Protecting the nest
Monday, 7th July 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China has been pulling out all the stops to make next month's Olympics in Beijing – and several other cities – go according to script. Aside from the usual massive building projects associated with the Games, China has also seriously tightened its visa policy, saturated its citizenry with Olympic propaganda and denied foreign media direct access to most Chinese athletes.
It should be no surprise that in terms of security, Beijing is doing all it can to impress upon domestic and international audiences that all is under control. Chinese media reports recently highlighted the deployment of Hongqi-7 surface-to-air missiles (pictured above), which are located near the National Stadium aka the Bird's Nest and will be poised to take out any airborne threats during the Games.
According to a People's Daily report, Western media including AFP and Reuters were given a front-row seat to deployment of said missiles. The report continues:
"The outside world generally believes that although the threat of China's domestic terrorist, extremist, and separatist organizations differ to a degree, we can rest assured that under the protection of such security forces as the People's Liberation Army, the security of the Beijing Olympic Games will be maintained."
Terrorist, extremist and separatist organizations are not the only groups being targeted by the Chinese government. Even cults are being targeted. The image below was taken last week in a residential area in the city of Kunming in China's southwest.
The text above the frolicking fuwas reads: "Oppose cults, welcome the Olympics"
Missile image: clzg.cn
Tags: Bird's Nest, cults, Olympics, People's Liberation Army, security, terrorism, visas
China Fires Men's National Soccer Coach
Monday, 7th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The Serbian was hired on an 11-month contract last August. In World Cup qualifying matches this spring, the team tied Australia 0-0 in Kunming, lost to Qatar 1-0 in Tianjin and lost to Iraq 2-1 in Tianjin. China's lone win of the campaign came against Australia, a 1-0 win in Sydney. But China was a lame duck going into the game, with no chance of qualifying. In a statement posted by the Asian Football Confederation, he was positive and gracious but expressed some frustration with the brief amount of time he'd been given to turn the team around.
"Elimination from the World Cup left me very sad but I have had many (positive) emotions which I appreciate," said Petrovic, who was named coach of the year in the Chinese Super League for his success with Dalian Shide in 2005. "The time I have had here was too short to change anything and maybe I could have done better if I had enough time."
Petrovic is the second coach to get canned from the national soccer program in just over three months, after women's team head coach Elizabeth Loisel was let go in late March. China's Olympic team coach, Ratomir Dujkovic, also Serbian, remains in place.
Image: Asian Football Confederation
Tags: football, men's soccer, Ratomir Dujkovic, Vladimir Petrovic