China shortens Tibet leg of Olympic torch relay

China shortens Tibet leg of Olympic torch relay

By HENRY SANDERSON –

BEIJING (AP) — The controversial Tibetan leg of the Olympic torch relay has been cut to just one day because of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province, a Beijing Olympics official said Sunday.

The torch's stop in Tibet — originally set for three days — has been criticized by Tibet activist groups who see it as an attempt by Beijing to symbolize its control over Tibet. China says it has ruled Tibet for centuries, although many Tibetans say their homeland was essentially independent for much of that time.

The cut to one day came after the relay was stopped for three days last week as part of a national period of mourning declared by the government to honor the victims of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province that left nearly 63,000 people dead and almost 24,000 others missing.

The announcement also came two months after a violent uprising in ethnic Tibetan areas throughout China led to a security clampdown in the region. China has said life is returning to normal, and monasteries are reopening in Tibet's capital, Lhasa. But foreigners are still banned and until recently Chinese were advised to stay away.

"All I can be sure of is that the Lhasa relay has been shortened to one day," said Li Lizhi of the Beijing Olympic torch relay center.

"It's probably either on June 18 or June 19, as is tentatively set now. But it is still open to future adjustment," she said.

Olympic organizers announced days ago that the Sichuan leg of the relay had been shifted from mid-June to early August because of the quake. The leg now will run from Aug. 3 to Aug. 5 instead of June 15 to June 18.

It was not clear if the torch relay would still go through Mianyang, one of the hardest-hit areas, as planned. The Beijing games start Aug. 8.

"It is too early to tell," said Zhang Liang, who is also with the torch relay center. "Every city has been preparing for it very hard and we will make the final decision based on how well each place recovers."

So far the torch has had a smooth relay in mainland China, uninterrupted by the protests over Tibet and human rights that dogged parts of its international tour.

Earlier this month, Chinese mountaineers raised the Olympic torch at the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, producing the triumphant image that China has longed for in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

The Everest torch was separate from the main Olympic flame, which is on a three-month tour of China after a one-month trip around the world.

Activists upset with Chinese government policies, especially pro-Tibet independence groups, used that trip around the world to stage protests to highlight their causes.

source courtesy :ap press
writer:HENRY SANDERSON

Olympics ticket deadline extended after China quake

Olympics ticket deadline extended after China quake

source:courtesy: * Reuters
* , Thursday May 15 2008

BEIJING, May 15 (Reuters) - Subscribers who bought tickets for the Beijing Olympics in the third round of domestic sales will have an extra 10 days to pay after Monday's earthquake in southwest China killed thousands, Games organisers said.
Buyers were due to pay by last Tuesday but now had until May 23 after China's worst earthquake in three decades prevented some people from paying, China's Olympic Ticketing Centre announced in a statement.
The online booking system would continue service until the planned end of the third phase domestic sale on June 9, it added, despite the fact that tickets to events in Beijing and Hong Kong had already sold out.
The third round of domestic sales started with 1.38 million tickets up for grabs on May 5. A total of 7 million tickets will be made available to the general public for the Aug. 8-24 Games.
(Take a look at the Countdown to Beijing blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china)
(Reporting by Liu Zhen; Editing by Nick Macfie)

2008 Sichuan earthquake will affect china olympic?

The 2008 Sichuan earthquake had its epicenter in Wenchuan County (Chinese: 汶川县; Pinyin: Wènchuān Xiàn), Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China at 14:28:04 local time (06:28:04 GMT) on 12 May 2008.[2] According to the State Seismological Bureau of China and the United States Geological Survey, it had a magnitude of 7.9 Mw (initially reported as 7.8 Mw by the USGS) and the epicenter was 90 kilometres (55 miles) west-northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.[3] The earthquake was felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai, where office buildings swayed with the tremor,[4] Pakistan,[5] Thailand,[5] and Vietnam.[6]

With 10,000 deaths so far,[7] it was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed around 240,000 people, and the strongest earthquake in China since 1950, when Tibet was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.6. The quake occurred 10 days after Cyclone Nargis ripped through Burma, a few hundred miles away, killing tens of thousands.[8]

The epicenter was in Wenchuan County, Ngawa Prefecture, 90 km northwest of Chengdu, with its main tremor so far occurring at 14:28:04 local time (06:28:04 UTC) on Monday 12 May 2008. Early reports of the earthquake's magnitude ranged from 7.5 to 8.0. More than 27 major aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.0 to 6.0 were recorded within one day of the main tremor.[9]

Office workers in Chengdu reported a "continuous shaking for about two or three minutes", with many people rushing outside.[10]


Damage

All highways into Wenchuan were damaged, resulting in delayed arrival of the rescue troops.[25][26] Over 2,300 base stations of China Mobile in Sichuan and nearby areas went offline, while the China Unicom network in Wenchuan broke down entirely.[27][28] In Beichuan county, 80% of the buildings collapsed according to Xinhua News.[29] In the city of Shifang, the collapse of two chemical plants led to leakage of some 80 tons of liquid ammonia, with hundreds of people reported buried.[30] In the city of Dujiangyan, south-east of the epicentre, a whole school collapsed with 900 students buried and 50 dead. The Juyuan middle school, where many teenagers were buried, is being excavated by civilians and cranes.


Head of the Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, who hopes that China will make a successful showing in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, expressed remorse. He said to President Hu Jintao, "The Olympic Movement is at your side, especially during these difficult moments. Our thoughts are with you."


Hope chinese will make a good show despite of earthquake or tibet .china rocks..