Tilmann's China Report

China No. 1? Well...

2008-08-24T03:52:00.000-07:00

No doubt, the Chinese delegation performed remarkably. Could anyone have believed the PRC would collect 100 medals, 51 of which gold, just 24 years after first participating in the Games in 1984? Home field advantage definitely played its part - with Chinese probably among the most partriotic fans in the world - but still remarkable.

A look at the medals tally suggests that China is no. 1. Strictly speaking that is true, but a look at euolympics.eu reveals something different: would the EU participate as one team, like having the courage to speak with one voice on other international issues, it would lead. Let's look at the numbers: 280 medals total, with 87 gold ones! Not bad EU!

Interestingly it is not just federalist NGOs that follow this thinking. The websites of the French and German embassies in Beijing also show the EU medal numbers - but the French site informs that the EU numbers are given "for information only".

UPDATE (Aug. 25): The EUObserver published a worthwhile article about the the EU Olympics project.

Black market of Olympic dimensions

2008-08-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Olympic tickets black market! This informal institution is located on the square at Beitucheng station (the intersection of subway lines 10 and 8 next to the Olympic Green). This is where offer meets demand and causes some tickets to be sold at exorbitant prices, while others at face value. And all of this despite more than clear rules (see photo to the left) and constant oversight by the police present in large numbers just next to the square.

Although I have more than enough tickets myself (and am not planning to sell any) something attracts me to walk though the mass of people there this evening. There are so many! Probably ca. 500 people all in all. Some sellers are just quietly sitting there with tickets in their hands, while others are gesticulating wildly surrounded by hordes of potential buyers. Only some (probably more desperate) sellers actually approach me, others just show the tickets and wait for me to engage them. Some of them look outright criminal, including some of the foreigners selling, others more innocent - mothers with their children. Some test questions reveal how the invisible hand is allocating: "synchronized swimming?" - "won't even bother to bargain below 3300RMB" (for a tickets that cost maybe 200-500 max. originally); "football final?" - "1000RMB"...

The atmosphere is special here - Agitated, positive but also tense. Maybe also because the police can raid the whole thing any moment (picture to the right taken the day before). Several hundred have already been arrested, with 10-15 days prison for locals and deportation for foreigners (good luck on that next visa...) plus hefty fines. Risky business. But probably because of its inevitability the authorities tolerate a lot of activity - but do impose the laws not to give a wrong impression of lawlessness. That night I leave Beitucheng without more tickets but with another interesting impression of the Olympics.

Security is tight, very tight

2008-08-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

The Economist reports there are "100,000 security personnel (plus a similar number of “security volunteers”)". I confirm that!! A guard for every pedestrian tunnel and bridge on many street corners in even remote areas of town; police and para-military vehicles everywhere, tanks and heavily armed guards in strategic locations such as train stations... In the Olympic venues one constantly feels observed by the many "volunteers". Of course they are not officially security personel, but often serve the same function.

All this gives me a double sided feeling: on the one hand a strong feeling of personal security - on the the other one of supervision. Despite security quantity, quality is still short. Although not a security threat, the recurring episodes of T-Bat (or how do you spell that again?!) activists unfolding banners, showed that the authoritarianism has its limits. In fact, these protests seem to have become the unofficial discipline of the Beijing Games. This perpetual rat and mouse game is held on unofficial venues such as around the Bird's Nest on the Olympic Green, the CCTV headquarters or Tian An Men Square. This choice is understandable as the three official protesting venues were barred from being used: All complaints were withdrawn or declined. According to Le Monde, two women in their late 70's were even sentenced to labour camp reeducation. The sentence will be executed should they not stop their protests.

Plus, since about a week these devices, which look like "safe bomb detonators" can be seen in the Olympic Green (left) and in many subway stations (center). And they are even DIY! Just follow the instructions (right).

This is the day!

2008-08-08T03:13:00.000-07:00

The day hundreds of millions of Chinese have been waiting for has come: 8.8.08! I can only imagine the spectacular atmosphere waiting for me at Xi Dan, where I´ll be be following the opening ceremony on one of the huge public screens with likely a few ten thousand locals - but from my experience in July 2001 when Beijing was awarded the Games I can expect quite something. Back then literally millions spontaneously took to the streets in a feeling of national pride and happiness. Despite or maybe because of the recent controversies around the Olympics these feelings are stronger than ever. In this I´m judging from what I´ve seen and heard in China in the last weeks. This is definitely gonna be a night to remember!
PS: And not just China is watching: BBC World just reported 4bn will be watching world wide - WOW!

Update: The air is better

2008-07-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

What a relief! Take a look at this photo taken yesterday afternoon riding on the third ring north by the new CCTV headquarters. Blue sky and notably better air quality. And what do today's numbers say? WOW! API 43, Grade I. Seems like someone did listen (see previous post ;-)!

Reuters reports that the weather conditions in the last few days are unlikely to repeat themselves during the Games. In case they should there are already special measures at hand such as only allowing cars whose last license plate number matches the last number of the current date. Let's see... that would make about... anybody got a calculator?

The air is bad

2008-07-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

I took this picture last Friday afternoon while riding to Wu Dao Kou area in BJ to give you an idea of what the air looks like now in Beijing, with 11 days to go till the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Although traffic restrictions have been in place since last Sunday you can see that it is still considerable during rush hour. [The restrictions consist of only allowing cars with licence plates ending with an even/odd number on even/odd days of the month.] This and the other predominantly local measures - such as closing construction sites and closing/moving factories, apart from impressive city-greening efforts - don't seem to be enough.

In my perception, since around last Thursday the air is getting more and more asphyxiating. The high humidity of it increases the feeling. It is simply uncomfortable to take a deep breath outside these days.

This perception is confirmed by the statistics: the daily updated Air Pollution Index (API) on the Ministry of Environmental Protection's (MEP) website shot up in the last week from mid 80's (Level II) to 113 (Level III1) today. For some reason the API on the MEP's English language version website is still stuck on the July 23, when it was at 89 (Level II).

And all this when the air pollution prospects were looking promising. Probably most of the days in the roughly three weeks I spent here so far were sunny with a few clouds, if any at all (see the amazing combo-picture with its description below). Of course PM10 and ozone levels can still be high with a blue sky but at least the smog and humidity weren't there.

Arguably the authorities did close to their best to reduce local sources of pollution. Now it's only a matter of luck from where the winds blow in on Beijing; from the cleaner northern deserts or the industrial areas in the south. As one expert puts it: "My advice to them at this point is to keep up the good work and then pray to the Mongolian Weather Gods to send cold fronts. That's their best hope for clean air." Let's hope they listen!

On the left 2 photos from the South China Morning Post with the following caption:

"This combo picture shows the same view of Beijing's fast-developing central business district (CBD) skyline just three days apart, lost in a haze of pollution (top) on July 8, 2008 with one month to go before the Olympics, and on July 5 (below). While China warns that hostile forces are intent on derailing the Beijing Olympics, it marks the one-month countdown to the 8-24 August Games on a dark, smoggy day that raises further concerns over pollution. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN"

Saving lives in San Li Tun

2008-07-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

San Li Tun is an interesting neighborhood - it's hard to see a higher concentration of young wai guo ren (foreigners) in this city on a saturday night. The reason for that? The high concentration of clubs and bars of course. The neighborhood is centrally located by the diplomatic district (can't be a coincidence) and the silk market. There are dozens and dozens of venues for any taste from punky discos to chill-out terrace bars to all you can drink shacks to super fashion glamour clubs. Although there is a substantial (and maybe increasing) number of Chinese hanging around the western-style venues in this part of town it seems that the average Beijinger prefers to hang around the obiquitous KTV's (karaoke) 'temples'. Not less average, I would argue is a large mass that for simple time and/or money constraints wouldn't be able to afford either on a regular basis.

Interesting are many aspects here: the chinese "voluntary squads" marching in file along the streets and alleys, some with oversized brown uniforms ("for your safety"); sometimes getting the feeling of being in a new version of what 1940's Shanghai must have been like, where lust and desire run unconstrained from any moral force; and realizing that this is the new China where an all drinks included table for a few persons in a top club costs 50,000 RMB (ca. 4600€) per night, while there are children selling flowers outside for a few yuan (cents).

"Interesting" was also an episode occurring last night to me and a hispano-swedish friend of mine while celebrating his last night in BJ. We were just having our past-midnight chicken skewer snack when we notice some LOCO sitting on top of a street sign around 3+ meters high (see photo)! What was he doing?! Well, apart from balancing his act in an obviously drunk condition he was chatting into a mobile phone. First reacting a bit startled and then amused like most other people passing by, shouting at him, laughing at him, we soon realized this needed intervention or it wasn't gonna end well. Imagine remembering a night out in Beijing by a broken skull... So we didn't take long to react and got him down in 10 sec's. How? By proving that he was really drunk and telling him we were Interpol agents. LOL!

It didn't take long and we were needed again when a salvage woman went berzerk on a man, possibly her boyfriend, while coming out of a bar. There wasn't just slapping and punching, but also hairpulling and even glass bottle throwing and shattering.. OMG! As this was gonna end badly, we did the only thing we could do and stood between the two like a brick wall. This is suposedly not too dangerous for the people standing in between as in such cases the agressiveness is of the perpetrator is directed at a clear subject and not bystanders/in-between-standers. Meanwhile other people pulled the two back and defused the situation, while she went on swearing in Chinese as bad as it can get. Nonetheless, apart from a few other minor incidents, we had a great night out. BUT WHAT A NIGHT in Beijing!!

Arrival at Beijing - my new home for the next 10 weeks

2008-06-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

That's it! I've just set foot at the brand new T3 and it seem's like I've made it once again to Beijing. The third time to be precise, the last one having been in 2002 - an era ago in terms of Chinese development.

Many questions flash through my head. What will this megalopolis (pop. approx. 17mn) have transformed itself into in these six years shortly before the Olympics - the event for which countdown began 7 years ago? Will I be able to actually feel the widely heralded measures to improve air and other pollution?? What will it feel like to experience Beijing's new masterpieces of modern architecture first hand??? What will the mood among regular Beijinger's be as the world's attention zooms in on their city while the authorities try to make sure everything will go forward without a glitch???? And, and, and, so many questions on my mind... I guess I'll just have to wait and see!

For now I'm just speeding though the terminal with the shuttle train. This doesn't even take that long, considering it's the largest building in the world (2 miles long - would strech across Lower Manhattan). Almost surprisingly (compared to Heathrow's new T5's performance) everything else such as immigration and baggage claiming went though more than smoothly. And best of all a good Chinese friend of mine was already waiting for me at the exit. Beijing huān yíng wo - here I come!