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huaiwei

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Everything posted by huaiwei

  1. Nah, for that will give them far too much public prominence and may incite strong public reactions. They are far more likely to dumb the Tibeten monks and Olympic dissenters into the cauldron and have them fuel the sacred olympic flame.
  2. If I recall correctly, this stadium was designed by a Swiss company?
  3. So the Olympics has become a political event thanks to China? I know they are kinda influenctual on the global stage, but I have never figured that they have come this far! I am a fan of the Olympics as a sporting event, and nothing else. I believe there are many who feel the same, in particular the atheletes who work so hard to compete. I will call the Olympics a political event only when it is norm for all atheletes to decide to train and particulate in an edition of the Olympics only after the venue is announced!
  4. If you could show that money was the sole concern amongst all IOC delegates who cast their votes, then I would accept your reasoning. Until then, you are merely painting an assumption, which although logical, is far too sweeping and simplistic. If money was indeed all that the IOC cared about, could you explain why Moscow, the front-runner in their US$180 million YOG bid failed to grab the games from second-placed Singapore with only a budget of US$75.5 million? Was Moscow any less influential and powerful compared to Singapore, either politically or economically?
  5. By "single group" I actually meant the "pro-Chinese" group vis-a-vis the "pro-Tibet" group. Not the best word to use perhaps, but I arent certainly talking about demography!
  6. Ah, because we are now in a much more globalised world where no one wishes to seriously offend an increasingly important economic entity?
  7. Geez. A criticism that the free Western media should not be criticised for its "anti-Eastern prejudice", yet labelling the opposing news outlet as "drip-fed state-controlled"? Where is the mutual respect for opposing views? I come from a country often criticised for its "over-regulated" media, and they are probably right. I cannot discount the fact that the local news coverage is anywhere near to being politically nuetral, but the govenment's stand on the "pitfalls" of a completely free media scene does have some merits, for one just needs to review its history of racial riots fueled by a free-wheeling press. The link between sensationalisation and profits do not need much elaboration. Even reporting of truth can lead to sensationalism, for people often form opinions based on isolated cases to apply them at any level they so wish. I am in no way suggesting that the said misfortunes suffered by that woman was isolated, nor do I deny the human rights abuses suffered by the Tibetans in Chinese hands. I am, however, debucking this believe that a "liberal press" automatically gives its readers a balanced view on the subject at hand. I deplore, for one, the lack of reports on the good things the Chinese may have done to help ordinary Tibetans rise from absolute poverty, especially when they habitially give tacit mention of this with a prefix "The Chinese government says....".
  8. True, especially when we see comments like: ""Olympics is nothing to do with politics," said Jeremy Zhang, a 37-year-old Ottawa chemist who emigrated from China in 2002. "I think our country deserves the Olympics. Sports is a peaceful event to join all people together."" I immediately wondered just which country he actually belongs to now.
  9. I don't think the issue is about time. It is about sincerity and true commitment to the cause they are demonstrating for. The IOC gave the games to Beijing after a fair vote with a fair contest with worthy competitors. You make it sound as thou the IOC sold the games to Beijing in exchange for an improvement in the human rights situation in China.
  10. Perhaps civility only happens when only one group is (predominantly) demonstrating. I would love to see what happens in a full-fledged demonstration war of this magnitude from both sides in Canberra! And the Chinese do learn pretty fast don't they, considering they probably do not have much experience in organising or participating in street protests back home.
  11. Well thanks for that honest acknowledgement. Otherwise, it reeks of sheer hypocrisy when people question the origins and purpose of pro-China demonstrators as thou they are any less legitimate in voicing their views compared to pro-Tibet ones. That said, I only wished those red flag waving folks could at least ramp up on the "Olympics is not about politics" part (which I fully agree with) and scale down on the "I love China part" (which to me is completely irrelevant for no one is questioning that).
  12. Perhaps, but I don't see China's human rights record improving after failing to host the 2000 games. Nor do I see North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, etc, etc, etc, seeing an improved human rights situation for not ever being awarded the games!
  13. I think this comparison has to be seen in a more balanced perspective. Do consider the fact that probably few would predict protests of this magniture even late last year. Everything came to a head mainly due to the eruption of violence in Tibet in recent months, which few could attribute to being a direct result of Chinese provocation to spark the rebellion. That the protests erupted at this time after what seem to be decades of human rights abuses has been intriguing. If race or religion-based violence were to erupt in the streats just before a torch relay organised by the Americans, I am pretty sure demonstrations of a similar magnitude will occur, if not worse.
  14. Right. Could you suggest a host for this purpose then?
  15. Thanks for the effort Desmond. Wished I could be there at the Padang!
  16. Yeap now that the results are out, I am sure many many more cities will be doing some soul-searching now and reassessing their true ability to step up to the plate. Anywhere from Anchorage to Auckland!
  17. The first think I tot of when I saw the bid scoreline was your prediction. Anyway apparant there is some level of surprise that the vote was so close.
  18. Well it may help that by 2010, there will be full liberal aviation rights between ASEAN capitals, so I hope for dirt cheap tickets between Singapore and the various cities including Manila.
  19. Just to clarify, the so-called "Marina Bay Floating Stadium" is not a "stadium" in essense. It is more of a giant outdoor arena, built primarily to host the annual National Day Parade during the period of reconstructing the new 55,000-seat National Stadium. It is meant to be a temporary structure, although things may change after 2011 if it turns out to be a critical facility. Bishan Stadium in its current configuration can seat just 4,254 people. For the purpose of the games, 7,000 temporary seats will be added, after which the stadium reverts back to its mid-sized configuration typical of sub-urban stadiums around Singapore.
  20. Well just a whimper from a sourgrape which isnt worth paying much attention to I suppose. With only a maxium of 3,500 atheletes in 26 sports, the games isnt really huge. As mentioned in some recent press releases, The Southeast Asian games, which Singapore has hosted twice before, has already grown to involve 3,126 atheletes with over 400 events in 43 sports in the 2007 edition. The only primary difference is the number of countries involved. The reclaimed land thingy is just a joke apparantly...in reference to the bilateral issues between Indonesia and Singapore. The contract dosent really ban the building of new facilities for the games. Singapore has to build several temporary facilities, for example. The main concern is that these structures should not be built exclusively for the games, only to become white elephants after that.
  21. Check this out everyone, an article which appeared in Singapore's Straits Times today: Moscow criticises S'pore heat But S'pore officials refuse to make negative remarks about bid rival By Wang Meng Meng MOSCOW has upped the ante in the race with Singapore to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2010. Moscow's 71-year-old mayor Yuri Luzhkov told Reuters of his concerns about holding strenuous competitions for young athletes in Singapore's tropical conditions. A New York-based paediatric expert, Ljiljana Dimitrijevic, was quoted by reporter Gennady Fyodorov as saying: 'Heat and humidity are definitely big risk factors and, taking into account that the games will be staged in the summer, Moscow looks a more preferable choice than Singapore.' But IOC Executive Board member Ng Ser Miang, one of the driving forces behind Singapore's bid, refused to be drawn into a war of words. He said: 'I trust that my IOC colleagues will base their evaluation on informed reports from the IOC evaluation commission and not just on fiction or hearsay. To disparage another city's bid is against the IOC's bidding rules. We could have got experts to say things in our favour, but we didn't. Singapore has full respect for its competitors and will not make negative remarks about other bidding cities. The IOC evaluation commission had not raised any concerns about our weather. Singapore has wonderful summer weather. All the Olympic sports can be practised here.' IOC members are set to vote by post on which country wins the bid, with the result due to be announced on Feb 21. Fyodorov also wrote that 'some IOC members feel staging the Youth Games will require greater care and preparation than fully fledged Olympics', leveraging on Moscow's previous experience at holding the the boycott-affected 1980 Olympic Games. Mayor Luzhkov also believes a multi-national YOG would benefit Muscovites by providing a lesson in racial tolerance. 'It would teach many of our citizens, especially young people, to be more tolerant towards people with different racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds,' he said. Ng responded: 'Singapore has a multi-racial society and is one of the safest countries in the world where young and old can move around freely.' Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has insisted previously that the winning host should be a city that is unlikely to ever host the Olympics. But Luzhkov told Reuters: 'Beijing and Singapore are in Asia. To be more precise, they're both located in South-east Asia. Still, people don't question Singapore's right to host the Youth Olympics just two years after Beijing.' Beijing will host the Summer Olympics in August. To this, Minister for Defence and Singapore National Olympic Council president Teo Chee Hean said: 'Moscow had already hosted the Olympics in 1980 and will host the Winter Olympics in 2014. 'So I hope the IOC will allow Singapore the chance to show what we can do with the YOG.' Win or lose, Ng said that Singapore would 'make a lot of friends' along the way. He said: 'We are doing our bit in the Olympic spirit, which values excellence, respect and friendship.'
  22. Before I respond to the rest of your comments, could you perhaps clarify if the area which Sochi now occupies was in Russian/Soviet Union hands prior to 1829?
  23. If you may provide some neutral sources to back up what you attempt to insinuate, I am far more likely to believe that you belong that a certain category of individuals who seem to have an issue with anything positive pertaining to the little red dot, including a possibility of it winning this games. Your pretense and cowardice are indeed inspiring. Is Singapore wins the games, good for them. If Moscow wins, I saw it has made the world notice, and I would support resubmitting a bid in 2018 (2014 sounds inauspicious hehe), by which time the new Sports Hub would have been well-established, and hopefully an even stronger sporting culture has blossomed amongst Singapore's youths to be a better representation of what the YOG is all about.
  24. That this said country is larger than some continents is but a "problem" it has to face up to in situations such as this. I doubt it is anyone's fault that the Caucasus region remains in the hands of the Russians. Perhaps Russia would like to help itself by returning Sochi to Turkery if it so wishes to drum up support for its bid, for suddenly, Sochi and Moscow will be in different continents! I am a tad surprised that "logic" is involved in this discouse, so since we are on this topic, care to share with us the "similarities" you have observed between Beijing and Singapore? Perhaps the English language is not your First language, and while I do not claim to be an expert in this subject, I am pretty sure it is pretty naive and simplistic to form such deductions from my statements. I wrote extensively on my view that the three said cities do not give the same "ambiance" as "big international business centres". At no point in time was a comparison made between Singapore and Beijing vis-a-vis Beijing and Moscow. Having not been to Moscow or Sochi, I respectfully do not attempt to describe them. Given your extensive travel experiences, could you care to share more on your personal take on the above two city pairs then? Having come across plenty of clueless Americans who ask if Singapore is a city in China, I would be astonished if this phenomena is also observed amongst Russians. On retrospec, it is indeed offensive to place Singapore in the same category as Beijing or Moscow on retrospect, so thanks for pointing that out.
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