Posted on 08/18/2008 8:20:12 AM PDT by Wiz
The mystery of the half-filled stands at many events at the 2008 Olympic Games has been solved, according to Chinese internet users, who say it is the result of a policy to prevent the gathering of large and possibly uncontrollable crowds.
They claim ticket sales to the public were secretly restricted. Blocks of tickets went to government departments, Communist party officials or state-owned companies, which have quietly obeyed orders not to hand them out. People are so angry because they slept all night outside ticket booths and got nothing and now they see this, said one blogger, Jian Yu.
Official explanations eroded swiftly because internet insurgents have rapidly identified cracks in the perfect facade constructed for the Olympics.
In the nine days since Chinese leaders presided over a grandiose - and, it turns out, partly faked - opening ceremony, one fact after another has eluded the censors and fuelled public indignation at the costs and the charade. Protected, they hope, by online anonymity, some of Chinas 1.3 billion people are daring to wonder where it will all end.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Communism - “don’t believe the hype” (phrase used on a Raymond episode)
This is going to hurt their economy for quite a while.
So, something good did come from China hosting the Olympics after all!
Communist China projects an image of nationalist unity which cannot be validated. Underground Christians, Falun Gong, invisible minorities whose costumes were worn by "loyal" children, democracy advocates, and Islamists are all tearing at the fabric of unity. Other than the Islamists and some fanatic Maoists, most would be "friendly" to the West. All are viciously and successfully oppressed.
Made in China Restricted Ticket Sales Crowd Control PING!
This whole thing was promoted as China’s coming out party to the world. All its ended up being is a costly attempt by the communists to prop up its image with its own people.
Its a “singing to the choir” moment.
Nothing about China’s image has been changed by all this. What most people are going to remember is the images of polluted skies, 12 year old gymnists and the tainted judging, empty seats in the stands, and how their own countries athletes performed.
BUMP!
FWIW you should know that 1777 was a very hard hard year for the fledgling US of A. And yet '7' is as lucky to us as '8' is for you. And we were very superstitious in those years -- much less so now. Some years are learning experiences.
There were several cases in recent months when individual numbers of the date add up to 8, bad things occur for China. This was discussed by the Chinese on their website. The Earthquake in recent months was one of the case. Lucky charm is full of phenomenom, and not a guarantee for resistance against bad luck.
So, something good did come from China hosting the Olympics after all!
Not even close. Most of the $40 billion or so was used to expand and/or upgrade the cities infrastructure. So the overall figure is a bit misleading. Beijing will continue to expand their infrastructure even more. What they've built for the Olympics isn't enough for a future Beijing.
Also, many cities, such as Athens, Syndey and Montreal, etc. are much smaller than Beijing. Montreal for example has 3 million people (which by the way, just paid off their 1976 Olympics debt) whereas Beijing has 17 million (and will easily soar past 20 million sometime in the next decade). The additional sports facilities can easily be absorbed into a city of this size.
Also, most of the funding in other parts of the world receive funding via the local municipalities. In the case of Beijing, it came from the national coffers.
There have been SNAFU's and there maybe some more before closing ceremonies. But when all is said and done, most Chinese will be proud of what they've accomplished..
If my country was outed as cheating scumbags, I wouldn't be too "proud".
I assume you are talking about the gymnasts. Well, time will tell. And I'm sure they will be stripped of their medals if the gymnasts were not old enough. But, if it is revealed they are of appropriate age, would you be willing admit to sour grapes?
” But, if it is revealed they are of appropriate age”
Not going to happen. The Chinese will simply ignore it. The ends justify the means.
The stands are still empty and it is an embarassment to China.
“I assume you are talking about the gymnasts. Well, time will tell. And I’m sure they will be stripped of their medals if the gymnasts were not old enough.”
I would be amazed if the IOC pursued this matter any further.
How do you suppose the Chinese girls will be stripped of their medals when the communist Chinese government simply says, “Look, here it says on the official Chinese passport that all these girls are 16! So of course it is true. You can’t believe the newspapers who recently printed their ages as being 13 & 14. Believe us, we’re the People’s Republic of China and we would never, ever lie about anything.”
Yea, right.
One way or another, it'll come out. When she goes to college, as she travels, etc. It'll eventually come out, maybe not right away, but it'll show itself if there are people willing to follow it through the years.
The stands are still empty and it is an embarassment to China.
Embarassment in this particular area, maybe, but overall, the Chinese are proud of the Olympics. They maybe surprised, however, that there are people rooting against their Olympic moment and wishing for them to stumble.
See post #16. As she ages and grows up, it will eventually reveal itself. If she's still not old enough to go to college in two years, well, then you will know.
from the 18th.
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