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Taking Away Olympic Fun
And the restrictions seem to keep multiplying. "Each day, new rules," says Wang. "Wake up, new rules. We're just always waiting for new rules." Some bar owners have been directed to close the rooftop terraces that usually draw crowds in Beijing's sweltering summer nights: a falling bottle might hit a passerby, they're told. Elsewhere, street-level seating has been banned. Inspectors recently carted off the tables, chairs and ornamental hedges from the sidewalk outside Aperitivo. "What happened?" says Fin. "How do I know? They don't tell you, they just come and take tables away." Demke says he saw a restaurateur in his neighborhood lie down in front of a truck to keep it from driving away with his furniture.
Some of those rules aren't arbitrary: they're meant to ensure things like fire safety and food hygiene. "There's a perception that China's trying to make it not fun, but China's trying to make it safe," says Mike Wester, managing editor of The Beijinger, a recently relaunched city magazine. Unfortunately, city officials are sacrificing something else in the process. "They want to make sure everything looks clean and goes smoothly," says Tom Pattinson, editor of Time Out Beijing. "They're not so interested in making sure that everyone ... [learns] what a great vibrant exciting city Beijing is." The spectacular opening ceremony, choreographed by Oscar-nominated director Zhang Yimou, is guaranteed to drown out the gripes of Beijing's Western inhabitants. First-time visitors may never guess what they're missing.
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: EmilyRCI @ 07/28/2008 11:18:21 AM
Comment: Radio Canada International present a unique, innovative web series 'A NEW FACE FOR BEIJING'.
The series is about a 25 year-old Chinese-Canadian, Jennifer Hsiung, who moved to China to work for CCTV international as their sports anchor 2 years ago. The series documents her integration into the Chinese community and the transformations of Beijing in the last few months.
The atmosphere is Beijing is electric, and the series captures the environment and mood of the people in the capital as the Opening Ceremony fast approaches.
The series is shot by Jennifer's sister Tiffany and together they offer a different lens through which to view Beijing from the point of view of CBC's and ABC's living in the city. This unique viewpoint has made the series a great success so far.
We invite you to look online and make your own opinion heard at www.rcinet.ca/rci/pekin
Posted By: IamID @ 07/27/2008 10:05:25 AM
Comment: I don't understand what all the hoopla is. So China is thinking about enforcing its 2 A.M. closing laws and performance / liquor licensing requirements. How is that "a communist country suppressing its people and business" as someone had commented here? And as for the club owner who is complaining that the officials showed up one day and shut him down without prior notice for violating the performance license requirement, my reaction is: "what the hell are you complaining about?" I know there is due process of law but you are violating a statute! You should already be on notice, or do you have problem reading?
Also, this whole griping about the visa issue is ridiculous. China is tightening visa controls for two reasons. 1: to tighten security for the Olympics in the face of a mounting wave of global terrorism; 2: to weed out some of the less desirable foreign expatriate elements. I believe that most of the people complaining are those who do not have any legitimacy working or being in China. Take for example the significant English teaching expatriates, many of those making a living teaching English in China are not qualified to be teachers! Many of them had rudimentary education back home and some didn't even finish high school. Some are not even native speakers! It's pretty ridiculous and how is China at fault for upping its visa requirements to seek proof of a proper teaching background before granting a visa? Everyone that has a legitimate sponsorship (government, corporations, NGOs) has had no problems getting a visa. China just wanted to keep a few bums out! Seems like the US and Europe have been doing that for ages with a much more stringent visa requirement.
One last thing, I must comment on the sensationalistic elements of the media. It seems to me that many reporters believe that there is a contingent of readers out there who will react to anything about China, even if it is completely ordinary events like the ones described in this article. What happened to in-depth, responsible media reporting? Why don???t they delve into exactly who is being denied of visas and why? Why don???t they report on all different viewpoints and voices? What's going on with the editors at Newsweek??? Better get the quality up or Newsweek may someday become another US or Enquirer in terms of readership.
Posted By: hugowf2008 @ 07/26/2008 5:19:04 AM
Comment: Communist country doesn't equal bad things or suppressing the people. You dont understand china at all. you have so many prejudiced views on china.