BEIJING — A Beijing Olympics official said Monday that the organizers are confident and capable of holding worry-free Olympic Games.

Sun Weide, a media official with the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG), said at a press conference that the Chinese government and the BOCOG have paid great attention to the security of the Beijing Games.

“An effective command system has been established and we have strengthened the cooperation in information exchange and anti-terrorism with other countries, especially those which hosted the Games before,” he said.

“We have strengthened security work in all Olympic venues and in the Olympic village. We are well-prepared in security for the upcoming Games,” Sun added.

“I sweated a lot and people were staring at me, thinking I’m a crazy foreign guy,” Linnell said, joyfully recalling his half-hour adventure on Thursday and laughing.

To Australian journalist Garry Linnell, covering the Olympics in Beijing is “a lot of fun”. Dining “strange” food at noisy local restaurants, playing ping pong with the Chinese in park and even jogging at the Tian’anmen Square in the morning rush hour.A veteran sports reporter, Linnell, who works for Australia’s News Limited, arrived in Beijing half a month before the Games, leaving himself enough time to see the city and scrutinize the host’s preparations.

Tian’anmen Square is a must visiting place and Linnell has been there three times. “I interviewed local people and asked how they felt about the Olympics. I am glad that I could move around with no restrictions.”

As thousands of journalists pouring into Beijing, the host is making every effort to make the often critical group satisfied. From well-equipped media villages to the grandiose Main Press Center (MPC) and International Broadcasting Center (IBC), all life and work necessities seem to have been taken into consideration.

To many foreign reporters, the most noticeable phenomenon in Beijing is the huge number of volunteers who seem to be everywhere.

“I am impressed by the amount of people working here,” said Linnell, who also covered the 1992 Games in Barcelona and the 2000 Games in Sydney. “There are even two volunteers in front of the toilet room (in MPC).”

The Aussie said the volunteers are friendly and very helpful. In order to make it to an early TV interview, Linnell told volunteers at the transportation desk at the media village that he needs a Taxi at 5:00 o’clock in the morning. When he walked out of the building at 4:50 am, a Taxi awaited for him at the gate.

Brazilian reporter Rio do Janoiro shared Linnell’s compliments to the volunteers. “They are so attentive and ready to help.”

Janoiro said it’s a pity some of the volunteers don’t speak English. “But if they don’t understand, they call other people for help. I once had four to five volunteers around me trying to help. It’s so cool.”

According to the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG), there are about 100,000 Olympic volunteers in Beijing and the six co-host cities.

In addition to the huge number of personnel, Beijing’s efforts in providing first-class living and working environment are also “impressive”.

Linnell used “extraordinary” to describe the brand new North Star media village, which provides 6,000 rooms to accredited Olympic journalists. “It’s only 15 minutes away by bus from the MPC. The bed is big enough and the pillow is comfortable….”

In the Huiyuan media village which is two kilometers east to the MPC and IBC, about 2,000 volunteers and staff are working on shift and fitness center, clinic, bank, post office and free laundry are open to all journalists.

Stuart Vallace, staff of the Australian TV Channel 7, said he was very happy with the free laundry. “I spent 30 US dollars on laundry in Turin (Winter Games) for a bag of clothes. Here is free. It’s nice.”

Fine tuning the nation’s macro-economic policy is posing new challenges for the central bank’s with a senior bank official calling for balanced thinking between economic growth and inflation control.

“The global economic slowdown will have a long lasting negative impact on China’s economic growth”, said Su Ning, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and chief of the bank’s Shanghai bureau.

Therefore, the financial authority should weigh prudently between inflation control and maintaining steady but relatively fast economic growth in its monetary policy, according to Su.

Currently, China’s economy maintains a healthy upward momentum and is developing in line with the expected direction of macro-control, Su said. However, many problems and troubles still exist in the economy and cause challenges to sound economic growth.

According to Su, the art of balance is essential in order to bring price hikes under a reasonable range which is affordable by society, while preventing harmful fluctuations within the nation’s economy.

China was ranked as the most favorable country outside of the US for business investment, according to the latest survey released yesterday by a leading global consulting agency.

The survey, entitled Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing, has been conducted every three years since 1996 by Development Counsellors International. This is the first year the survey asked respondents to rank business favorability for the world’s 25 largest countries in terms of GDP, excluding the US.

The survey found that of the total 281 corporate executives interviewed, about 53.2 percent named China as the most favorable country for investment. India was second with 45.1 percent, followed by Mexico with 30.1 percent, the United Kingdom with 25.4 percent and Canada with 22 percent.

For the corporate decision-makers who consider the Chinese market as the most favorable business climate, they valued three factors highly, including “growing economy or business opportunities”, accounting for 53 percent of the total interviewees, “labor (cost)”, according to 41 percent of those questioned and “low overall or operating costs”, 21 percent said.

When asked to identify the most likely section for their companies’ next move or expansion, respondents most commonly answered “manufacturing or production plants,” (particularly among medium-sized companies). This was followed by “corporate, division or regional headquarters” and “regional sales office or service centers.”

The survey audience consisted of 3,591 US companies with annual revenues of $25 million or above.

Source China Daily
Date 07/26/08

BEIJING — The elderly were playing cards on Friday afternoon in Ritan Park while children all around them ran wild and laughed. Others were sleeping on chairs, paying no regard that the park had been designated for protests, if any, during the Olympic Games.

“The worst thing I expect is that I have to suspend my business for several weeks during the demonstrations,” said Sun Xiaosheng, proprietor of a rock climbing wall. “But I believe the protests would be peaceful. It is unlikely that violent protestors would destroy the park or hurt us.”

Ritan, or Temple of Heaven, about 10 km from Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square, was where emperors in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties worshiped Heaven and prayed for a good harvest. It was turned into a 20-hectare park after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

China announced on Wednesday it would set up zones in three Beijing parks where demonstrators could legally stage protests during the August Games. They are Zizhuyuan Park in the city’s northwest, Ritan Park in the east and World Park in the southwest.

“The move to set aside protest areas is in line with Beijing’s promises to the International Olympic Committee to adhere to Olympic traditions, such as free expression outside sporting venues. It offers a new channel for the protestors to better express their opinions by attracting eyes of the tourists, reporters and officials during the Games,” said Mo Yuchuan, director of Research Center for Constitutional and Administrative Law of Renmin University of China.

“The measure is also expected to help reduce the risk that unexpected demonstrations of large scale would harm the public interests,” he said.

Liu Shaowu, Beijing Olympics organizing committee security director, said no demonstration of “political, religious or racial propaganda” would be permitted in Olympic sites or areas.

But managers of the parks were still waiting for detailed orders such as which parts of the parks would be set aside for public demonstrations, how large the area was, or how to prepare for the potential protests.

Authorities of Zizhuyuan Park, which is about 100 meters from the Capital Indoor Stadium, are planning to set up a task team for security and evacuation during the Games.

Hao Suliang, the park spokesman, started to learn the law on assemblies, procession and demonstrations upon his return from Shanghai to Beijing on Friday. “We would prepare well according to the law so that protestors can express their opinions,” he said.

The Chinese law requires that demonstrators make requests at least five days in advance and detail the nature of the protest, the topic and number of participants.

The emergency plan on the board in the World Park’s official building showed forces of all departments would be mobilized to deal with 10 kinds of incidents, including illegal demonstrations, activities of heretic sects and terrorist attacks.

But park spokesman Liu Huiming said the plan targets daily accidents and specific preparations for the protest zones and would not start until orders were received from the government.

With nearly two weeks to go before the zones are opened, the biggest worry of locals was whether their lives would be disturbed.

“If the square we dance in is designated to be a protest zone, we would have no place to run or dance,” said Yang Jun who frequents Zizhuyuan Park. “Most of us are retired workers and have been used to doing sports here.”

“We hope the government can ask for our opinions before making decisions where the protest zone is located. But anyway, we would cooperate with the government,” he said.

Source China Daily
Date 07/25/08

While many people coming to Beijing for the Olympics can afford to stay in four or five-star hotels, there are many others who cannot. And that is why budget hotels are booming this summer.

While “Higher, faster and stronger” is the motto of the Olympics, it is “Lower, sweeter and safer” that budget hotels are using to market themselves. They offer comfortable, convenient and clean service for a decent price and have only recently appeared in China since the late 1990s.

And for the upcoming Games, things are looking good.

“Our rooms are very popular,” said Zhou Hangcheng, shift manager at Jinjiang Inns Hotel, which is close to the National Stadium or Bird’s nest.

“The reservation rate increased rapidly in the past two months, particularly on August 22, there is no room available. It seems to be the day Liu Xiang will compete in the 110-meter hurdles race.”

Name your price

Budget hotel chain 7 Days Inn uses the tag line, “To make customers enjoy an economical and pleasant Olympic tour.”

Boasting an online booking system, the hotel, in cooperation with Chinese Internet portal Sohu.com, launched a five-month online room bidding among its 30 hotels in Beijing and Tianjin in the run-up to the Olympics, according to Zhou Huaisheng, vice president of 7 Days Inn Group.

The bidding concept, the first of its kind in China, gives travelers the chance to name the price they want to pay for a room through a transparent online system, according to Zhou.

A room usually costs 188 rmb. There are four rounds of bidding, with each round a bit more expensive than the last. The minimum rate for a standard room in 7 Days Inn’s Beijing hotels during the fourth period, which lasts from July 1 to August 24, is 500 rmb per night, with the maximum reaching 762 rmb.

“The bidding has given our booking rate a boost, especially those close to the sports venues and subway lines,” said Zhou. “The rate for a standard room now is at an average of 600 rmb.”

“The aim of this promotion is to bring more people to Beijing and help them enjoy their Olympic visits as much as possible without causing too much of a financial burden,” he added.

“We’ve also set up a way for customers to make donations. The price difference between the price the customer bids at, and the actual price of the room, will go to charities,” Zhou said.

However, there are some budget hotels that are charging even higher rates. Home Inns Anzhen Hotel, which is close to both the National Stadium and Huixinxijie Nankou station along Beijing’s relatively new subway Line 5, is full for the Olympics, as a local company has booked the entire hotel with rooms at 1,999 rmb each.

Compared with the prosperity of budget hotels, the short-term service apartment for the Olympics seems to be suffering from a gloomier business. The occupancy rate is only one percent, according to statistics from real estate agents.

“House owners have overestimated the market. The rent for an apartment near the Bird’s Nest for August could reach an astonishing 80,000 rmb, but now it falls to 40,000 to 50,000 rmb,” said Gong Ping, vice general manager of the third-class market division of Zhongyuan Real Estate Agent Co. Ltd in Beijing. “The price is unrealistic. With the Olympics approaching, the price reduction will continue to attract more customers.”

“Another reason is that Olympic hotels and home-stays have taken many customers away from short-term service apartments, especially budget hotels,” Gong said.

Hotels in Beijing now have cut their room rates in a last ditch effort to attract tourists before the opening of the Olympic Games next month. Compared with March, room prices in the average four-star hotel in June, are reduced by 42 rmb to 2185 rmb, with the occupancy rate rising 3.3%, according to the Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau.

Ready for guests

A comfortable bed, a clean bathroom, a table and a lamp, an oil painting on the wall, broadband access and several books are featured in a typical budget hotel room. Aiming for good service at a reasonable price, budget hotels are making their service sweeter for the upcoming Olympics.

When asked about what special services will be offered to its customers during the Games, manager Zhou Hangcheng from Jinjiang Inn Anzhen gave many reasons. Anzhen chain in Beijing is the closest hotel to the National Stadium among Jinjiang Inns’ 30 hotels in the capital city.

“As the closest branch, we are supposed to do the best job,” Zhou said.

The hotel will offer its guests free use of their bicycles during the Games. A total of 300 bicycles will be provided to customers who pedal around Beijing. “It’s convenient and environmental-friendly. It also embodies the ‘Green Olympics’ concept,” Zhou added.

A ‘Green Olympics’ raises people’s environmental protection awareness which is one of the three concepts that the Beijing Olympics embraces, along with ‘High-tech Olympics’ and ‘People’s Olympics’.

The hotel also has a plan to organize interactive activities with its guests. Zhou said there could be an “Olympic Lucky Draw” and “Olympic Games Group watching” as the events had not yet been confirmed.

Zhou said the hotel is ready to provide language service. All the staff at Jijiang Inn received English training which began earlier this year. The Jinjiang Inns group held a ‘Service in English Role-play’ contest to mark the 100-day countdown. Some staff played the role of guests, and others as waiters or waitresses. The result of the contest proved fruitful, according to Zhou.

Super 8 is the only budget hotel with a branch designated as an Olympic-endorsed hotel. It also launched an intensive English training for its staff from May to July. After the training, the staff should be able to communicate with foreign guests well, from greeting to check-in and inquiries, according to news reports.

To ensure a “safe Olympics”, all hotels, including budget ones, have stepped up security in response to terrorist attacks. Jinjiang Inns has increased its security by providing customers access only to their designated room and floor. There are more security guards on the hotel property and they are now on more shifts, according to Zhou.

Economical and comfortable most important

For 35-year-old Dai Chunguang and 28-year-old Sun Ping, they think they have made a right choice. Dai, a government staff from Guangzhou, will visit Beijing on August 15 to watch the Olympics with his wife and child. Dai has not booked the hotel yet but intends to stay at a budget one though he has never stayed in one before.

“For me, four or five-star hotels are a little expensive. For a standard room, 2,000 rmb and 3,000 rmb have now become commonplace,” he said. “Actually I have no requirements for stars — comfortable and economical are the most important.”

“I intend to stay at a budget hotel,” Dai continues. “They have a good word of mouth: Clean, comfortable and convenient. These are enough and good enough for me. Most importantly, the price is more acceptable compared with those star-rated hotels.”

Sun Ping, a college teacher in China’s central Hubei Province, has already made his travel plans. Sun, who is a member of Home Inns, booked his room with the hotel chain in mid-June. “I’m a loyal customer of Home Inns. It’s quite obvious where I’m going to stay,” Sun said.

The dedicated sports fan said he didn’t care much about the price since he decided to come watch the once-in-a-lifetime event. “Though the price is higher than normal, it’s cheaper than those star hotels,” Sun explained. “As to the service, I don’t worry about it. It’s standard. I think young people prefer this kind of hotel.”