Jiang Xiaoyu, BOCOG executive vice-president and seen here, said the torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will not pass through Taipei. He said, ‘ the Taiwan authorities unilaterally ended the talks and closed the door for discussion. On Thursday, Tsai Chen-wei, president of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, said in a letter to BOCOG that the committee will not further discuss the issue of the Olympic torch relay passing through Taipei.’

‘On the same night, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially told BOCOG the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch will have to go ahead without a stopover in Taiwan.’

The relay route will be adjusted and it is possible the torch will go from Ho Chi Minh City direct to Hong Kong.

But Jiang Xiaoyu said Beijing still welcomes the Chinese Taipei sports delegation to participate in the Games.

He said, ‘We will provide first-class facilities and services for them, just as we will for all the delegations.’
Source: China Daily

Coca-Cola is helping China select torchbearers and escort runners for the Beijing Olympics.

In August, Coca-Cola launched two bottling plants in China’s eastern Jiangxi Province and the northwestern Xinjiang province, which made the total number of Coca-Cola’s factories in China reach 37.

Coca-Cola entered China in 1928. In the same year, Coca-Cola became the Chinese Olympic delegation’s sponsor.

Now, the world’s largest beverage company, which recently launched an $80 million global research center and new China headquarters in Shanghai, is planning to boost investment in sales infrastructure and product range in the country, a market that could become Coca-Cola’s largest, the company says.

Doug Jackson, who became president of Coca-Cola China in April, said, ‘Our goal in the next few years is to sustain the current strong growth momentum. The non-alcohol drink market grows by 14 to 15% a year in China, and we hope we can outdo the average market performance to increase our sales volume and market share. We are also planning to expand our product range and provide more choices for our customers.

‘We believe that China could become the largest market for Coca-Cola, however, it is hard to predict when it will happen, but it certainly will. Our long-term vision is to make China our largest market.’

And one way of making the vision happen is spending a considerable amount of its marketing budget on the Olympics.
Source: China Daily

There is nothing like a list of statistics to help you get the Olympic Games into perspective. Here are some:

28 Olympic programs, 302 sub-categories.
302 gold medals.
10,500 athletes are expected to participate.
21,880 torchbearers will run 137,000 km over 130 days.
The National Stadium (now and for ever called the Bird’s Nest) covers an area of 258,000 sq. meters and has 91,000 seats.
The surface of the National Aquatics Center is covered by 1,437 pieces of transparent material.
The highest price for the opening ceremony tickets is RMB5,000, the lowest is RMB200.
Beijing expects 550,000 international visitors and 2.4 million domestic spectators.
Over 800 star-class hotels and 4,000 hostels will provide about 420,000 over-priced rooms.

If you have an established domicile in China you can try to get a ticket on the official Beijing Olympics website. Phase 1 has ended but in October 2007 there is a new chance.
Source: China Snippets

Olympic organizers are starting to recruit torch bearers for the longest relay route in Olympic history. There will be 21,880 torch bearers for the 137,000 km torch relay route.

Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the official Olympic body, BOCOG, said, ‘There are two ways of becoming a torch bearer. The first one is through recommendations by various organizations and institutions. Another way is an open process in which public recommendations are accepted.’

5,000 escort runners will be selected on the Chinese mainland exclusively for the relay.

Jiang Xiaoyu said, ‘In a few days, the public will know how to apply as respective organizations and institutions will announce their own application process. But none of them are allowed to add additional requirements to the existing ones.’

There are no limits on gender, career, nationality or health conditions but Jiang Xiaoyu said the applicants should be older than 14.

Foreigners can account for at most 5% of torch bearers on the Chinese mainland which will have 19,400 in total. People with a disability are welcomed to take part.

The deadline for submitting applications is October 31 before the BOCOG make the final confirmation before December 30 this year.

The Beijing Olympics holy flame will be lit in March next year in Greece before starting its 130-day journey.
Source: Shanghai Daily