Olympics: Beijing Games Doping Programme Toughest Yet, Says WADA Chief

SYDNEY : Drug cheats are more likely to be detected at August’s Beijing Olympics than at any other Games previously, World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey said Wednesday.

Fahey, a former Australian politician who helped secure the 2000 Sydney Olympics for his home city, gave a ringing endorsement to Beijing’s anti-doping efforts after visiting a state-of-the art laboratory there this month.

He said more than 1,000 people were involved in the Beijing doping programme, including a mix of Chinese and international officials and numerous “chaperones” to ensure athletes submitted genuine blood and urine samples.

Fahey said the tough regime meant cheats who managed to qualify for August’s Games by taking drugs because they were not picked up by their national sporting bodies were unlikely to escape so easily in Beijing.

“They are at an advanced state of readiness, there is a world-class laboratory there, there are numerous people who have been trained on the ground,” he said.

“So if cheats get there because they’ve got through the barrier of their own country they’re more likely to be caught in Beijing than at any other Olympics.”

He said new tests meant it was no longer true that athletes prepared to cheat could utilise latest scientific advances to stay one step ahead of doping authorities.

“In that battle with the scientists, there’s little doubt that the scientists who are actually working for the white knights are getting better all the time and, I believe, countering those that may be working for the other side,” he said.

One of the advances cited by Fahey included a test that found traces of human growth hormone in athletes’ systems long after they had stopped taking the drug.

He also said bodies such as the International Olympic Committee could now freeze samples taken at the Games for up to eight years to allow for re-testing.

– AFP /ls

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China Rail Accident Linked To Olympic Games Construction

ZIBO, China: A new railway line being built for the August Beijing Olympic Games was a factor in a train crash that left 71 people dead in east China, officials and state press said on Wednesday.

The pre-dawn Monday crash near Zibo city was the most severe in China in over 10 years, also leaving over 400 people injured.

Authorities blamed the accident in Shandong province on the excessive speed of a train from Beijing to Qingdao city – site of the Olympic sailing competition – which derailed and slammed into an oncoming train.

According to Zhang Mingqi, vice-head of a cabinet-level investigative team into the accident, orders had gone out to drivers to reduce speed on the section of the track where the accident occurred because of construction on the line.

At the site of the crash, workers had dug a more than 20-metre (66-foot)-deep hole that is to serve as the foundations as they link up another railway line from the Shandong capital of Jinan, local officials said.

“This is part of the Jinan-Qingdao line which is being built for the Olympic Games,” Zibo city spokesman Li Chenggang told AFP as he pointed out the construction project at the site of the crash.

“The line is expected to be completed before the Olympic Games and will make travel between Jinan and Qingdao much faster.”

On April 23, the Jinan Railway Bureau in Shandong printed an order to reduce train speeds on the section of the line under construction to 80 kilometres (48 miles) an hour, Zhang said.

The train was travelling 131 kilometres an hour when it derailed as it rounded a curve near the construction site.

Orders to reduce speed were not properly transmitted to train drivers, the Beijing News said.

But “after this order was issued, no one confirmed that it had been received by the concerned work units (drivers),” the paper said.

Workers on the project, many of whom had assisted in pulling out injured and dead passengers from the Monday wreck, refused to comment on whether their construction work contributed to the wreck.

But Wang Jun, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, said that authorities were also investigating whether the construction work had destabilised the existing track.

“In this investigation we need to clearly grasp factors in several areas, the first is the foundation of the track, whether or not it is stable,” Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying.

Three top officials of the Jinan Railway Bureau have already been sacked in the aftermath of the accident.

Chinese authorities have scrambled to deal with the fall-out from the wreck, with 19 hospitals in Zibo working overtime to deal with the injured.

“Since the accident yesterday, the work carried out by Zibo city has gone smoothly,” Liu Xinsheng, vice-secretary of the Communist Party in Zibo, told reporters on Tuesday.

“Now we face the very hard and difficult task of taking care of all those who have been injured.”

Train traffic on the line was resumed on Tuesday.

The accident was the second rail tragedy in Shandong this year. In January, a high-speed train ploughed into a group of railway workers in the province, killing 18 people.

However, China’s railways are generally regarded as relatively safe, if not always comfortable, and they are a primary source of travel for the nation’s 1.3 billion people.

Travelling by train is seen as much safer than by road, with 81,000 people losing their lives in traffic accidents last year, an average of around 223 a day, according to China’s state-run press.

– AFP/so

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China Steps Up Surveillance Over Food Safety Ahead Of Olympic Games

SHANGHAI : Shanghai authorities are stepping up surveillance over the quality of food and service at its many restaurants in the city.

With the city staging some of the events of the upcoming Olympic Games, authorities are determined to ensure that standards are up to mark.

There are now food safety labels to help customers distinguish clean eateries in Shanghai.

“A green coloured (label) with a smiling face means good, a yellow expressionless face means okay, while a red crying face means bad. Customers know the hygiene condition as soon as they see these (labels). We noticed that smaller restaurants have a closer relationship with ordinary folks, so we’re targeting these smaller restaurants to improve hygiene conditions,” said Shen Wei Tao, Assistant Researcher, Shanghai Food and Drug Administration.

Having a red label is no laughing matter as owners can be fined or have their operating license revoked.

The pilot project was launched last year but the labels were only introduced last month. However it seems that people have yet to catch on to the safety labels.

“I’ve seen it at other eateries but I’m not sure what it means,” said one Chinese resident.

After a brief explanation, many said they will stop patronising a restaurant if they see a red face.

“I will be suspicious of the eatery (with a red label) because it means that they’re not clean,” said another Chinese resident.

China has been under the spotlight for its food safety scandals from fake baby milk formulas to toxic pet food, tarnishing the country’s international reputation. But authorities hope this new project will get the green light in helping to allay food safety fears, especially with thousands of tourists expected to visit during the Olympic games. – CNA /ls

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Beijing Olympic Torch Arrives In Australia

CANBERRA – The Beijing Olympic flame arrived in Australia early Wednesday ahead of a torch relay through the capital Canberra to be held amid tight security.

The flame, which has become the focus of international protests against Olympic host China’s treatment of Tibet, arrived at a military airfield at about 7:50 am (2150 GMT Tuesday) on a chartered Air China jet from Jakarta.

It was carried off the plane by Chinese officials and greeted on the airport tarmac by Aboriginal community leaders.

Thousands of Chinese supporters and pro-Tibet protesters are expected to descend on Canberra for its journey around the capital on Thursday.

Barriers have been erected along the 16-kilometre route and more than half the city’s police force will patrol the spectacle after violent incidents in Europe and the US.

Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said the torch provided an opportunity to reflect on the uniting spirit of sport.

“Participation in this relay is important,” he said, adding it was also important for people who had concerns about human rights to be able to air their differences.

Ahead of the torch’s arrival in Australia, China’s ambassador in Canberra Zhang Junsai said he had been angered by the attacks on the torch in Paris and London and he hoped the Canberra leg would be trouble free.

Zhang said the image of a young wheel-chair bound athlete, “holding the torch with both arms close to her chest to protect the flame as violent ‘protesters’ tried repeatedly to grab it from her, has infuriated me.”

“The Olympic Games supporters should feel concerned with the behaviour displayed by some minority groups who are determined to dampen the Spirit of Olympic Games,” he said in an article on the embassy’s website. – AFP/ir

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Olympic Torch Arrives In Australia

CANBERRA: The Beijing Olympic flame arrived in Australia early on Wednesday ahead of a torch relay through the capital Canberra to be held amid tight security.

The flame, which has become the focus of international protest against Olympic host China’s treatment of Tibet, arrived at a military airfield at about 7:50am (2150 GMT Tuesday) on a China Airlines A330 Airbus from Jakarta.

It was carried off the plane by Chinese officials and greeted on the airport tarmac by Aboriginal community leaders.

Thousands of Chinese supporters and pro-Tibet protesters are expected to descend on Canberra for its journey around the capital on Thursday.

Barriers have been erected along the 16-kilometre route and more than half the city’s police force will patrol the spectacle after protests in Europe and the United States.

Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said the torch provided an opportunity to reflect on the uniting spirit of sport.

“Participation in this relay is important,” he said, adding it was also important for people who had concerns about human rights to be able to air their differences.

Ahead of the torch’s arrival in Australia, China’s ambassador in Canberra Zhang Junsai, said he had been angered by the attacks on the torch in Paris and London and he hoped the Canberra leg would be trouble-free.

Zhang said the image of a young Paralympian in a wheelchair, “holding the torch with both arms close to her chest to protect the flame as violent ‘protesters’ tried repeatedly to grab it from her, has infuriated me.”

“The Olympic Games supporters should feel concern with the behaviours displayed by some minority groups who are determined to dampen the Spirit of Olympic Games,” he said in an article on the embassy’s website. – AFP/de

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Olympics: IOC Chief Tells Beijing Athletes To Respect Games

PARIS : IOC president Jacques Rogge promised on Sunday that athletes would be free to express themselves at the Beijing Olympics but urged them to respect the Games.

The Belgian told France 2 television: “Athletes will have the chance to express themselves freely in all public areas in China.

“We’re only asking them not to make political, religious or racist propaganda (within Olympic-designated areas).”

Rogge assured competitors intent on making their point on China’s human rights record: “The right to express yourself is sacred….Express yourselves as you wish but respect the Games.”

He said it was unfair to criticise the IOC over China’s human rights record.

“Why reproach the IOC for something generations of heads of state and government haven’t achieved since the creation of popular China in 1949.”

According to Rogge the presence of a 25,000-strong battalion of international media to cover the Games is one of the greatest assets of the Olympics.

“They (the journalists) will be speaking not only about the sport but also about the society.”

The Chinese have come under the microscope recently because of violence that broke out in Tibet’s capital Lhasa on March 14 following four days of peaceful protests against Chinese rule.

Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people have died in the subsequent government crackdown, while China says Tibetan “rioters” have killed 18 civilians and two policemen.

As a result the global torch relay has been beset by problems with several of the legs being disrupted by protestors against China’s human rights record, not only over Tibet but also their continuing trade with Sudan. – AFP/de

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PHM Kemuka Laporan Kepada MSN

PEMAIN hoki negara sekadar menghuni kedudukan ketiga pada kempen kelayakan Sukan Olimpik di Jepun.

PERSEKUTUAN Hoki Malaysia (PHM) akan menghantar satu laporan kepada Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) mengenai prestasi skuad hoki kebangsaan selepas gagal melayakkan diri ke Sukan Olimpik buat kali kedua berturut-turut.

Menurut setiausaha PHM, Hashim Mohamed Yusof, laporan tersebut akan dihantar kepada MSN pada minggu depan selepas satu mesyuarat di antara ahli lembaga PHM selesai diadakan di Johor Bahru, Sabtu ini.

“MSN sudah meminta kami menyediakan laporan mengenai prestasi skuad muda kita dan kami (PHM) akan menghantarnya selepas membincangkannya dalam satu mesyuarat di Johor Bahru Sabtu ini,” kata Hashim pada sidang media mengenai Kejohanan Piala Sultan Azlan Shah di Bukit Jalil semalam.

“Mesyuarat tersebut akan dipengerusikan oleh Tengku Bendahara Johor, Tunku Abdul Majid Idris Sultan Iskandar yang juga Timbalan Presiden PHM.

“Setakat ini saya tidak mahu komen apa-apa mengenai kegagalan kita ke Olimpik tahun ini. Malah saya sendiri belum lagi jumpa jurulatih Sarjit Singh. Jadi biarlah PHM bermesyuarat dulu dan kami akan mengeluarkan kenyataan kemudian,” kata Hashim lagi.

Pada kejohanan Kelayakan Olimpik Beijing di Kakamigahara, Jepun minggu lalu, skuad negara hanya mampu menduduki tempat ketiga peringkat kumpulan, sekali gus gagal menepati sasaran awal iaitu mara ke perlawanan penentuan bertemu Jerman.

Empat tahun lalu, skuad negara yang dibimbing bekas jurulatih Wallace Tan turut gagal melayakkan diri ke Sukan Olimpik 2004 di Athens selepas mengalami nasib yang sama pada pusingan kelayakan di Madrid, Sepanyol.

Mengenai komen Presiden Majlis Olimpik Malaysia (MOM) Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar yang mahu PHM mengkaji semula struktur dan program badan induk hoki negara itu, Hashim berkata setakat ini tiada sebarang masalah yang timbul dalam pihak pengurusan PHM.

“Saya rasa ia satu pandangan peribadi beliau. Setakat ini tiada sebarang masalah dalam pihak pengurusan dan juga perjalanan program PHM, jika tidak masakan MOM beri kami rating empat bintang baru-baru ini.

“Tapi kami (PHM) tetap hormati pandangan Tunku Imran kerana beliau adalah orang lama dalam sukan negara. Begitupun kami akan buat bedah siasat dan sediakan laporan selepas mesyuarat itu nanti. Kita tunggu saja,” kata Hashim lagi.

Sementara itu, mengenai Kejohanan Piala Sultan Azlan Shah, Hashim memberitahu skuad hoki negara menetapkan sasaran untuk muncul juara selepas juara bertahan Australia tidak menyertai kejohanan edisi tahun ini kerana terlibat dalam persiapan Olimpik Beijing 2008.

“Pada kejohanan kali ini kita menetapkan sasaran untuk memperbaiki pencapaian muncul naib juara tahun lalu.

“Persaingan kali ini tetap sengit meskipun tanpa kehadiran Australia kerana pasukan-pasukan lain yang mempunyai ranking sepuluh pasukan terbaik dunia turut menyertai kejohanan kali ini,” kata Hashim.

Selain Malaysia sebagai tuan rumah, pasukan lain yang akan menyertai kejohanan ini ialah Pakistan (No. 6 dalam ranking dunia), New Zealand (10), Belgium (12), Kanada (15) Argentina (7) dan India (9).

Kejohanan Piala Sultan Azlan Ahah edisi ke-17 yang diadakan bersempena Ulang Tahun Keputeraan ke-80 Sultan Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah akan bermula pada 8 sehingga 18 Mei depan di Ipoh, Perak.

Kosmo

Bukit Jalil Gelanggang Terakhir

Oleh DRAHMAN BAHARUN

BEGO sudah layak ke Olimpik Beijing.

SKUAD renang negara masih mempunyai peluang untuk menambah bilangan atletnya beraksi pada temasya Sukan Olimpik 2008 di Beijing, China Ogos ini.

Meskipun beberapa atlet sudah mengesahkan tempat ke Beijing, namun Persatuan Renang Amatur Malaysia (ASUM) masih yakin beberapa atlet negara mampu ke temasya sukan paling berprestij itu.

Setakat ini, tiga atlet renang sudah mengesahkan tiket ke Beijing iaitu Daniel Bego, Siow Yi Ting dan Khoo Chai Lin.

Manakala acara terjun pula menyaksikan Bryan Nickson Lomas, Leong Mun Yee, Elizabeth Jimie dan Pandelela Rinong.

Kejohanan Akuatik Terbuka Malaysia yang berlangsung pada 1 hingga 4 Mei di Pusat Akuatik Nasional Bukit Jalil dianggap sebagai gelanggang terakhir atlet renang untuk mara ke Sukan Olimpik Beijing Ogos ini.

Beberapa atlet yang bertanding pada temasya Sukan SEA Korat Thailand tahun lalu adalah antara yang bakal berpeluang mara.

Atlet renang yang menyertai temasya Sukan SEA tahun lalu ialah Melvin Chua Bao Quan, Yap See Tuan, Kevin Lim Kar Meng, Clement David Leong, Daniel David Leong, Eric Chang, Lau Zheng Fong, Linvern Lim, Kevin Yeap Soon Choy, Luisa Los-Santos, Chu Lai Kwan, Chan Kah Yan, Hii Siew Siew, Marellyn Liew, Leung Chii Lin, Lew Yih Wey, Raja Azlina Izzah Raja Shahrom, Chai Sook Fun, Heidi Gan dan Ong Ming Xiu.

Yi Ting

Naib Presiden ASUM, Zainal Othman berkata, dia yakin ramai lagi atlet negara akan layak ke Beijing sekiranya mereka mempamerkan aksi cemerlang pada kejohanan Terbuka Kebangsaan nanti.

“Mereka ini (atlet yang menyertai temasya Sukan SEA) mempunyai pengalaman luas serta berpeluang menempah tiket ke Olimpik. Pada kejohanan kelayakan baru-baru ini, mereka kurang bernasib.

“Saya menaruh harapan tinggi mereka akan layak dan mencatatkan masa yang terbaik,” katanya kepada Kosmo! Ahad.

Ditanya kriteria kelayakan ke temasya Olimpik, Zainal berkata: “Yang penting, mereka mampu mengatasi masa kelayakan yang ditetapkan oleh Majlis Olimpik Antarabangsa.

“Selain itu, mereka perlu bersaing dengan beberapa atlet lain yang akan beraksi pada kejohanan ini nanti,” ujarnya.

Menurutnya, beberapa negeri akan menghantar atlet mereka untuk menyertai kejohanan kali ini yang turut mengintai tempat untuk ke Olimpik.

“Meskipun peluang atlet dari negeri-negeri termasuk atlet pelapis tipis, namun mereka juga mempunyai peluang.

“Asalkan mereka bekerja keras, maka tidak mustahil mereka dapat melakukannya.

Chai Lin

“Kejohanan ini juga sebagai pendedahan kepada atlet muda kerana atlet dari luar negara juga turut bertanding,” katanya.

Menurutnya, penyertaan beberapa atlet yang sudah layak ke temasya Olimpik pada kejohanan ini dilihat sebagai medan terbaik buat atlet lain untuk mencatatkan masa yang terbaik.

Antara negara yang turut menyertai kejohanan kali ini termasuk Singapura, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam dan Hong Kong.

Mengenai persediaan atlet yang layak menyertai Olimpik, Zainal berkata: “Selepas kejohanan kebangsaan, kami akan menghantar mereka ke China untuk mengikuti latihan intensif.

“Setakat ini, mereka menjalani latihan intensif di bawah jurulatih Paul Birmingham dari Australia.

“Kami akan berbincang dengan jawatankuasa kerja untuk menghantar mereka ke China selepas Kejohanan Terbuka Malaysia nanti. Latihan di China sebagai latihan terakhir buat mereka.”

Sementara itu, Setiausaha Kehormat Kesatuan Renang Amatur Malaysia (ASUM), Edwin Chong berkata, kecuali Yi Ting yang berada di Amerika Syarikat, keenam-enam atlet (dua atlet renang dan empat terjun) yang lain sedang menjalani latihan intensif di Bukit Jalil di bawah bimbingan jurulatih Paul.

“Kita sedang memantau prestasi setiap atlet terbabit supaya mereka menunjukkan peningkatan memberansangkan sebelum ke Beijing.

“Walaupun kita tidak menetapkan sasaran pingat, namun harapan tetap disandarkan kepada mereka untuk melakukan yang terbaik,” katanya.

Kosmo

Singapore Says Olympic Torch Relay Protests Will Have Lifetime Consequences

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned that the outrage in China, especially among the young, over the displays of contempt for China and things Chinese will have consequences well beyond the Beijing Olympic Games.

Mr Lee noted that the Chinese anger can be read on the flooded Internet bulletin boards, all carrying strong anti-foreign sentiments.

He was speaking at a conference on “The Politics of Knowledge”, organised by the London School of Economics and Political Science and Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies on Friday, against the backdrop of the massive anti-China protests that have dogged the Beijing Olympic torch’s run in London, Paris and San Francisco.

Mr Lee said with the advent of satellite TV and the Internet, the world is now everyone’s stage, and the Olympic torch relay – which was China’s “coming out party” – has also become the golden opportunity for opponents to make their point.

“So, as the torch travels the world, it has faced challenges at virtually every stop so far. Vivid TV images of demon῭strators waving banners, scuffling with police, and making concerted assaults to snuff out the flame are beamed live around the world, achieving an asymmetrical prominence, and so influencing public opinion against China and the Games,” he said.

Prime Minister Lee believes that no protesting group truly expects their public display of outrage at China’s treatment of Tibetans or ethnic Han dissidents will change China’s policy.

He feels this issue affects core security concerns, and the protesters know that no government can give ground on any core issue under such public duress, whatever the merit of the argument.

And whatever the intentions of the demonstrators, the people of China believe the protesters want to inflict maximum humiliation on China and the Chinese people more than the Chinese government.

“The outrage in China, especially among the young, can be read on the flooded Internet bulletin boards, all carrying virulent anti-foreign sentiments. Pity they are in unintelligible Chinese ideographs. Were they in the English language, young Americans and Europeans would realise that these displays of contempt for China and things Chinese will have consequences in their lifetime, well beyond the Olympic Games,” said PM Lee.

“In this new environment of raw, unprocessed information with instant worldwide impact, it will not be easy to keep the public debate on a high plane, especially on controversial issues where emotions rather than reason prevail. This will change the texture of societies everywhere. Societies will have to adapt and evolve defensive mechanisms and habits to thrive in these new circumstances,” he added.

Mr Lee went on to say that instant information through satellite TV and the Internet may have great economic benefit, but has also caused people to respond to unfiltered, raw information or misinformation without the benefit of informed interpretation.

“The online film ‘Fitna’ which has offended Muslims worldwide is just the latest example of wrong-headedness, asserting the right to freedom of expression in democratic Holland while overlooking the costs, namely the stoking of hatred between devout Muslims and Christians,” he said.

Mr Lee stressed that societies will need to adapt and build defence mechanisms to cope with these new circumstances. – CNA/ir/ac

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British PM Rejects Olympics Boycott

LONDON – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday again ruled out boycotting the Beijing Olympics, despite a warning that French President Nicolas Sarkozy could stay away over Tibet.

“I will attend the Olympics as many others will do,” Brown said after a conference of centre-left international leaders on progressive governance near London.

“The Dalai Lama himself has said that he does not want to see a boycott of the Olympics and that is why I have said as the host country for the 2012 Olympics that is coming up that I will attend.”

Brown urged “restraint” on both sides and said the crisis in Tibet could only be resolved by dialogue.

The British premier has said he will attend the closing ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. The 2012 Olympics — the next summer games after Beijing — will be held in London.

France is demanding that China start talks with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, and release political prisoners as a condition for Sarkozy to attend the Beijing opening ceremony, a minister said in an interview published Saturday.

- AFP /ls

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