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Associated Press
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Aug 18, 08 8:36 AM CDT
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Four American Christians whose Bibles were confiscated by authorities are refusing to leave a Chinese airport until the books are returned. The Vision Beyond Borders group had planned to distribute 315 Chinese-language Bibles during the Olympics, but religious proselytizing is banned in China, reports AP. Bibles in China are legally printed at just one plant , which is run by a government-backed Christian association.
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Washington Post
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Aug 18, 08 7:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, whose rock-star status had made him his nation's favorite Olympic storyline, dropped out of his first race today after just two painful steps, the Washington Post reports. Liu had recovered from a hamstring injury since pulling out of a May 31 meet in New York, but an Achilles tendon injury reemerged last week, and his sudden departure devastated the Chinese.
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New York Times
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Aug 17, 08 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The autocratic world powers that were crumbling in the late 1980s may yet have their day, and sooner than we think, writes executive editor Bill Keller in the New York Times . As China keeps its stranglehold on free speech despite promises to the IOC, and Russia tests how far it can push the West in Georgia, "It is at least a season: Springtime for autocrats," writes Keller.
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Washington Post
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Aug 16, 08 11:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
China hopes that its Olympic team will do the country proud—but many Chinese are openly rooting for US athletes. Why the love? Francesco Sisci, an Italian diplomat who lives there and whose wife is Chinese, writes in the Washington Post that the idea of "America," even with its flaws, is still held in high regard by everyday people. "The Chinese really look up to the United States. It's hard for them to admit, proud as they are of their 5,000 years of continuous culture, but they do."
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Washington Post
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Aug 15, 08 7:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Rev. Patrick Mahoney posed for pictures during his interrogation in Beijing—half of it, anyway. Over 7 hours, police ran a classic good cop/bad cop routine on Mahoney, who had unfurled a “Jesus Christ is King” banner in Tiananmen Square, he tells the Washington Post. "They wanted to document our treatment," says Mahoney.
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Wall Street Journal
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Aug 15, 08 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
For a low, low price in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Beijing’s $500-million National Stadium, known as the “Bird’s Nest,” is peddling 30-year naming rights, courting six multinational corporations for logo privileges and other partnerships, the Wall Street Journal reports. The “Water Cube” Aquatics Center is also selling partnership rights, though only inside.
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Associated Press
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Aug 14, 08 8:00 PM CDT
(AP) -
Just 9 months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week. In its report Nov. 3, Xinhua identified He as one of "10 big new stars" who made a splash at China's Cities Games. It gave her age as 13 and reported that she beat Yang Yilin on the uneven bars at those games.
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Los Angeles Times
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Aug 14, 08 7:11 PM CDT
(Newser) -
China’s domination in table tennis is well documented—the top nine players in the world are Chinese, and the country nearly always takes the gold medal. But the LA Times’ Bill Plaschke wanted to see the sport in its natural habitat: in the park. Ping-pong tables dot Beijing the way basketball blacktops abound in US parks and playgrounds, and they are constantly full. Plaschke stepped up to the net—and got schooled.
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New York Times
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Aug 14, 08 7:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
One of China’s top classical dancers may have been paralyzed for life during rehearsals for the Olympics' opening ceremonies, the New York Times reports. Liu Yan was to perform the show’s only solo number, until she missed a jump to a malfunctioning platform 12 days ago, falling 10 feet. Initially, Chinese authorities insisted she had only broken her leg; in truth, she dislocated her 11th vertebra, losing all feeling below the waist.
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Washington Post
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Aug 13, 08 11:18 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Olympic organizers have a problem: No one’s going to their sold-out events. Foot traffic is sparse in Olympic Park, and empty seats have abounded at early events. The panicked Chinese have organized yellow-shirted, state-trained “cheer-squads” to fill the holes, but that hasn’t been enough for the IOC, which is prodding Beijing to let more local residents in.
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Reuters
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Aug 13, 08 8:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Chinese police arrested five American protesters who blocked the entrance to a park in Beijing while shouting "Free Tibet!", Reuters reports. The demonstrators were associated with Students for a Free Tibet, who said there were eight in total. It remains unknown where the protesters have been taken.
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New York Times
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Aug 13, 08 7:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
China’s women bested the defending champion US women to take their first gymnastics gold medal today, as the Americans stumbled and the younger, smaller Chinese gymasts won a comfortable lead. But the victory came amid continuing charges that the Chinese competitors—who average 4 foot 9 and 77 pounds—are under the legal age of 16.
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Daily Telegraph (UK)
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Aug 12, 08 8:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke became a sensation after performing the Chinese anthem at the Olympics opening ceremony, and has been busily doing interviews and accepting praise ever since. There’s just one problem: The voice billions around the world actually heard was a 7-year-old with crooked teeth who was replaced after a dress rehearsal when a member of the politburo ruled that she wasn't "flawless" enough.
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Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Aug 11, 08 2:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Though his heart is broken, Hugh McCutcheon won’t indulge in anger as he grieves for his father-in-law, Todd Bachman, brutally stabbed to death in Beijing on Saturday. "It hurts. I think it's something no one should have to go through,'' the US Olympic men’s volleyball coach told the Minneapolis Star Tribune . His focus is on helping his wife’s mother, Barbara, through the shock of losing her husband.
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Financial Times (UK)
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Aug 11, 08 1:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
China will surpass the US as the world’s No. 1 manufacturer by next year, the Financial Times reports. China, which last year accounted for 13.2% of manufacturing, will soon account for 17%, just ahead of the US, which has been the planet's dominant manufacturer for more than a century. The change had been projected to occur in 2013, but the weakening US economy accelerated that timeline.
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Daily Telegraph (UK)
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Aug 11, 08 4:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
One of the most spectacular elements of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was actually a special effect created for television viewers around the world. Giant marching aerial footprints outlined by fireworks were created by sophisticated computer graphics digitally inserted into the live coverage, reports the Daily Telegraph.
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