As if hosting the Olympics weren't enough of a Herculean task, the upcoming games in Beijing have also been widely touted as China's debut on the world stage. For a country that keeps strict controls on its people and media, the increased attention has made for a tumultuous year. Protesters have pointed at Beijing's questionable policies at home and abroad. Pollution is a serious problem. And perhaps most perplexing, authorities are still trying to figure out a way to control the weather to ensure a most perfect Games.

 
 
The Weekly Obsession

The 'Weekly Obsession' is a new video series dissecting the issues that dominate our 24/7 news cycle

green rankings - sum total-environment
Sum Total

Behind every statistic, there's a good story. A look at how facts and figures can add up to something greater than themselves.

7 Things

In this series, NEWSWEEK interviews the artists, celebrities, musicians and newsmakers that fascinate us. In their own words, cultural icons get real about their art, their passions and life on the A-list. (Or B-list, as the case may be.)

Download NEWSWEEK Video Podcast with iTunes
Sponsored by
 
 
 
  • Social Networks
  • Links to this article
 
  • Digg It!
  • Newsvine
  • Del.icio.us
  • Post to MySpace! MySpace
 
 

Email To A Friend

Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.

Separate multiple addresses with commas

SPONSORED BY
 

Discuss

Member Comments

  • Posted By: kevin fu @ 08/13/2008 4:41:35 AM

    good! absolutly wonderful comment!

  • Posted By: kevin fu @ 08/13/2008 4:25:46 AM

    I am a common chinese pepole, I find there are many wrong with china! West country alaways like to uglify China, I don't know why? and the reports are always not accurat, I feel so pity about it!
    One of my Pakistan friend told to me that he hate west country, because they consider theirselves always right, and just criticize others, don't you see your shortage?
    Ok, you can ignore your faults, but you cann't critisize other countries improperly...

  • Posted By: kliu @ 08/07/2008 9:47:47 PM

    I'm an American living in Beijing. A friend who works for a major news organization agrees with this. They said that initially, the violence was by Tibetans against anyone non-Tibetan. Both the Han Chinese and the Muslim minority.

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse

View All Comments »