GW0708 Cover final copy - German World

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Trotz des Setzens auf die Acht stehen die Spiele bislang unter keinem
guten Stern. Zu Jahresbeginn kamen bei den schwersten
Winterstürmen in China seit rund 50 Jahren mehr als hundert
Menschen ums Leben. Die Kältewelle wirkte sich auch auf die
Ernte aus - einer der Gründe für die heftige Inflation und die hohen
Lebensmittelpreise, die teilweise um
mehr als 60 Prozent anstiegen.
Den ersten Rückschlag für das olympische
Fest selbst hatte US-Regisseur
Steven Spielberg den Organisatoren
versetzt. Der Filmemacher erklärte im
Februar seine Mitarbeit an der Planung
der Eröffnungsfeier für beendet. Als
Grund nannte er Pekings enge Verbindung
zur sudanesischen Regierung
und deren Verantwortung für die Verfolgung
der Bevölkerung in Darfur.
Chinas schwieriger Umgang mit den Menschenrechten wurde im
März schlagartig zum internationalen Thema, als das Militär in
Tibet anti-chinesische Proteste brutal niederprügelte. Nach
WISSENSWERTES RUND UM OLYMPIA 2008 FACTS ABOUT THE 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES
Logo:
Das Logo trägt die Bezeichnung „Tanzendes Peking“. Es
basiert auf einem chinesischen Siegel und zeigt vor einem
roten Hintergrund das kalligraphische Schriftzeichen
„jing“ („Hauptstadt“ aus Beijing), das der Form eines
Athleten nachempfunden ist. Die geöffneten Arme des
Sportlers sollen die Einladung Pekings an die Welt symbolisieren.
Maskottchen:
Die fünf offiziellen Maskottchen sind die
Fuwa („Kinder des Glücks“), bestehend
aus dem Fisch „Beibei“, dem Großen
Panda „Jingjing“, der olympischen Fackel
„Huanhuan“, dem Tschiru (Antilope)
„Yingying“ und der Schwalbe „Nini“. Sie
repräsentieren die Sportfelder Schwimmen,
Kampf- und Kraftsportarten, Ballsportarten,
Turnen und Leichtathletik. Die Maskottchen
symbolisieren aber auch die Elemente der
Fünf-Elemente-Lehre des Daoismus: Wasser,
Holz, Feuer, Erde und Metall. Außerdem entsprechen
die Farben der Figuren denen der Olympischen
Ringe.
www.german-world.com July/August 2008
“ One World, One Dream ”
(Chinese:Tóng Yíge Shìjiè Tóng Yíge Mèngxiǎng)
– Motto of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games
Angaben von Exil-Tibetern wurden dabei mehr als 200
Demonstranten getötet. Die Weltöffentlichkeit diskutierte über
einen Boykott der Spiele, das Internationale Olympische Komitee
(IOC) unter Leitung von Präsident Jacques Rogge schloss einen
solchen jedoch aus. Der Olympische Fackellauf quer durch die Welt
wurde dennoch von Kritikern zu ständigen
Protestaktionen genutzt. Aus einem
Symbol für friedliche Spiele wurde so
ein Mahnlicht der verletzten Menschenrechte.
Der Jubel beim Fackellauf verstummte
endgültig, als im Mai in der Provinz
Sichuan die Erde bebte. Dabei starben
über 70.000 Menschen, fast sechs
Millionen Einwohner wurden obdachlos.
„Der Geist der chinesischen Nation
besteht darin, zusammenzustehen und sein Bestes zu tun, um alle
Schwierigkeiten zu überwinden”, versuchen die Machthaber seither
ihr Volk bei olympischer Laune zu halten: „Denn das wird uns
auch ermutigen, bei den Olympischen Spielen gute Arbeit zu leisten.”
Emblem:
The official emblem is known as “Dancing Beijing.” The
emblem is based on a Chinese seal. Against a red background
and in the shape of an athlete, it shows the calligraphic
character “jing” (“capital” – from Beijing). The
athlete’s open arms symbolize the invitation of Beijing to
the world to share in its culture.
Mascots:
The five official mascots are the five Fuwa
(“good luck dolls”), consisting of the fish
“Beibei,” the giant panda “Jingjing,” the
Olympic torch “Huanhuan,” the Tibetan
antelope “Yingying” and the swallow
“Nini.” They stand for aquatic sports,
judo and martial arts, ball sports, athletics,
and gymnastics. But the mascots also
symbolize Taoism’s five elements: water, wood,
fire, earth and metal. The colors of the figures
also correspond to the colors of the Olympic
rings.
2008 Summer Olympic Games:
Is China's Olympic 'Dream'
Slipping Away?
Good-luck symbols are intended to help the Olympic Games,
but nature and Spielberg had other ideas
The Chinese swear by the number eight. They consider it their
lucky number. It also explains the symbolic importance of the
numerical sequence the hosts have come up with for the
opening of the XXIX Olympic Games. The world’s most spectacular
sports event will start on 08.08.08 at 8:08 p.m. in Beijing. Until August
24th (three times eight), 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries
will compete for medals in 28 sports. The program features 302
events, one event more than four years ago in Athens. Some events
take place outside Beijing: sailing in Qingdao, soccer in Qinhuangdao,
Shanghai, Shenyang and Tianjin, equestrian in Hong Kong.
The “Middle Kingdom” is pumping the gigantic sum of $40 billion
into the games. As the most densely populated nation on earth
(population: 1.3 billion), the emerging giant’s ambition to show the
rest of the world what it is capable of appears to be inexhaustible.
The Communist Party of China has subordinated everything else to
the prestigious project.
Twelve new event locations have been constructed. The centerpiece
of the games is the 91,000-seat National Stadium that was
only recently completed. As the last stadium built, it is also the most
important one. Having earned the name “Bird’s Nest” for its futuristic
construction, the stadium is made of 42,000 tons of steel, is 330
meters long, 220 meters wide and 69 meters tall.
The cityscape of Beijing, home to 20 million people, has radically
changed since China’s capital was awarded the games on July 13,
2001. Investments have been made in new apartment and business
complexes. Old apartment complexes that stood in the way of modernization
were destroyed, and many people were forced to relocate.
A new public transportation system was constructed as well
with five subway lines, a light rail system, buses, and a new airport
that is twice as big. With new sewage treatment plants, garbage
disposal plants and forestation efforts, the organizers want to
honor their pledge to hold “green games.”
Whether the pledge will be kept remains questionable. Beijing
continues to suffer from extreme air pollution from traffic, industry,
construction sites and sandstorms. Whether the Asians will keep
the promise they made before they were awarded the games and
allow unrestricted media coverage is also uncertain.
Although the games have come into being under the sign of the
number eight, so far they have been ill-fated. At the beginning of the
year, the worst winter storms in five decades killed more than one
hundred people in China. The cold spell also affected the harvest –
one of the reasons for the severe inflation and high food prices,
which for some products increased by more than 60 percent. The
first setback for the Olympic celebration itself came from US movie
director Steven Spielberg. In February, he told organizers that he
was resigning his work as assistant planner for the opening celebration.
The reason he cited was Beijing’s close ties with the
Sudanese government and their responsibility for the persecution
of the people in Darfur.
In March, China’s difficult approach to human rights suddenly
became an international topic when the military brutally cracked
down on anti-Chinese protests in Tibet. Exiled Tibetans say as many
as 200 demonstrators died. The world discussed boycotting the
games, but the International Olympic Committee, under the presidency
of Jacques Rogge, opposed doing so. Nevertheless, the
Olympic torch relay around the world was used by critics to stage
constant protests, turning a symbol for peaceful games into a warning
signal for violated human rights.
The May earthquake in Sichuan Province finally silenced the
torch relay festivities. More than 70,000 people died and almost 6
million became homeless. “The spirit of the Chinese nation consists
in standing together and doing its best to overcome all difficulties,”
said the Chinese government, trying to keep its people in Olympic
spirits: “Because it will also embolden us to do good work at the
Olympic Games.”
SCHEDULE for the 2008 SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
July/August 2008 www.german-world.com
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