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Legacies from the 2008 Olympics
Seven years after Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008, traces of the glory are still visible in the metropolis
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Seven years after Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008, traces of the glory are still visible in the metropolis.
In some corners of the Chinese capital, faded murals depicting the logo of the 2008 Olympics are still occupying the walls, bringing back memories of the spectacular opening ceremony it staged.
The iconic Bird's Nest and Water Cube ' designed and built specially for the Games ' continue to attract scores of visitors.
And now, together with Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, Beijing is capitalising on its past experience to bid for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Wang Hui, spokesman for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee, said the legacies left behind from the 2008 Olympics, including the venues, facilities and experts on hosting the international sports event, are instrumental in a cost-effective Winter Olympics.
'Our aims to deliver an athlete-centric, sustainable and frugal Games are in line with the Olympic Agenda 2020,' she said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluation team, led by IOC Evaluation Commission chairman Alexander Zhukov, is now in China for a five-day inspection visit.
Coincidentally, the choking haze that Beijing saw last week cleared up over the weekend ahead of the team's arrival.
Wang dismissed speculation that the authorities ordered the temporary shutdown of factories to cut the emission of pollutants in order to create a better impression.
'This assumption is logical, but is not the truth. We want the team to see Beijing and Zhangjiakou as they are,' she said.
Wang pointed out that Beijing's bid to host the Winter Olympics would be a catalyst to prompt action against air pollution, adding that the government has outlined action plans and allocated 47 billion yuan (US$7.58 billion) to fight smog.
'Applying to host the Games will promote treatment of air pollution, which in turn is conducive to our bid,' she said.
Repeatedly describing the efforts to tackle smog as 'determined and toughest', Wang added that the city was not treating the air specifically for the Winter Olympics, but to provide fresh air for people living in Beijing.
The Chinese organisers have identified 12 competition venues ' six existing and six to be built ' for the Games. One of them is Malaysian-owned Genting Resort Secret Garden in Chongli, Zhangjiakou.
Developed by 3rd Valley (Zhangjiakou) Resort Ltd, which is owned by Lim Kok Thay, Lim Chee Wah and a third shareholder, the resort is slated to host freestyle skiing and snowboard events.
Chee Wah said the five-star resort boasts geographical advantage, great accessibility and a skiing period of five months.
'We are committed to building Genting Snow Park A and B as the competition venue for the Games,' he said.
Organising the Games will be an expensive affair that will need support from the people. Wang was confident that if Beijing is successful in being elected as the host, the people will be the beneficiaries.
'The fiscal revenue of Zhangjiakou is much lower than Beijing, and the people there also want to get rich and escape poverty.
'The bidding efforts will create job opportunities and make the locals rich,' she said.
If China hosts the Games, she said it would raise the profile of winter sports and spread the Olympic spirit in the country. But there are certain quarters who think otherwise.
A coalition of more than 175 pro-Tibetan groups have called on the IOC to reject Beijing's bid, claiming that China's past record has shown that the award of the Games will have 'no positive impact on its performance regarding human rights in China or Tibet'.
The 12-page statement said repression in Tibet is at an all-time high and the IOC faces the possibility of repeating its mistake should it award the Games to China.
'Unless the IOC puts vigorous and robust policies in place to address human right abuses, not just in host cities but host countries, Beijing will consider the Games to be an effective endorsement of its failure to improve human rights since 2008, not an incentive for future improvements,' it said.
In a rebuttal, the Global Times, a newspaper under the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, predicted that the group's mission is 'doomed to fail'.
The op-ed piece on Saturday said the separatists were just banking on most foreigners' unfamiliarity with the real Tibet.
'... China is growing stronger, and the reality of Tibet is getting to be known by more people outside the country. In the future, the Tibetan separatists will find it increasingly difficult to fool the world with their weak accusations,' it said.
In a news briefing on Tuesday, Wang maintained that China wanted to separate politics from sports and lashed out at the opponents for using the opportunity to achieve their own goals.
She said Chinese citizens were mostly concerned about their right to survival and development.
'By hosting the Games, the people's rights are guaranteed as they stand to benefit from the infrastructure development, improved living conditions, job opportunities and access to winter sports,' she said.
The 2018 Winter Olympics will be hosted by Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Besides Beijing, the only other contender for the 2022 Winter Olympics is Almaty in Kazakhstan, which the IOC evaluation team visited in February.
The IOC will elect the host in a session on July 31 in Kuala Lumpur. (***)
