Citizens want director chen kaige to resign as art adviser
Tens of thousands of Chinese websurfers have demanded that film director Chen Kaige resign as an art adviser for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 'green' Olympics, after it recently emerged his film crew had damaged one of China's most notable scenic spots while shooting The Promise. The State Environmental Protection Administration and the Ministry of Construction are currently assessing the level of the damage done by Chen's crew in the Bigu Lake area in Shangri-La County, Yunnan province. The lake is 4,000 metres above sea level and is surrounded by virgin forests and grasslands. Qiu Baoxing, a construction vice-minister, said the crew dumped large amounts of rubbish into the lake and surrounding areas, including meal boxes, alcohol bottles and plastic bags. They also left behind lots of scaffolding and more than 100 foundation poles they had put in the lake bed to build a temporary wooden bridge for the film. Qiu said the result was a 'dilapidated looking mess' and 30,000 netizens want Chen to have no part in the ceremonies.
Calling all tennis officials
A search has been launched for 50 tennis officials to man the lines at the Olympics tournament. About 200 line judges took part in the first phase of the selection process this week by participating in seminars in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai to train them up to international level. As part of the preparatory process, about 20 Chinese will officiate in the Wimbledon qualifying stages, and at least five will later look after a grand slam event.
TV to embrace Olympic spirit
A television show called My 2008 will air later this year as part of the campaign to encourage Chinese to embrace the Olympic spirit. The show will be hosted by former badminton world champion Gong Ruina and each of the 20 episodes will focus on a different sport. Organisers have said that while there is huge local support for the hosting of the games, there is concern at the perceived lack of etiquette and Olympic sporting knowledge.
