Asia-Pacific, Civil Society, Development & Aid, Headlines

CHINA: Olympics Party Disrupts Life for Beijingers

Antoaneta Bezlova

BEIJING, Jul 14 2008 (IPS) - With less than a month to go before fireworks herald the beginning of China’s Olympics party on Aug. 8, the security overdrive and image concerns of Beijing authorities have resulted in so many restrictions that local residents are beginning to wish that the games were already over.

“There was a lot of talk about Olympics economy and how small private entrepreneurs like me would benefit from the arrival of foreign visitors but now we are told to close shop and stay home at least until the games are finished,” laments Wang Xingfei whose garments shop was shut down because it was deemed ‘unbecoming’ and ‘insecure’.

Closures have hit hundreds of shops across town selling cheap pirated DVDs as Beijing authorities attempt to conceal the existence of a whole underground industry from the expected 500,000 foreign guests.

“Watching pirated DVDs is my favorite pastime. It is affordable and great fun to be able to catch the new films at the same time as they are shown in the U.S.,” says Xiao Jiang who hangs out in front of Yaxiu market’s DVD shop.

“We are in for a dull few months because the DVD traders are scared to sell even in their backrooms,” he adds. The shop is still open but the shelves, which once held the newest releases are bare and the only staple on sale are classics like “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Gone with the Wind”.

For seven years Beijing spent lavishly to prepare for the world’s biggest sporting gala. Chinese leaders see the successful holding of the Olympics as a matter of national honour. Few in the capital would speak against China’s right to play Olympics host and thereby reclaim a place of international importance.

Yet many are beginning to feel a dose of Olympics fatigue as the government’s countless security measures and clean up efforts have made life too much out of the ordinary.

From construction companies to cement producers and house decoration teams, the hosting of the Olympic games by the capital is exacting a heavy toll. To purify the air and clean up the environment the Beijing government has suspended hundreds of thousands of projects and told noisy and polluting industries to take a long break. Thousands of migrant workers have been sent home.

“Even if we could get away with doing some small building jobs in the coming two months we couldn’t do it because no trucks with construction materials and cement will be allowed to enter the city,” says Shao, a building contractor who wants only his family name used. His earnings are taking a dip but Shao still needs to pay food and accommodation for the migrant workers that remain in Beijing or he risks losing them, if they decide to go back home or look for another job in a different city.

The Olympics ban on offensive industries extends beyond the capital city. Beginning mid-July, polluting factories and building sites across a huge area covering four provinces in northern China are being suspended from operation. In the neighbouring eastern port of Tianjin for example, the ban affects some 40 factories and more than 20 building sites.

In Beijing a rigorous traffic regime is coming into place on July 20 that would force half of the city’s three million cars off the streets for two months. The aim is to get rid of the notorious smog plaguing Beijing skies and choking its residents’ lungs. The first two weeks in July saw only a couple of clear sky days in the capital, which despite a breakneck 40 billion US dollars Olympics makeover remains veiled in smog.

Many foreign athletes are not convinced that the combined effect of all these measures would clean the environment enough for them to compete unaffected. Scores of foreign teams from the Dutch rowing team to the Swiss triathlon and U.S. synchronised swimmers have chosen to train outside of Beijing in sea-side resorts in Japan and South Korea and arrive in the capital only a short time before their competitions.

But foreign athletes are not the only ones staying away from the city. Many Beijing residents are considering taking a break from the regimented city and going away during the Olympics. Michael Guo, who gets around town on his motorcycle giving Chinese and foreign children tennis lessons, says he has planned his holiday to coincide with the Olympics.

“I can’t ride my motorbike in town because it is banned and this means essentially I can’t work. So I’m going to spend a few days in Sanya (a tropical island in southern China) and watch it all on TV.”

Starting this week all passengers and vehicles with licences registered outside of Beijing will be subjected to security checks. Hundreds other checkpoints would be set up on roads across the city. The authorities say they want to prevent any possible sabotage.

Close to 100,000 police, military and paramilitary forces would be deployed to the city to ensure that no pro-Tibetan protesters, supporters of the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong or democracy activists disturb the Olympic party. They are to be joined by 600,000 armband-wearing civilian volunteers.

Tight security surrounded even the first dress rehearsal of the Olympics opening ceremony last week.

Zhang Yimou, the artistic director of the ceremony, who established himself on the international stage with high-grossing maverick films like “Hero”, is widely expected to produce an extravaganza to be remembered.

The main theme and style of the pageantry remain a highly guarded state secret (participants have been made to sign confidentiality agreements), but there have been wild speculations that the celebrated director may succeed in lifting thousands of actors into the sky to recreate the magic of China’s high-flying kung-fu flicks.

“If we get to see that, then all the pain would be worth it,” says Xiao Jiang, a movie fan. When the security paranoia surrounding the Olympics is over he hopes to be able to buy a cheap DVD recording of the opening ceremony.