Countdown Beijing -- Olympic Protest Zones Announced

Ritan Park is a few blocks south of Worker's Stadium. Zizhuyuan Park is a bit closer to the Olympic Green, just inside the west side of the third ring road. Shijie Park is outside the fourth ring in the southwest. (Getty Images)Beijing Designates Three Protest Zones

Activists can protest in Beijing during the Games, but only in one of three approved parks, says BOCOG's security director.

"We will invite demonstrators to hold their demonstrations in designated places," said Liu Shaowu at a scheduled press conference on security.

But the procedural details are unclear as China figures out how to manage a free speech zone. It is not clear if international protest groups such as Dream for Darfur can join the zones, or how to apply for a permit. Demonstrations are technically legal in China with police permission, which usually takes five days when it is granted at all.

"As for the concrete application, and who handles those applications, I have no clear information at this time," said Liu.

Designated protest zones were part of the Athens Games.

Olympian Turned Reporter Claims She's Blacklisted

Synchronized swimming bronze medalist Kendra Zanotto says China denied her work visa because of her involvement with Team Darfur. Kendra Zanotto was part of the U.S. team that won synchronized swimming bronze in 2004. (Getty Images)

Zanotto is an employee of the Olympic News Service, the official news service run by BOCOG. She is also a signatory of a July Team Darfur letter calling on world leaders to promote an Olympic Truce in Darfur during the Games.

She says the firm that handled her visa application said the Chinese government was uncomfortable with her Team Darfur involvement.

A spokesman from the Chineseconsulate in San Francisco says he does not know the specifics of Zanotto's case, but that visas are routinely denied without explanation.

"It's hard to explain that I'm blacklisted -- I'm such an Olympic advocate," Zanotto tells the San Jose Mercury News.

She says she joined Team Darfur last year specifically because they are pro-Olympics and anti-boycott.

Last Call for Olympic Tickets

Some 820,000 seats are left for the Olympics, and they go on sale at ticket booths on Friday.

"In almost every of the 28 sports, there are tickets available for sale," Beijing Olympics ticketing director Zhu Yan says.

Customers are capped at two tickets per transaction, but they can wait in line again and buy more after payment is received via cash or Visa card. Tickets are on sale in Beijing for most sports; football tickets only are available in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinghuangdao.

However, the tickets are for mainlanders only. Foreigners must still buy via their territory's official ticket agent.

And police are on the lookout for people who buy the tickets just to resell them, according to a warning in the Beijing Youth Daily.

The punishment for scalping could be as much as 15 days in jail, according to the report.

CBC in Beijing

CBC and its partners will deliver 2,400 hours of Beijing Olympic coverage to Canadians via multiple TV channels, radio, streaming web video and mobile phones. Media sales and marketing general manager Dave Scapillati said on July 15 that some advertising inventory remains.

“We have 12 Olympic sponsors that we do partnerships with that generate two-third of all our revenue, the remaining one-third we’re approaching sellout,” Scapillati said.

“It’s going very well as we get closer to the Games.”

He declined to comment on ad rates, but David Stanger, president of Langley, B.C.-based DSA Media, says a typical package for 12 to 15 spots per week in a mix of dayparts -- prime time, off-prime, highlights packages and features -- would average $9,000 per spot. Online, it is $25 cost-per-thousand impressions.

Stanger says it is natural that a big event would attract interest for prime-time sales, but “CBC would have a lot of less-desirable -- from a size-of-audience point of view -- airtime left on their hands.”

Media must Adapt July 23 marks the deadline for national Olympic committees to register athletes with BOCOG. This list is expected to include some 10,500 names. (Getty Images)to Security, Says China

The Chinese government reiterates a pledge for media freedom during the Games, but it comes with a caveat.

"We think some requests are reasonable, but we must accommodate both the need for security and journalists' need to report," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao in regular comments to media this week.

Under the relaxed reporting rules in effect for the Games, media are guaranteed the right to travel in most of China and interview anyone who will give consent. But many outlets report obstruction, especially outside of Beijing.

Liu says the central government is trying to make sure the law is obeyed.

"We continue to urge relevant departments, including local governments, to implement and fulfill commitments made in the relevant regulations," Liu said.

Torch Lights Confucius' Home

A temple of 500 rooms hosted the Olympic torch lighting on July 22. The Kong Miao in Qufu started life as a private home where the philosopher Confucius lodged and taught for many years. The intervening 25 centuries of imperial patronage saw it consecrated and expanded to some 100 buildings. A descendant of the owners of the original house carried the first torch.

The torch remained in costal Shandong province July 23; it moves to east to Henan province on July 24.

Beijing Briefs…

The International Press Center was evacuated Wednesday night, reportedly due to a gas leak. No alarm went off; staff themselves smelled gas and spread the word.

Written by Maggie Lee

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