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China claims a first as Olympic tickets sell out

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Published Date: 29 July 2008
By Margaret Neighbour
ALL tickets to Olympic events in Beijing have been sold, organisers said yesterday, putting the games on course to be the first to sell out.
Li Dan, an official with the organisers' ticketing centre, says a limited number of tickets for Olympic football matches in other cities outside the capital are still available but every other event was full.

About 30,000 people swarmed a Beijing ticketing centre on Friday as the final batch of tickets went on sale. Police shoved and kicked at the crowd, using metal barricades to prevent a stampede.

In all, 6.8 million Olympic tickets have been available for domestic and foreign sales.

The 2004 Athens Olympics sold only about two-thirds of 5.3 million tickets available, and there were many empty seats. The most expensive tickets in Beijing are for the 8 August opening ceremony, which cost £328.





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  • Last Updated: 28 July 2008 9:42 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

,

29/07/2008 01:11:11
Comment Removed By Administrator
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2

Mashimaro,

China 29/07/2008 01:31:10
Yeah I reckon they will be up for resale. You know how the economy works. *grin*. probably some printer copying off thousands as we speak.
3

Guga II,

Rockall 29/07/2008 06:06:54
#2 Mushy Marrow (The Rabid Rabbit).

Have you seen the latest Amnesty International report?

Since being awarded the Olympics, the Chinese human rights record, instead of improving, has deteriorated markedly.

Boycott the Gangster Olympics.

4

The Daleks,

Longmen 29/07/2008 06:41:23
The regime in Bejing has been whipping the population into a nationalistic frenzy over the Games, in order to take their minds off other matters.

The cabal of gangsters who run this most xenophobic of xenophobic states, has been banging on about the Olympics on an unbelievable scale from the second they were awarded them.

Given the fact that the dictatorship has been talking about the Games as an opportunity for China to dominate the world stage, it's hardly surprising that they've managed to sell all of the available tickets to 1.3 billion domestic customers high on a diet of rabid Western-hating jingoism!
5

Mashimaro,

China 29/07/2008 09:32:08
Yeah that's right, they hate the west that's why they all want tickets... holy cow.
It's so flipping funny to watch you people try to put a negative spin on this.
This is the first time in a long time Olympic tickets have been SOLD OUT. Can you say it again SOLD OUT.
Of course they were all bought by people FORCED to buy them at GUNPOINT because they were afraid of TANKS.
Scuse me while I crow here. AAAh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha FROGS IN THE WELL, the lot of you
6

James Donald,

Newbridge 29/07/2008 10:15:10
#4 The Daleks,Longmen - If you think the jingoism is bad now, wait until the "amateur" athletes of this Communist cesspit win medals.
Hopefully the only "Boxers" we see will be in the ring but, given the level of xenophobia at the moment, you never know.
7

Mashimaro,

China 29/07/2008 11:52:41
What level of "xenophobia"? Please do explain yourself old chap.
8

Number 6,

Germany 29/07/2008 12:07:10
#5 You are obviousley unaware, the Chinese passed ANOTHER air quality test yesterday. The measures they have put in place brings the pollution down to a level well inside the IOC limit.
Sorry to dissapoint a lot of you, but these games will be a rip roaring success.
9

Let's have the truth,

Queensland 29/07/2008 12:12:36
#4 The Daleks

....and you claim the Chinese are xenophobic! Your post is the most xenophobic I've seen for ages.

Do you realize how hypocritical and uneducated you appear?

10

Let's have the truth,

Queensland 29/07/2008 12:14:48
BOYCOTT THE LONDON OLYMPICS! The ordinary Briton doesn't deserve them because of Tony Bliar.
11

Let's have the truth,

Queensland 29/07/2008 12:17:42
My post in #12 is meant to highlight how stupid and hypocritical these idiots who are clamouring to boycott the Beijing games really are.

What they don't know is that China is propping up what's left of the western economies.
12

Mashimaro,

China 29/07/2008 12:20:34
#11 Sssshhhh. Don't spoil it :)... let's see:

this bit of love and peace from the Daleks:

"The regime" "nationalistic frenzy" "The cabal of gangsters" "xenophobic of xenophobic states,"
"dictatorship" "dominate" "the rabid Western-hating jingoism!"

I tell you, we couldn't write this stuff if we Tried!

and then from our dear friend Jimmy Dee

"Communist cesspit" "Boxers" "xenophobia"

What I want to know is what these dudes have been smoking! There is no xenophobia. Holy cow, do they KNOW how much trouble China and its people have gone to to lay out the welcome mat?
13

James Donald,

Newbridge 29/07/2008 12:44:53
There is no xenophobia in the Workers' paradise just as there are no human rights abuses, it fact, everything is absolutely peachy if you believe the Communist Chinese government, their stooges and the "useful idiots".
This from the BBC:
China defends human rights record
"Beijing has rejected claims that the human rights situation in China has deteriorated in the run-up to its hosting of the Olympic Games".
"But Amnesty's report, entitled The Olympics Countdown: Broken Promises, says the opposite has occurred.

It says Chinese activists have been locked up, people have been made homeless, journalists have been detained, websites blocked, and that the use of labour camps and prison beatings has increased.

'Silenced'

"We've seen a deterioration in human rights because of the Olympics," said Roseann Rife, a deputy programme director for Amnesty International.
"Specifically we've seen crackdowns on domestic human rights activists, media censorship and increased use of re-education through labour as a means to clean up Beijing and surrounding areas."
The group names individual activists including Hu Jia, Yang Chunlin and Ye Guozhu as among those who had effectively been silenced by the government in the run-up to the Games".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7530308.stm

14

Mashimaro,

China 29/07/2008 13:44:19
Worse than what?

That is what you have to ask yourself. Yes there has been a crackdown ahead of the Olympics. But for reporters to just say "human rights abuses have worsened" does not put anything into perspective. I would like to know.. worse than what? Worse than Tianamen? I don't think so. Worse than the cultural revolution? Hardly.

As a member of the media I can tell you that Roseanne Rife is talking b0ll0cks if she says there has been a "crackdown on media censorship". Again, I point you to the Beijing News incident. Has that paper been closed down? Is its editor being executed as I type this? Perhaps its journos are up for a bit of tiger benching. er... no. So what is she talking about???

Journalists and police came into direct confrontation in Beijing just a few days back. Were there tanks on the streets? No. Were those newspapers censured? No. Was a journalist arrested.. yes.. he kicked a senior police officer in the goolies. He would have been arrested anywhere in the world and if he had been in the US he would have been tazered to death. So give me a farking break here. Get real.

To say nonsense like "prison beatings have increased" is just garbage. How can anyone prove that one way or another? Where are they getting their information from? where is the evidence of this? Why would prison guards suddenly go around beating more prisoners than they usually do, is this because they too are getting into the Olympic spirit? Is this their way of doing their bit for their country? "Hey Cheong, up your game man, you only beat five prisoners yesterday! Try doing six today."
This is a complete farce!

Now the truth. Yes activists have been silenced. Yes they have been moved out of town and sent home. And yes some of them are being victimised by local authorities and are foribly been kept away from the city. That is the truth. Sorry it's not as exciting as you would like to make it out.
15

,

29/07/2008 13:50:24
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16

TimW1234,

Ottawa, Canada 29/07/2008 15:38:53
Mashimaro is practically wetting his trousers with this news.

He may enjoy living in a polluted, murderous, corrupt country but the rest of us would not live there if our lives depended on it.

Just wait until the Three Gorges Dam is structurally compromised or collapses and then let's see how he crows.
17

James Donald,

Newbridge 29/07/2008 16:10:12
These are some of the activists being victimised by the Chinese Communist Party. From the BBC:

"CHINA'S VOICES OF DISSENT
Although China's Communist Party exerts huge power and influence over the everyday lives of its citizens, there are several activists who continue to pose major problems for the authorities".
"SHI TAO
Journalist, in jail
Shi Tao, who worked for the Contemporary Business News in China, was jailed for 10 years in 2005 for "divulging state secrets".
It is thought he sent an e-mail describing the efforts made by the Communist Party to censor reporting in the run-up to the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
His case has become a cause celebre for free speech campaigners - not least because internet firm Yahoo has been accused of informing on him.
The US-based web giant was said to have passed on details of his whereabouts to the authorities.
Mr Shi - a writer and a poet - was awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom from the World Association of Newspapers earlier this year".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7047154.stm
Such are the "dangerous criminals" who try to subvert the glorious Socialist Motherland.




18

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29/07/2008 17:44:38
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19

James Donald,

Newbridge 29/07/2008 20:07:54
Can't think, was it Stalin or Lenin the coined the term "useful idiot"?
20

Mashimaro,

China 30/07/2008 02:01:16
#19 Jimmy Dee, remind me again ... just who is Ernst Zundel?
21

Mashimaro,

China 30/07/2008 02:02:29
#19 I should add on to that... Mamdouh Habibe and anyone in Guantanamo, which your country supports to the hilt... so...uh... pot...kettle...black
22

Fanling,

Switzerland 30/07/2008 02:15:42
#11-13 Let's have the truth,Queensland
+
#14 Mashimaro

You both nailed it in one. Histrionics just don't hit the spot. Check out subsequent posts from the idiot savants that plague these threads.
23

James Donald,

Newbridge 30/07/2008 05:35:53
#22 Mashimaro,Red China - Since you already know a Canadian extremist, I am surprised that you require a reminder about another.
#23 Mashimaro,Red China - You miised the point of the BBC article, the clue is in the title "CHINA'S VOICES OF DISSENT". Mamdouh Habibe is Egyptian/Australian and I do not support illegal detention by the USA or any government. So much for your pot, kettle mince.
24

Mashimaro,

China 30/07/2008 05:56:13
Jimmy, obviously you don't know too much about Mr Habibe. But Ernst Zundel... what was his crime again?
25

The Daleks,

Longmen 30/07/2008 06:15:18
#11 Lets Have Self Delusion.

You show your complete lack of education regarding China in your post.

China is, and always has been, the most xenophobic nation on earth. Go and spend some time in the place and see for yourself.
26

James Donald,

Newbridge 30/07/2008 07:52:54
#26 Mashimaro,Red China - Neither have anything to do with the BBC story. Zundel is a Canadian extremist, jailed for hate crimes. Maybe the other Canadian extremist you know can help you out with the details or one of other "useful idiots".
From the blog of James Reynolds:
"One of the most striking things for me - in my year and a half in China - is the widespread popular belief that China's principal leaders are benevolent and that the main problem is that their subordinates simply fail to carry out their wise orders properly.

In China, you're now allowed to openly criticise local officials for corruption, brutality, or mismanagement - for being imperfect servants of the Communist system. But you're still not allowed to criticise the actual Communist system itself. And you're certainly never allowed to criticise the men right at the top - President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/jamesreynolds/
He is a journalist, living in Communist China with a viewpoint which portrays a country very different to that which you describe.

27

Let's have the truth,

Queensland 30/07/2008 08:25:23
#27 The Dalek

"China is, and always has been, the most xenophobic nation on earth. Go and spend some time in the place and see for yourself".

....If you've spent time in China I can understand why you believe it is xenophobic.

I've never had a problem. To me they have always been welcoming and generous which is more than I can say for many western countries.
28

Mashimaro,

30/07/2008 08:39:25
#28 Jimmy - define a "hate crime" for me if you will be so kind.
29

Mashimaro,

China 30/07/2008 08:44:09
From the blog of James Reynolds:
"One of the most striking things for me - in my year and a half in China"

Wow, yes, a year and a half to understan 5,000 years of history, I can see how that would make him an expert.

" - is the widespread popular belief that China's principal leaders are benevolent and that the main problem is that their subordinates simply fail to carry out their wise orders properly."

Maybe it's a widespread belief because it's the truth . . . I'm just saying. Forced abortion is against the law but it still goes on.

"In China, you're now allowed to openly criticise local officials for corruption, brutality, or mismanagement."

Correct, and a correct use of the word "now" which alludes to the fact that you were not allowed to do it before... which would show AN IMPROVEMENT.

30

James Donald,

Newbridge 30/07/2008 09:57:42
#30 Mashimaro - Here is a link to the ADL website detailing Zundel's crime and conviction if you are so interested.
http://www.adl.org/learn/Ext_US/zundel.asp?xpicked=2&item=zundel
31

James Donald,

Newbridge 30/07/2008 10:05:08
#31 Mashimaro,Red China - "Wow, yes, a year and a half to understan 5,000 years of history, I can see how that would make him an expert" - Reynolds is a journalist not a historian. Frankly, I am more inclined to believe a British journalist in the workers' paradise than you, a propagandist for the state.
Khrushchev's rule was an improvement on Stalin's but still highly unpleasant.

32

Mashimaro,

China 30/07/2008 11:17:55
#32 no no, Jimmy D, not so easy. Put it here for everyone to see how the west imprisons people for daring to think differently. OH sure, they might give it a fancy name "hate crime" but basically it's "think like us or we'll lock you up". Oops.

33

Mashimaro,

China 30/07/2008 11:19:32
#33 Khrushchev's rule was an improvement on Stalin's but still highly unpleasant.


Nowhere have I said that China's government is "pleasant". What I have fought for you have finally admitted. Thank you.
China is IMPROVING.
34

TimW1234,

Ottawa, Canada 30/07/2008 11:51:01
mASHIMORO is a pontificating, ill-informed idiot of the highest degree.

He gives China a bad reputation by his ill-considered postings - as if China's reputation were not compromised enough already.
35

The Daleks,

Longmen 30/07/2008 11:56:08
#29.

I spent several years in China and know the country and its people intimately.

#31.

China does not have a history of 5,000 years in its present form, within its present borders, with its present ethnic makeup, or its current social system.

Its actually quite laughable to hear the Chinese trot out this completely bogus "fact" every time they get the chance. By their measure, every inhabited part of the world has a history of 5,000 years.
36

Mashimaro,

China 30/07/2008 12:21:28
#37 The key word would be "civilisation". While Europe's acestors were still rutting in the mud, China had tamed the stars.
37

James Donald,

Newbridge 30/07/2008 13:19:45
#34 Mashimaro,Red China - The West is not some single entity and what Zundel did is not illegal in many countries in the West (including the UK). He is imprisoned in a country which, for historical reasons, does not allow holocaust denial.
If I published stories that incited people here to hate the Chinese, I would be arrested for inciting racial hatred. Not the same as opposing the government, which I am free to do, as well as criticising the leaders of the government which I do on a regular basis. I am confident that I will not be locked up for this before the London Olympics.
38

James Donald,

Newbridge 30/07/2008 13:30:33
#38 Mashimaro,Red China - Where was your "civilisation" during the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward, the Boxer Rebellion and Opium Wars?
5,000 years of civilisation? Hasn't been that long since 1949 has it?
39

Mashimaro,

Red China - Your Olympics Host 30/07/2008 14:15:30
#39 Thank you for agreeing that China is improving.
40

James Donald,

Newbridge 30/07/2008 14:29:00
#41 Mashimaro,Red China - Polluted cesspit - You must be seeing things; too much opium?
41

,

30/07/2008 15:22:21
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42

James Donald,

Newbridge 30/07/2008 15:34:37
#41 Mashimaro,Red China - Post #43 must be intended for you.
43

Let's have the truth,

Queensland 31/07/2008 00:39:35
#37

"I spent several years in China"

....Then, because of your attitude, that explains why you regard the Chinese as xenophobic.

I repeat, I have always found Chinese people to be welcoming and generous.

Maybe you should work on your own xenophobia.
44

Mashimaro,

China 31/07/2008 09:24:12
#39 Thank you for agreeing that China is improving.
45

Mashimaro,

China 31/07/2008 09:28:38
Watch the yellow bulls run now.
46

James Donald,

Newbridge 31/07/2008 09:59:29
#46 Mashimaro,Red China - Still on the dope, eh?
47

The Daleks,

Longmen 31/07/2008 13:50:37
#38

Are you smoking opium?

A proper study of China's propagandist take on history reveals that the ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Greeks did it bigger, better, and earlier than the Chinese.

#45. You were clearly walking about with your eyes and ears firmly closed. Chinese people openly mock foreigners, in the street etc, and refer to them in racist terms that would have them jailed over here.

This disgusting behaviour is not found in the countries neighbouring China, but only in his so-called centre of civilisation. Ha!



48

Fanling,

Switzerland 01/08/2008 01:04:41
#45 Let's have the truth,Queensland

You hit the nail on the head. Your experiences echo my own - and those of many and probably most others who actually know China and its people.

#49 The Daleks,Longmen

You clearly have an issue with China, and I can't quite work out what it is. It sounds like someone somewhere gave you a bad time and you regard that as majority behaviour and a reason to slag off the people in random fashion. Your entitlement of course, but you appear to have made it a mission. It would be illuminating to know what kept you in China these "many years" you mention. And who you annoyed so much that you accuse the general populace of sullying you.

As for the "racist" stuff you continually harp on about. Please ... Turn your argument around and consider: which "civilised societies" routinely make ha-ha "hilarious" references to "Chinkies" and make stupid asides about "slitty eyes", and "they all look the same to me"? And so on. Go on. Do tell. You have much to say about your perceived sad treatment but quietly ignore the other side of the coin.

To repeat: I have never known anything that remotely resembles your paranoid experiences. Quite the opposite. The Chinese are among the nicest people I have ever met. I've had half a dozen delightful communications tonight from a lovely professional colleague in mid-China. She epitomises everything her compatriots demonstrate all over the country.

For my part, I have lived and worked in China, on and off, for several years (most recently last winter/early spring, and return in a few weeks) and have known nothing but kindness and consideration. Back then we met an English guy, a brickie from Lancashire, in a restaurant in south China, and he was fulsome in his praise for the people he was working with, and his general life there. That response is well typical of fellow westerners.

You seem to be out on your own in that respect. You must have seriously pissed somebody off to contain and
49

Fanling,

Switzerland 01/08/2008 01:07:54
Last para cut off ...

You seem to be out on your own in that respect. You must have seriously pissed somebody off to contain and spit so much venom at every opportunity.
50

The Daleks,

Longmen 01/08/2008 16:05:09
What absolute nonsense.

My issue takes no working out.

The Chinese are racist and rude. I have never encountered their like anywhere else on my extensive travels in Asia and elsewhere.

End of story.


 

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