Tibetan protestors stand in the rain outside IOC headquarters in Lausanne. (ATR) Tibetans Promote Identity with Protest Olympics
Tibetan exiles say they will launch a protest against China with their own multi-sport games three months before the Beijing Olympics.
What organizers call the “Tibetan Olympics” will be scheduled for May 2008 in Dharamsala, India, headquarters of Tibet’s diaspora and home of the Dalai Lama.
Tibetans at home or in exile may apply for a spot in the five-event games.
Lobsang Wangyal, a patriot known for initiatives like the Miss Tibet pageant, announced the games on May 15.
“China will try and use Tibet and Tibetan culture to portray the image of a united China during the Beijing 2008 Games,” said Lobsang.
Indeed, one of the Beijing mascots is a Tibetan antelope.
Other free Tibet partisans are using the Olympic movement emphasize the country’s plight.
The Tibetan National Sports Association, also based in Dharamsala, has plans to lobby Lausanne for a spot in the 2008 Games as an independent team.
Their worldwide campaign, under the slogan ‘Bring Tibet to the Games’, was launched in Dharamsala and Brussels over the weekend.
Beijing Opposes Political Attacks on Olympics
Whether over Tibet or Darfur, the latest foreign policy controversy for Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry continues to reject attempts to politicize the 2008 Olympics.
This week ministry spokesman Jiang Yu responded to a letter last week from members of the U.S. Congress that linked the Olympics to China policy with Sudan, an important source of oil.
“We hope that the U.S. Congress members can correctly understand China's stance on the Darfur issue and the constructive and positive efforts we've made,” Jang said at a weekly press conference.
The letter from the U.S. charged that Chinese investments in Sudan enable the Khartoum regime to carry on genocide in Darfur.
One Million Tickets in One Month
Domestic ticket-buyers have ordered more than one million seats to the 2008 Games, a month after sales opened. More than 230,000 people have placed orders.
The opening ceremonies, basketball and diving are most in demand, Chinese media report.
During this phase of sales, tickets are available for the ceremonies and half of the sports. The second phase will start in October. If any events are oversold, ticket winners will be selected at random by computer.
Eventually seven million tickets will be released, three-quarters to be reserved for the domestic market.
Ticket prices start at $4.
Chinese Swimmers Acclimate to Morning Finals
The Water Cube will be the venue for swimming at the 2008 Games. (ATR)
Competitors at the Chinese Spring National Championships will swim finals in the morning instead of the afternoon to replicate Olympic conditions.
Under an IOC ruling last year, swimming finals at the Beijing Games will take place in the morning, to coincide with prime time evening viewing in the United States.
“We should live by the Olympic timetable from now on,” team China coach Zhang Yadong tells Chinese media.
“It is hard to reach peak form in the morning.”
The Olympic qualifier meet runs for seven days from May 15.
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