Shanghai Scrap

For what it’s worth, I have a feeling that the simmering controversey over whether or not the Chinese “women’s” gymnastics team has underage members is going to build into something much bigger, and possibly devolve into something ugly. The “why” was provided by Zhong Hongliang, a spokesman for the gymnastics team, who had this to say to the AP when questioned about a 2007 Xinhua story claiming that one of the Chinese gymnasts is 13, and not 16, as required by international rules, and claimed by China:

“It’s definitely a mistake,” Zhang said of the Xinhua report, speaking in a telephone interview. “Never has any media outlet called me to check the athletes’ ages.”

Asked whether the federation had changed their ages to make them eligible, Zhang said: “We are a sports department. How would we have the ability to do that?“

[UPDATE: David Bandurski at China Media Project provides a solid round-up of the Chinese media coverage of the strange case of He Kexin.]

How indeed? Rarely, if ever, has a Chinese government official spelled out the rules of the hunt so clearly: if, in fact, somebody manages to prove that the gymnasts are younger than the Chinese team claims, then we’ll also learn that Chinese government departments not involved in sports (but certainly involved in passports and birth certificates) participated in what can only be described as government-directed institutionalized cheating. (more…)

Last month, in advance of the Olympics, the Chinese civil aviation authorities implemented many of the same (sometimes silly) post-9/11 airport security restrictions that have plagued US travelers for nearly six years. Among these is a ban on cigarette lighters enforced at the security check. US fliers will be familiar with the routine: arrive at the x-ray machine, empty your pockets, and suddenly find your lighter (and shampoo, nail file, and cork screw) seized by the TSA.

Forgetting, for now, the utility of this routine, it begs the question: what happens to all of that seized/surrendered stuff? Back in 2002, the much loved, long departed Rake (print version), answered for Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport (and perhaps for the US): everything is incinerated on-site, at the airport.

So what about China?

Having spent years reporting on this country’s insanely efficient recycling industry, it frankly seemed inconceivable to me that Chinese airports would allow perfectly good carry-on items to go to waste (much less, the incinerator). And, tonight, as I arrived at Shanghai Pudong on a late evening flight from Hong Kong, I confirmed my suspicion. There, just on the other side of Customs, was this:

That’s right. The Shanghai Airport authorities are gathering up all of the lighters seized at security, and giving them away to arriving, smoking travelers. Welcome to Shanghai, have a smoke (only partly) on us!

Now, I’m no smoker, but I have to admit that this is the most commonsense solution to a problem that most people never even realized that airport administrators have. Pure genius, and pure, Shanghai-style hospitality!

I’m not sure when the Great Lighter Giveaway was set-up. It definitely wasn’t there when I last came through Pudong Customs on July 27. If anybody has a more specific date, please let me know and I’ll post the info.

[Addendum: I apologize for the quality of thr photo, but I was really pressing my luck by even snapping it. Taking photos inside of Chinese airports is technically illegal (though everybody does it), and taking one outside of an Olympics-hardened (well ...) Customs checkpoint where the security guards look like they'd rather be home, watching synchronized diving, is asking for trouble.]

A comparison of intermission scoreboard messages at Olympic events in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

First, Hong Kong, where the organizers used the dead time and their color scoreboard to educate spectators on the finer points of team eventing rules.

Next, Shanghai, where the organizers used the dead time to instruct in the finer points of putting two hands together to make a sound.

[Add. notes: Neither of the two venues displayed half-time messages that could be construed as overlapping the other. That is, Hong Kong didn't instruct in clapping; Shanghai didn't instruct in soccer.]

[UPDATE: Just to be clear - I don't believe these signs are indicative of the relative sophistication of the spectators in the respective cities. Rather, I believe - in a vast generalization - that they are indicative of the attitudes of the organizers (and thus, the governments) toward the spectators in the respective cities.]

As promised, some additional photos and commentary from Hong Kong’s Olympic equestrian venue in Shatin. Overall, it’s a lovely venue, and the events – based upon one night’s sample – are extremely well-run and organized. I haven’t yet been up to Beijing, but compared to the soccer matches at Shanghai Stadium, the Hong Kong equestrian events are a step above in the categories that count: China-specific decor, security, free gifts, concessions, and between-match entertainment.

Before I get to those items, though, allow me to share a photo of Gina Miles of the US on her silver medal run in the individual eventing final:

Note, above, the Chinese design-elements in the jump. A nice touch, though not nearly as nice as the panda jump … seen being carted away during an intermission, after the jump … (more…)

Just finished watching the women’s gymnastics final out of the corner of my eye while working in my hotel room. I know nothing about the sport, or the event, and I have only a cursory knowledge of the controversy over whether or not the Chinese “women” are 16-years-old – the required age for Olympic competition. That noted – am I the only viewer who noticed that at least one of the Chinese girls was missing teeth? Perhaps she lost them in a training injury, but from here it sure looked as if she was waiting for her adult teeth. At age 16.

[UPDATE: SI has posted a photo gallery of the Chinese gymnasts. Photos 1 and 2 get to the essence of this post.]

[UPDATE 8/14/08: The AP has unearthed a Xinhua story claiming that gold medalist He Kexin is 13.]

It’s 2:20 AM as I write this in Hong Kong, and I’m just back to my hotel. Equestrian went until 12:30 AM, not including the medal ceremonies and victory laps.

I’ll have much, much more to say about the venue, the facility, the superior food concessions, the free gifts for spectators, and the impressive logistics. But I’m flat out exhausted, so it’ll have to wait until morning. For now, a photo of the venue:

Aw, heck – one more photo. I’d like to call this one A Piece of Victory. It was taken from the stands, as the venue crew were reducing the size of the medal platform to accommodate the individual eventing jumping winners, after the ceremony for the team eventing jumping winners. In the latter category, my compatriot, Gina Miles of the USA, won a silver.

For the first part of the week I’m in Hong Kong, covering – of all things – equestrian events. I’ll have more to say about all of that – including the venues (complete with photos) – tomorrow, probably.

For now, I’ll just say that I’m in a hotel that houses members of the US and British equestrian teams, along with many of their fans, and I am no longer under the impression that this is a sport for the Common Man. Seriously, if you go by accents, the Lobby Lounge currently contains quorums for the House of Lords and the Hyannis Port Charity Ball Planning Committee, respectively. Now excuse me while I go order a Big Mac.

More later …

It began to rain around the time that everybody was arriving at Shanghai Stadium for tonight’s soccer matches. At first, just a drizzle. But then, quite suddenly, the thunder started and the skies opened up. There’s very little shelter in the area, and – making matters worse – the Olympic organizers included umbrellas on their list of items prohibited from official venues.

The result was that hundreds of people began to seek shelter beneath the awning at exit 2 of the Shanghai Indoor Stadium Metro Station … just as several hundred people were emerging from it. I was one of those caught in the crossfire (I had a camera to protect!). The multitudes of police in the area were caught off guard, and I believe the only thing that prevented people from being pushed down the station’s slippery was the very brief tenure of heaviest rain.

Anyway, while I was being pushed backwards, I lifted my camera over my head and began to shoot. I expected nothing but a blur, and that’s mostly what I got. But, just a moment ago, while sorting and deleting all those blurry shots, I found the image below. I shrunk the image down for the purposes of this post, so in case it’s not clear, the baseball cap in the lower left reads: “Life in [Y]our Hands.”

The image doesn’t really do justice to just how bad the crush and press felt for a couple of minutes there.

Anyway, I’m off to Hong Kong in the morning for Olympic equestrian. Probably won’t be posting again until Tuesday.

On Thursday I published a short dispatch at the Atlantic in which I described the deep affinity that Shanghai’s sports fans have for the Argentine national team.

So it makes a certain kind of cosmic sense that – when I arrived at Shanghai Stadium this afternoon for the match between Argentina and Australia – I found that I was seated in the beating heart of the section apparently reserved for Shanghainese who wish they were really from Argentina. All through the game: “Olé! Olé! Olé!” Or “Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!” Then back to “Olé! Olé! Olé!” And all of this while wrapped in Argentinean flags, waving Argentina! scarves, and speaking in knowing tones about the history of Argentinian soccer.

Standing behind the Shanghainese Argentinians were a group of real Argentinians who – to my eyes – veered from shocked delight to being kind of weirded out by the whole thing. The zealotry of the convert, I suppose.

The man who was murdered on Beijing’s Drum Tower is Todd Bachman, the CEO of a 123-year-old Minnesota-based home and garden center. That might not make much of an impression if you didn’t grow up in the Twin Cities. But if you did, then it was hard to get through a year without the company being a part of your life. It isn’t just a matter of commerce – the Bachman family is one of the leading lights in Twin Cities philanthropy, and there are few corners of Minnesota that haven’t been touched by their generosity. I’ve never dealt directly with Todd or Barbara, but I have friends who have done so, and they’ve never had anything but the highest praise. The Bachmans are good, kind people, and this explains the genuine shock and grief felt by the residents of their home state.

There are a number of Minnesota-based reporters in Beijing right now, and they’re covering the story on a personal level that you won’t find in the international media (much less, Xinhua). They include:

• Jay Weiner’s very personal story at MinnPost.
• KARE 11′s Eric Perkins filed this story (note: streaming video). For those of us who have watched Perkins in the past, his manner in this report is notably subdued. KARE 11 is an NBC affiliate.
• The StarTribune’s story, which seems to be updating over the course of the night and day.
• Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan’s column on the murder.

A couple of additional links that might provide some insight into Todd Bachman:

• A 2006 Todd Bachman interview with the Star Tribune regarding the (then) 121-year-old Bachman’s chain.
• A 2001 GreenBeam interview of Todd and Barbara on the ocassion of their endowing a chair at the University of Minnesota.
• Bachman’s has set up a special web page with constantly updating info on Barbara Bachman’s condition, as well as information on Todd Bachman.

My condolences to the Bachman family.

Quick post to let interested readers know that I’ll be appearing live on the BBC World News, via webcam, Saturday at 12:45 GMT. If you’re in China, with access to BBC World News, that’s 8:45 PM on Saturday night. If you’re on the US East Coast, that’s 8:45 AM, Saturday. Most important, if you’re in Minnesota, that’s 7:45 AM. And just to be clear: we’re going out live with this.

So. When I was asked to do this last month, I figured that we’d be talking about the usual suspects: air pollution, nationalism, China’s moment, etc.

How wrong I was!

Get this: if you’ve ever wondered what I think about the chances for this year’s USA basketball team, which Olympic sport I’d most like to see banned (hint: it involves trampolines), and which one needs to be saved (hint: it involves bats), then this is your program (if not – believe me, I understand). As a bonus, and depending upon just where I position the webcam, you might just get a view of my green couch and/or the out-of-tune piano.

Now excuse me while I go shave.

[Addendum: in response to the inevitable 'just what're you doing with a webcam?' questions: y'all get yer heads out of the gutter. It came embedded in my new laptop.]

[UPDATE: And while we're on the topic of the USA Redeem Team, Scoop Jackson of ESPN has a great column on the subject that would be even better if all references to Amare Stoudemire were changed to "KG." Going on record: I don't see gold in this team.]

The Atlantic has just posted “The Olympics’ Second City,” my dispatch from last night’s matches at Shanghai Stadium. It’s the first of several Atlantic dispatches that I’ll be doing from co-host cities during the Games.

I had such a fine time at last night’s Olympic soccer matches that I’m really loathe hesitant to say anything negative about the experience. So, first let me say something nice: the organizers ran a smooth show. Security was omni-present, but by no means was it intimidating or heavy-handed. Everything started on-time. And, best of all, the fans were a whole lot of fun.

Now, the bad: the food concessions. Needless to say, Hebrew National hot dogs were not served. Heck, they didn’t even have popcorn. Below, the menu as found throughout the stadium:

Currency is converted at the rate of US$1 = RMB 6.85

Now, clarifications. “Bread” is actually a bag of three croissants. “Puffing food” is corn puffs in shrimp and pea flavors. I knew better than to try “sausage.” The beef jerky was traumatic. (more…)

A quick post to note that Slate has published “Let the God Games Begin,” my overview of the somewhat foiled efforts by American evangelicals to send Christian missionaries to the Olympics. Last few days there’s been quite a bit of good material out there on the Games and religion, including this nice piece by John Cheang at NBC’s World Blog (h/t China Law Blog).