From submitting the application to the IOC and competing with other contenders…from winning the bid, to turning everything on paper into reality, Beijing is moving closer to its first Olympic games. Now, with less than one and a half year before the event takes place, the government is doing its utmost to try to ensure a successful spectacle. CRI's Lin Lin has more.
Reporter: Working within China's top advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is one particular unit made up of members of the Chinese sports world.
Athletes, coaches and sports experts meet every
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year to put forward proposals to the government for both professional and amateur sports. And because the most important sports event in the world will be in town next summer, at this year's CPPCC meetings, members are eager to get their voices heard.
"We are not only interested in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, but how the Bird Nest, the National Olympic Stadium will be used afterwards."
"I hope the spirit of the Olympic Movement be carried on even after the Games. Striving for the top, friendship, solidarity and integrity. These attributes are much more important than the competition itself."
"The Beijing Olympics will not only be a stage for competition, but a platform for eastern and western cultures to mingle with each other."
Some advisers have put forward proposals on using the Beijing Olympics to stamp out uncivilized behavior, such as spitting, smoking and swearing in public.
CPPCC member and Assistant President of the Beijing Organizing Committee, Tu Longde, believes equal weight should put on both hardware and software. By hardware, he is referring to basic infrastructure such as the venues, transportation and telecommunication. And by software, he’s referring to business, services and the environment.
"We must fully display the special culture and the good side of Chinese society, which is to say we’re not only showcasing a good event with good infrastructure and a clean environment, but also an opportunity to improve the quality of people and our social standing in the world."
The organizing committee is preparing to hold training sessions on how to behave in stadiums. This includes assessing civilized behavior at the venues, banning cursing and other such uncivilized behavior.
As a veteran gym coach, Zhang Jian has taken part in several Olympic games over the past few decades. And as a Beijing resident, he understands the ambition the government has toward stemming some long-standing problems. And being a CPPCC member, he’s put forward several proposals on environmental protection to try to ensure that a “Green Olympic” becomes reality.
"I see both the municipal government and the organizing committee are paying a lot of attention to environmental protection. Last year I proposed more government control on waste sorting and recycling. But because the area where I live is close to some chip manufacturers, even though they’ve taken purifying measures, it is still smelly in summer. Then, the local government agency sent an inspection team to my place, and after an investigation, forced these companies to upgrade their equipment. Things are better now."
At the beginning of the year, Beijing set a new target to reduce energy and water consumption. Energy intensive industries that are big polluters, including chemical plants and cement factories, will be phased out. The city will also cut the production of factories under the Shougang Steel Group in the Shijingshan district in west Beijing, and will also relocate a coking plant in a southeastern suburb, along with two chemical factories.
The municipal government will also close 80 mines and closely monitor the energy consumption of city factories. And as for new residential buildings, they are required to have energy consumption levels 65 percent below the average for existing buildings, and older buildings will be renovated with resource-saving technology.
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