English and etiquette classes are all part of Beijing’s effort to get its population to speak English to welcome the millions of foreigners expected to flood to the city in this Olympic year.

Worried that its citizens’ notoriously poor command of the language will embarrass the country and lead to unfortunate misunderstandings, the Chinese government has embarked on a massive program to teach the population basic English.

The Olympic drive has spurred an English learning frenzy all over the country. People are learning English to be more ‘internationalized’, as organizers put it.

The residents are more than happy to attend the Public Welfare English Class for Citizens in the Olympic community and role-play as foreigners and volunteers.

Jian Jia, a graduate student at a Beijing university who is part of the Olympic Volunteer Programme, has been teaching the class for more than three years.

Jian said, ‘You cannot see them as students. Their English may not be as good as that, but their enthusiasm is better. Actually some of them can speak very good English and have no problem conducting simple conversations.’

Beijing’s Olympic organizers have amassed 400,000 English speaking recruits in preparation for the influx of foreigners.
Source: Reuters

Our illustration shows students balancing a book on their heads during etiquette training at a vocational school in Beijing. Around 1,400 aviation service students are currently going through professional training in order to serve as the stewards during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Around 1,400 aviation service students, mostly between the ages of 16 and 17, are currently going through physical conditioning as well as professional training for dressing and etiquette in order to serve as the stewards during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Source: China.com

A total of 80,000 security guards, including police officers, professional security people, and government-approved volunteers, will join the security service forces for the 29th Olympic Games.

Ma Zhenchuan, police chief of Beijing, said they would offer ‘cordial, civilized, professional and high-quality security services.

So far, 25,000 security guards have been given orientation on the Olympic Games, international etiquette, different customs of religions and nations, first-aid and emergency responses.

The Beijing police department has even compiled 17 textbooks for the training of all the security people, as well as local residents.

The Chinese government has worked out 52 security plans and more than 500 smaller contingency plans concerning the operations of Olympic venues, anti-terror work, information collection and major events.

Liu Jing, Vice-Minister of Public Security said, ‘The Chinese government is fully confident, well-equipped and capable of ensuring the smooth operation of the Beijing Olympics.’

Beijing and other host cities, including Qingdao, Tianjin, Shanghai, Qinghuangdao and Hong Kong, have set up their own security headquarters for the Olympics, and the Ministry of Public Security will oversee their operations.

Our illustration is of a security exercise. Professional, yes. Cordial, probably not. That is not what that sort of security is about.
Source: Beijing Review

China’s capital will replace Communist-era red armbands worn by hundreds of thousands of security volunteers with stylish Olympic badges ahead of the 2008 Summer Games.

Liu Rui, an official from the Chongwen district, was quoted by the Beijing News: ‘The red armbands have been used in Beijing for many decades. They should change with the times and take on a new appearance with a contemporary feel.’

The design for the new chest badge had been completed and is awaiting final official approval, according to Yu Hongyuan, deputy head of the city’s police force.

Red armbands are still common in Beijing, as they are in the countryside.
Source: The Guardian

In a sense, what the China 2008 Olympics lack is a load of highly motivated (think a lot of money) spin doctors to manipulate the overseas press. The Chinese government does not have such an operation which is in direct contrast to, say, the Bush administration in the United States, or, more precisely, the recent Blair regime in the UK which practically redefined the term ’spin doctor’ so that the UK had government by spin.

Now The Economist has tried to balance out the assorted stories and look at how the Games stand.

It mentions:

The impressive collection of new and renovated sports venues that will house the competitions, such as the National Stadium, and the equally impressive array of new roads, railways, and metro lines that will ferry the massive crush of spectators and athletes around the city.

It goes on to say other logistics seem likewise well in hand. The ticket program, organizers say, is proceeding smoothly. And although officials think they will need 100,000 volunteers to help run the games, they have already received more than 560,000 applications.

On the hardware side of the ledger, and especially when it comes to the venues themselves, it would seem every detail has indeed been attended to. Not only will all 37 venues be completed well in advance, officials promise, but they will be ready for any contingency.

Planners are also likely to succeed in bringing Beijing’s notorious air pollution down to more bearable levels during the games. If they have to impose draconian restrictions on traffic and industrial activity in the weeks before the games, they will have the authority they need to do so.

Even the weather is taken care of. Officials at Beijing’s municipal Weather Modification Office say the timely launching of chemicals into the atmosphere will allow them to dispel clouds and largely control the time and place of rainfall.

So on that side of the ledger everything is very well prepared. Far more so than other host countries were at the same time before their games. Athens was still slapping on paint up to the day of the opening.

The Economist lists all this and then gives the other side of the coin. It reads:

The government seems far less prepared, however, when it comes to the delicate business of handling the activists and pressure groups that are sure to use the event as a soapbox for their many and varied criticisms of its policies. Whether to do with labour rights, religious freedom, the mistreatment of ethnic minorities or general political repression, there is no shortage of causes, and no shortage of champions prepared to take advantage of the Olympic spotlight.
Much of the world assumes — with justification — that China hopes to use the games as a global coming-out party, raising its international profile and softening its image. But another important goal is to convey to the domestic audience that China has the stature and ability to take its place at the centre of the world stage. Neither goal will be well served next year by ham-fisted responses to criticism.

Which is equally true and fair. On the other hand, does China needs government by spin doctors? Should all decisions be based on what the world’s press will say? There is a middle position which, perhaps, it could be argued, China should take. The article presents both sides of the case very well.
Source: The Economist