[08.08.04 加州圣何塞] 中国准备好了:市民欢迎游客,奥运会

rlsrls08

标题: China's ready: Residents embrace visitors, Olympic Games
地址: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10091221
来源: The Mercury News  水星新闻  (加州圣何塞地方媒体)
翻译: rlsrls08


【声明】本文翻译仅限Anti-CNN使用，谢绝转载。

China's ready: Residents embrace visitors, Olympic Games

By Elliott Almond
Mercury News
Article Launched: 08/04/2008 01:30:29 AM PDT


BEIJING - On a swelteringSunday afternoon at iconic Tiananmen Square, 600 years of history gaveway to the dizzying changes of the new China. An ant-like stream ofhumanity flooded the plaza to take photographs in front of a giantrotating sign promoting the 2008 Summer Olympics that open Friday inthis sprawling city of more than 15 million.

A few also posed by the mausoleum of Mao Zedong, the father of thePeople's Republic. But most came to the world's largest public space tohave their smiling mugs commemorated with the Olympic sign and a bed offreshly cut flowers spelling the Games' motto, "One World, One Dream."

Even a foreigner, or wai guo ren, attracted more photo ops than anything the Ming Dynasty and Chairman Mao could offer.

"Welcome to China!" two sisters from Hunan province said. "May we take a photo with you?"

Others made similar requests, saying they want to welcome visitors for the Beijing Games.

"Excited?" asked Du Sha, a Beijing jade exporter. "Everybody is happy the Olympics are coming."

With the Beijing Games four days away, the city's inhabitants areembracing the spectacle in a way few residents have in recent Olympics.Whereas the Greeks and Italians were decidedly indifferent as hosts ofthe 2004 and 2006 Games, the Chinese hardly can contain theirenthusiasm.

Concerns about the Chinese government's handling of the Games don'tseem to worry much of the Chinese population. Worldwide, the focus has been on thefailure so far to deliver clean air for the athletes (stiflingpollution returned Sunday night after a brief respite); thegovernment's broken promise to provide unfettered Internet access forreporters; and concerns about human rights, Tibet and Darfur.Instead, getting tickets to see the Games is a top priority.

Withalmost all events sold out, most Chinese won't actually witness thehistory-making moment for the world's most populous country. 'It'sfrustrating for us," Beijing resident He Bailing said. "But it won'tstop us from enjoying it."

Perhaps echoing He's sentiment, thousands crammed a prime vantage pointSaturday to watch fireworks shot into the sultry night during arehearsal of the opening ceremony, set for Friday night. With so muchinterest, the Chinese government has called upon thousands of troopsand city volunteers to ensure a secure and well-organized event. Almost20,000 volunteers will work at Beijing subway stations alone, Gamesorganizers said.

With an unprecedented $40 billion spent for an event that has less todo with swim star Michael Phelps than it does with the transformationof China, the enthusiasm among Beijingers is understandable. OrvilleSchell, a China expert who is the former dean of the UC-Berkeleygraduate school of journalism, said in a recent roundtable discussionthat the Olympic hosts want nothing less than worldwide respect. Hesays the Chinese are trying to overcome "100 years of humiliation" atthe hands of the West.

But "it is doubtful that any one single event, no matter how global,iconic and well-executed, can succeed in healing such deep historicalwounds," Schell added.
But the Olympics might ease feelings of inferiority - on the fields ofcompetition and elsewhere. Although it made its Olympic debut only 24years ago, at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, China is favored toovertake the United States as the gold-medal winner this month.

But the Communist leadership understands it might take more than a victory in the medal count to safeguard its investment.

"The Games are very short, but what is left behind will last," ChinaPremier Wen Jiabao promised Sunday while meeting with some of China'sathletes.
A businesswoman from Tianjin province, like most Chinese interviewedSunday, said she hopes Wen is right. But even more important to her wasgetting a glimpse of one famous basketball player at the Olympic park,in the northern part of the city.

"I'm going to look for Yao Ming," she said while riding on a bus.

Hundreds of centuries ago, the Mings built Tiananmen Square as anaddition to the sweeping grounds of the Forbidden City. But in the newChina, a 7-foot-6 Ming in basketball shoes is the one who holds court.

[ 本帖最后由 rlsrls08 于 2008-8-5 01:00 编辑 ]

rlsrls08

北京-一个闷热的周日下午，在标志性的天安门广场，600多年的历史让位给了令人目眩的千变万化的新中国。

蚂蚁般的人流充斥广场，在一个巨大的旋转的2008奥运宣传牌前面拍照留念，周五奥运会将在这个幅员辽阔，具有超过1千5百万居民的城市开幕。

少数人在人民共和国之父-毛泽东纪念堂拍照。但大多数人来到世界上最大的公共空间，将他们的微笑与奥林匹克标志，以及鲜花拼成的奥运会口号:“同一个世界，同一个梦想” 一起摄入镜头。

即使是外国人也比明朝古迹和毛主席吸引了更多的照相机会。

“欢迎来到中国！” 来自湖南省的两姐妹说。 “我们能不能跟你合影?”

其他人提出类似的请求，说他们希望借此机会欢迎游客来到北京奥运会。

“兴奋?”北京玉器出口商杜沙(音)被问到，“奥运要开始了，每个人都感到高兴。”

距离北京奥运会还有四天，这个城市的居民展示了极大的热情，而在最近几次奥运会这是很少见的，作为2004年和2006年奥运会东道主的希腊人和意大利人漠不关心。中国几乎无法压抑他们的热情。

全世界范围内的大部分中国人对中国政府举办奥运会并不担心，到目前为止最受瞩目的是中国未能为运动员提供清新的空气（经过短暂喘息，周日晚上令人窒息的污染又回来了)，和政府未能信守承诺为记者提供不受限制的互联网，以及人权，西藏和达尔富尔问题的关注。

相反，拿到奥运门票比什么都重要，几乎所有的门票全部售罄。大多数中国人实际上并不会见证为世界上人口最多的国家创造历史的时刻， '这真的很烦人，" 北京市民何百灵(音)说， ”但它不会阻止我们享受它“ 。

也许是呼应他的情绪，周六成千上万的人挤满制高点，在这个闷热的夜晚观赏为周五开幕式彩排放的礼花。有这么多人感兴趣，中国政府召集了数以千计的部队和城市志愿者，以确保一个安全和井井有条的活动。奥运会组织者说光是北京地铁站就有近2万名志愿人员。

北京奥运会投资了前所未有的400亿美元，这对美国游泳明星迈克尔菲尔普斯没什么用，但对中国转型有好处，北京人的热情是可以理解的。中国问题专家，加州大学伯克莱分校新闻研究生院前院长奥维尔夏伟说，在最近一次圆桌讨论会认为，奥运东道主只想得到全世界的尊重。他说，中国正设法克服在西方国家手中的“百年屈辱”。

但“任何一个单一的事件，无论怎样全球化，标志化和完善实施，能否成功地医治这种深刻的历史伤口，还值得怀疑。 ”夏伟补充。

但奥运会可能纾缓自卑的感受---在竞争和其他地方。虽然参加奥运会的历史只有24年(第一次参加是1984年美国洛杉矶奥运会)，但这次大多数人都认为中国将超越美国成为金牌最多得主。

但共产主义领导人知道，也许要采取比赢得奖牌第一的其他方法来保障其投资。

“赛事很短，但奥运之后的东西将保留下来， ”中国总理温家宝周日在会见一些中国的运动员时承诺。

天津一名女商人，跟其他周日接受采访的中国人一样，希望温家宝是正确的。但更重要的她是将在北京北郊的奥运村看到一位著名篮球运动员。

坐在巴士上，她说:“我要去看看姚明”。

几千年前， 明朝建造了天安门广场，紫禁城多了一个要清扫的地方。但在新中国，穿着篮球鞋，7英尺6英寸高的姚明才是诱惑焦点。

[ 本帖最后由 rlsrls08 于 2008-8-5 00:59 编辑 ]

血性与理性

呵呵，这样的报道读起来舒服多了。

飞虾隐士

他们还是忘不了抹黑中国。

rlsrls08

楼上的，找到正面报道中国的西媒不容易阿

onlyonly

哈哈, 不管它说啥, 没什么能阻挡俺滴好心情了~~~~~ 奥运驾到!!

yang

这才报出我们的心声,这才是中国的民意.

sinochild

“到目前为止最受瞩目的是中国未能为运动员提供清新的空气（经过短暂喘息，周日晚上令人窒息的污染又回来了)，和政府未能信守承诺为记者提供不受限制的互联网，以及人权，西藏和达尔富尔问题的关注”

经过短暂的喘息：一星期北京虽然阴雨天气占多，但是空气质量一直不错。周末两天更是天气晴朗，天高云淡。这厮难道是吴牛喘月？？再说，昨天北京虽然气压很低，潮湿闷热，但是客观地说空气并不浑浊。

和谐共生

兴奋的中国人是大多数，北京现在的气氛绝对火爆，我妹妹说在首都机场四川电视台记者采访了她，以为她是来北京看奥运的，她说那种气氛没法不受感染

shenyuan3878

受不了他们~~~什么都要带点无中生有~~

蔚蓝矢车菊

居然没有指责中国邪恶。。。真是难得。。。

vicky0318

几千年前， 明朝建造了天安门广场，紫禁城多了一个要清扫的地方。但在新中国，穿着篮球鞋，7英尺6英寸高的姚明才是诱惑焦点。


这个倒是比较客观，但最后一句话说错了！明朝至今只有600年，朱棣迁都北京修建的紫禁城，呵呵