The big controversy this week in women’s gymnastics revolves around the ages of Chinese gymnasts. Many observers have charged that the gymnasts are clearly under the age minimum of 16 years old during the calendar year of the Olympics.
I watched the events where the Chinese women won the gold. They were magnificant, though it was absolutely clear that several team members were not 16.
Now, the AP has uncovered news stories in China about several China team members suggesting that they were under the age minimum. This is not a surprise. China is obsessed with winning Olympic gold. Any news of China cheating is not a surprise.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Culture, Domestic Politics, Sports at 4:49 pm
Believe it or not, China has an entire weather-modification department devoted to trying to stop rain for the opening night of the Olympics. Will they succeed?
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Domestic Politics, Economy, Energy, Environment, Sports at 7:53 pm
With pollution out of control, the Chinese government needs to do something to improve the air during the Olympics. Otherwise, they’re going to have lots of sick athletes and their glorious PR campaign will fall flat. The solution? Force factories to stop production in the weeks leading up to the games.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Domestic Politics, Economy, Energy, Environment at 10:22 pm
China’s aging population is having a dramatic impact on family relations.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Culture, Domestic Politics at 5:29 pm
Will the West actually boycott the games? That’s very unlikely. But China’s crackdown on Tibet is causing real concern as it exposes the truth about the totalitarian regime.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Censorship, Domestic Politics, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Military, Tibet at 5:26 pm
China bans free plastic shopping bags. They have a long way to go on the environment, but every little bit helps.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Domestic Politics, Environment at 1:42 pm
China bans LiveJournal.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Censorship, Domestic Politics at 10:32 pm
After this execution, China has a long way to go on the huma rights front:
Chinese officials have secretly executed a demonstrator who took part in a massive protest in 2004 against a hydro-electric dam in the south-western province of Sichuan, lawyers and family members said yesterday.
In a grim postscript to the summer of rural unrest that overtook China two years ago, Chen Tao was executed for “deliberately killing” a riot policeman during the demonstration, when 100,000 farmers staged a sit-in against the building of the 186-metre-high Pubugou dam on the Dadu river in Hanyuan county. The dam was set to flood thousands of people out of their homes and there were complaints that compensation was inadequate.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Censorship, Domestic Politics, Human Rights at 4:19 pm
Life in prison - that the sentence for a 28-year-old operator of porn sites in China.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Censorship, Culture, Domestic Politics, Human Rights at 5:13 pm
China is determined to censor the use of the Internet by its citizens, and activists are accusing US technology companies of providing the tools to enable this censorship.
Posted by Gerardo Orlando as Censorship, Domestic Politics, Technology, Trade at 11:36 am
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