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Smog Lifting Days Before Games Begin

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 4, 2008

BEIJING - Tick, tick, tick.

The official countdown clock in Tiananmen Square hits "4 Days To Go" today. More than 40 million potted flowers are in bloom everywhere, even along the center medians of gritty highways. And for several days now, blue skies have taken the place of the usual gray smog.

So far, so good.

The day China has long awaited, the day it makes its debut on the international sports stage with, literally, a cast of thousands, arrives Friday when opening ceremonies kick off the Beijing Olympics inside its stunning 91,000-seat "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.

"I hope the sky can stay blue like this, both during and after the Olympic Games," said 25-year-old Zhang Shuang, a government office worker. "This will give foreigners a good impression of the city and leave a legacy to Beijing citizens."

Though it's hot and humid, the city's morale has been lifted by several days of noticeably cleaner air, replacing the shroud of chemical haze that usually hangs over the Chinese capital.

"It's much better than I expected, there's none of the gunk in the air," said Paul Lewis, sports editor of the Auckland, New Zealand, Herald in Sunday's newspaper. "There is a little haze in the air, but that reminds me of Los Angeles in 1984, but it's nothing like I've been reading about."

Even if the good weather hangs around, lingering issues could shift the focus from sports in a snap. Among them: Tibet, terrorism and Internet censorship. And since February, the country has been wracked by crisis after crisis. Deadly riots in Tibet sparked chaos and protests on international legs of the Olympic torch relay, stunning patriotic Chinese who staged counterprotests. In May, almost 70,000 people died in the Sichuan earthquake, which sparked an outpouring of sympathy around the world and muted criticisms of China's policies on Tibet, human rights, Darfur and the treatment of its Muslim minority.

To a lesser extent, there was the nuisance of an algae bloom at the Olympic sailing site, caused by water pollution.

With the games about to start, it's anyone's guess how they will end. They could showcase China's rising economic and political power of the 21st century or they could descend into a miasma of protests, police crackdowns and Chinese citizens angry with their rude guests.

The communist government says it wants the games to convey a message of friendship and has mobilized the security apparatus to ensure it.

Rules Of Protest

Foreign and local protesters who want to speak out against the Beijing Olympics are required to apply five days in advance, and not harm "national interests," the security chief for the Olympic organizing committee said.

Accused of repressing dissent, China recently said it would allow officially approved demonstrations to be held at three parks in the capital.

Liu Shaowu, security chief for the Beijing Organizing Committee, detailed the steps necessary on a statement posted on the official Olympics news Web site Saturday, but warned that China has a broad ban against gatherings deemed "harmful" to national interests.

"Assembling to march and protest is a citizen's right. But it must be stressed that when exercising this right, citizens must respect and not harm others' freedoms and rights and must not harm national, social and collective interests," Liu said in the statement.

Chinese citizens must turn in a written application to police while foreigners must submit an application to the border entry-exit administration.

Police will inform applicants whether they received approval no later than two days before the protest, he said. If they don't hear from the police, that can be taken as approval, Liu said.

Chance Of Rain

Rain threatens to dampen Friday's opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

The show will go on, however, rain or shine, according to Wang Hui, spokeswoman for the Beijing organizing committee.

"We have done some rehearsals, and in one rehearsal we encountered periodic rain," she said Sunday. "That may have turned out to be a test for us. So we are very confident of producing a successful opening ceremony."

Meteorologists will only say there is a chance of rain. A more precise forecast is expected Wednesday.

China's government has a well-known rain-making department and officials had spoken confidently about being able to make rain - or even stop it - during the games.

Now they're a bit more cautious.

"Our technology is still considered experimental," said Zhang Qiang, director of the Weather Modification Bureau.

Kobe Sparks U.S. Men

SHANGHAI, China - Russia contained the speedsters. Controlled the backboards. Everything a team needs to do to beat the United States.

Except stop Kobe Bryant.

Bryant provided the offense in the U.S. Olympic team's first defensive struggle, scoring 11 of his 19 points in the third quarter of an 89-68 victory Sunday.

"They had some gaps there and I just took advantage of them. The ball found me and I was able to make them pay," Bryant said. "In that kind of situation where the game is kind of seesawing back and forth, we have so many weapons. It could be LeBron, it could be D-Wade, one of us is going to kick into high gear."

The sellout crowd of 14,523 at this arena built for tennis clearly favored the U.S. team, and Bryant clearly was the fans' favorite. They chanted "MVP!" when he went to the free-throw line, booed when he was called for an offensive foul in the second quarter, and generally oohed and aahed whenever he squared up to take a shot.

"It feels like home away from home," Bryant said. "It's great to be so far from Staples Center and still have so much support. I feel like I'm home."

Carmelo Anthony added 17 points in what was by far the Americans' most competitive tuneup yet for the Beijing Games.

U.S. Women Prevail In Tuneup Game

HAINING, China - Sylvia Fowles scored eight of her 13 points during a late fourth-quarter run to lead the Americans to an 84-74 victory against pesky Latvia on Sunday in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament - a tuneup for the Olympics.

Unlike past U.S. women's basketball teams, this group has not had much playing time together due to injuries, overseas commitments and the WNBA season. They were unable to start training for the first time together until last Monday and are still working on developing chemistry on the court.

At times the U.S. players looked to be in total harmony, scoring at will and containing Latvia. At other times, the Americans struggled, turning the ball over and missing defensive assignments that led to easy baskets.

Anete Jekabsone scored 24 points to lead Latvia.

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