Beijing sets the blocks as Games complete full lap

With Sunday8217;s official handing over of the Olympic flag to Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan, the world8217;s attention will switch to China, where construction is well underway but concerns persist in a variety of other areas.

Unlike in Greece, criticised for its tardiness, construction in Beijing is far ahead of schedule. So far ahead that, on the advice of the International Olympic Committee, self-imposed deadlines for completion of sports venues have been pushed back to the end of 2007 from the end of 2006 to hold down operational costs.

Chinese officials have altered their attitude on the Games, wary that huge fancy buildings will be seen as a symbol of the wasteful use of public funds rather than of the country8217;s modernity.

They now intend to make better use of existing facilities and give more consideration to how a venue will be used after the Olympics. Having noted that some cities are still paying for their Olympic stadiums, years later, and Greek analysts have said Greek taxpayers may be paying off the debt for decades, Chinese officials are eager to avoid the same fate. The legitimacy of the Communist Party leadership relies on expanding prosperity among the populace.

Earlier this month, the budget for the main stadium, a striking 8216;bird8217;s nest8217; design of criss-crossing steel bars, was reduced from 471 million to 278 million by eliminating the retractable roof, according to China8217;s Newsweek magazine. A high-tech roof on the aquatics centre, made of an imported UV-deflecting polymer film, has also been canceled and more changes will be forthcoming, the magazine reported.

But the Beijing public seems to see no need for an Olympic diet. 8216;8216;We should spend as much as it takes,8217;8217; said Shen Guifang, an ice cream vendor. 8216;8216;If we scrimp, other countries will look down on us. You can8217;t put a price tag on a country8217;s reputation.8217;8217;

Many Chinese people view the Olympics as an opportunity to show the world how far it8217;s come. 8216;8216;A lot of foreigners think Chinese people still wear funny hats and have long queues or ponytails,8217;8217; said Wen Long, a musician, referring to how men dressed in the Qing dynasty. 8216;8216;We need to spend this money to introduce ourselves to the world.8217;8217;

While China looks on track to have successful sports facilities and marketing programmes in 2008, other aspects lag far behind. Among the most worrisome are environmental factors. The air pollution is among the worst in the world. There are also concerns Beijing won8217;t have even enough water in 2008 with northern China suffering from a severe drought and groundwater levels at all-time lows. This year the government raised water prices for the first time in 50 years.

Human rights groups are calling for China to improve its press freedoms, labour rights and other basic rights. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been evicted from their homes to make way for Olympic-related construction.

A recent incident of police violence in Beijing does not bode well for the thousands of international journalists expected in 2008.

After the Asian Cup soccer final on August 7, an Associated Press photographer taking photos of police officers in a crowd was attacked by several plainclothes police. He was struck repeatedly with a baton and kicked while on the ground and needed eight stitches on his head.

Censorship is another concern. China recently asked the author of an encyclopedic-type manual on the summer Olympics to delete passages on the doping of Chinese athletes for the Chinese edition, according to press reports. The author refused.

The New York Times