olympic Games added one more feather to the cap.
CHINA justifiably prided itself on the fact that the entire world watched with awe and admiration the glittering inaugural ceremony of the 29th World Olympiad. The quarters who wanted to disrupt the games by raising such flimsy questions of air pollution, lack of security, violation of civil rights, and absence of religious freedom themselves admitted that what they witnessed on Friday evening in Beijing was simply awesome.
But this piece is not about the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the newspapers around the world have been flooded with stories of the inaugural function by the wire services. It is about the romance of 17,000 young couples who had set August 8 as the day of tieing the knot.
About 17,000 couples chose the opening day of the Olympics to convert their romance into marriage. One such couple admitted that they were caught by the Olympic fever. The government wished all such couples and presented them with Olympic souvenirs and century of matrimonial bliss. The figure 8 has some magical value for the Chinese. It is good luck for our country and good luck for our relationship said a couple who got married.
At a Beijing hospital there were 20 per cent surge in delivery cases. Many mothers who opted to be a part of the auspicious day wanted to go for a Caesarean section but the hospitals were unable to meet their wishes. Many would-be parents chose a hospital that is close to the Olympic village in the hope that it would bring good luck for the new born. There have been politically motivated protests in Europe and in other parts of the world 'denouncing' China's not so favourable human rights record. What is a matter of significance is the sudden burst of sympathy for Uighur Muslims who are demanding independence. Tibetians who are being instigated by various anti-China quarters also took part in demonstrations in New Delhi and Kathmandu. The behind-the-scene instigators are not much sympathetic to the cause of the Tibetian people, their primary target was to defame Beijing and disrupt the Olympic games. There were protests in London, Madrid, Berlin, Stockholm, Lisbon, Amsterdam and New York.
The demonstration in Paris outside the heavily guarded Chinese embassy Reporters sans borders, an advocacy group of journalists that focusses on press freedom joined the Amnesty International campaigners for Tibet and Uighurs, a Muslim minority in China. The anti -China effort that received the most attention was in Beijing itself. Reporters without borders pirated a radio frequency and broadcast criticism of China in Mandarin, English and French, the New York Times reported last Sunday. We lost the battle for a boycott of the opening ceremony but it does not mean that we will keep quiet, Reporters sans border said. If we talk more about human rights in China, it is because of the protests like these. Noise is good, one protester said.
It was pure and simple jealously, a China supporter said. China's all round performances pushing behind many rich, wealthy and influential countries has clearly upset its adversaries. The successful beginning of the Olympic Games added one more feather to the cap.