China’s iron Olympic grip starts to slip

American · 08-16-08, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Internet critics, made bold by their uncensored criticism of the Games’ opening ceremony, are seeking new targets

The mystery of the half-filled stands at many events at the 2008 Olympic Games has been solved, according to Chinese internet users, who say it is the result of a policy to prevent the gathering of large and possibly uncontrollable crowds. They claim ticket sales to the public were secretly restricted. Blocks of tickets went to government departments, Communist party officials or state-owned companies, which have quietly obeyed orders not to hand them out. “People are so angry because they slept all night outside ticket booths and got nothing and now they see this,” said one blogger, Jian Yu. Official explanations eroded swiftly because internet insurgents have rapidly identified cracks in the perfect facade constructed for the Olympics.
In the nine days since Chinese leaders presided over a grandiose - and, it turns out, partly faked - opening ceremony, one fact after another has eluded the censors and fuelled public indignation at the costs and the charade. Protected, they hope, by online anonymity, some of China’s 1.3 billion people are daring to wonder where it will all end. At some football matches in the northern city of Shenyang, only a third of the seats were taken. Even some gymnastics finals, usually one of the biggest attractions on the programme, were not sold out. Nobody seems to have explained it to the International Olympic Committee, which is baffled by the empty seats, or to the sponsors, who are disappointed.

Looks like the ugly truth is emerging.

DarkWizard12 · 08-16-08, 09:43 PM

I bet the people are pissed. Thats like taking a trip to a biggest NFL rivalry game in American only to find the government took all your tickets by the time you got there.

I'd vote democrat in a new-york second.

Kernel Sanders · 08-16-08, 10:11 PM

It's a shame that they let their fear of the people get in the way of access to the games. This is really the first Olympics I've been excited about, so I can only imagine what it's like for the Chinese - especially given the nation's performance thus far.

IMO the empty stands reflect worse on China than a protest or two would. But when has fighting the people to improve a regimes image ever worked as planned?

American · 08-16-08, 11:00 PM

The problem is they wouldn't recoup all the money from hosting the Olympics anyway; this just makes it worse.

obvious Child · 08-16-08, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by American

The problem is they wouldn't recoup all the money from hosting the Olympics anyway; this just makes it worse.

Irrelevant. Hosting the Olympics wasn't about making money for China. The Olympics is by far the most important symbolic event for Modern China. This is well beyond material desires.

jfuh · 08-18-08, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by American

The problem is they wouldn't recoup all the money from hosting the Olympics anyway; this just makes it worse.

Ticket sales would never have been in anyway able to pay off for the amount that was spent in construction, infrastructure, marketing and various other fees that were spent.
$40 billion doesn't just come out of ticket sales.
They never intended to be able to recover the money they spent.