Tanks For The Reminder That The Games Are In Town

A large black tank, the turret and two guns pointing across East Chang An Avenue was parked against the housing official International Olympic Committee in the swish Beijing Hotel last Friday. As the Olympic Games together, the container of messages for the local population is significantly different from that conveyed to international visitors. Westerners are taken by surprise, so compare the image and remember that the army of the Communist Party could run through Tiananmen Square in 1989, a lone Chinese student standing bravely against the machine. It is a shock to see him today in an occupied track. But for people is a sign, is a very important fact that the bigwigs are in town.

The Chairman of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, a modest man who once said that most prefer to stay in the Olympic Village with the athletes, the Chinese hosts for awkward moments meant servile. He was escorted around by a crowd of Chinese beauties, their long skirts slit to the thigh, made to show that eight teeth when they smile. Encounter in their positions, just brilliant eight steps behind him.

Of course, when Jacques Rogge attended his first press conference in Beijing on Saturday night, said he had no regrets in delivering the 2008 Olympics in China and predicted the Magic would resume immediately after the opening of the Games the ceremony on Friday night spectacular. But if the Chinese should be the number one guest will meet their obsequiousness with some implicit recognition, perhaps the easement, which may have been a little disappointed. The thorny issues of freedom of press and politics were addressed by Rogge - some with surprising frankness.

Initially, he wanted to solve the great problem that has been invaded and surprised the IOC and Beijing organizers: the first error of the Chinese live up to their promise to open the country to the world through a free and unfettered.

Rogge said the IOC had no deal with China to censor the Internet.

"I will not apologize for something the IOC is not responsible," said Rogge. "We are not running on the Internet in China. The Chinese authorities are running the Internet in China."

Such was the simplicity of the IOC? "We are idealists and idealism is something that is related to the naive, but we fight for causes we believe are important and we want the media to work in the best possible way."

Rogge stressed that athletes competing in Beijing could complain about China, but in accordance with Olympic rules. This means that no protests in the Olympic village, or in places, but will talk about their views on the journalists' press conferences and mixed zones, and a protest outside the Olympic Games and also those issues that concern them, whether it be human rights, Tibet, Taiwan or Darfur.

This means, of course, maybe that athletes at risk of immediate arrest under Chinese law, but did not enter. The main concern was to preserve peace in the Olympic Village to house 10,500 athletes from 205 countries.

"If we allow political propaganda, it's the end of the harmony of the Olympic Village and at the end of the harmony of the Games," he said.

When asked about drugs, Rogge said 17 athletes had been caught testing in the past without notice: "These are 17 cheats who will not falsify the competition, it is not a trend, a deliberate policy .. "

Still, Rogge congratulated China, are organized, especially compared to four years ago, when Greece was still a pre-event venues in Athens.

"Today we have absolutely no concern to the organization. Cancel anything. Come the ninth of August ... the magic of the Games and the flawless organization will take over, "said Rogge.

Yesterday was the thought away. Where? Nobody knows.