Hot Topic - Beijing Olympics

Beijing boycott drumbeat more than a trickle - April 7, 2008
Ah, yes, only the young athletes would suffer by a boycott of the Beijing Olympic games. So goes the oft-repeated trance-like meme from many, mostly those with money on the table. More broadcasters voiced a different view this past week.

Never Forget The Olympic Games Are Big Business, Really Big Business, And When The IOC Talks With China Next Week Not Ruining The Business Will Be Top Of The Agenda - March 28, 2008
Human rights groups, press freedom organizations and the like are really putting the screws on China to keep promises made back in 2001 when awarded the Olympic Games, and the Chinese had given an outward appearance of loosening things up a bit, but then came Tibet to prove the sham of it all. The western media also criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of squandering an opportunity via its “quiet diplomacy” to pressure China into the 21st century, but it’s not too late. The IOC President is in China next week and now the two sides really need to get down to the business of business.

How To Protect 'Made In China' – If Done Right It Could Be A Classic PR Lesson; If Done Wrong … - August 30, 2007
The stakes have never been higher – billions and billions of dollars of Chinese exports are sold around the world, usually on price more than anything else, but now quality enters the picture and China has a big problem. How it chooses to resolve that in the world’s eyes could become a classic PR lesson, but right now they seem divided on what to do, taking a stick against those who complain too much and a carrot promising reforms.

China Celebrated the Olympics One-Year Countdown In Grand Style In Tiananmen Square But Press Freedom Issues Were Shot Across Its Bow, Too, Warning What Will Come If No Improvement Over The Next 12 Months - August 10, 2007
No one could help but be impressed with the opulent celebration in Tiananmen Square that China held this week to mark the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games scheduled to start on the luckiest date possible in Chinese folklore, 08-08-08 at 08:08 PM.

China’s Media Revenue In All Sectors Grows By Leaps And Bounds, But The Story The Government Has The Most Trouble Handling Is Press Freedom - February 27, 2007
There are two “leads” to the China media story. On the commercial side advertising revenue jumped 18 - 22% last year depending on the source, and huge investments are planned for a new 3G mobile network. But when it comes to press freedom, while authorities have made it easy now, because of next year’s Olympic Games, for foreign correspondents to move around China, they seem to be clamping down ever harder on their domestic journalists.