BEIJING, Nov. 20 — Although the number of applicants (730,000) has surpassed the required amount, more foreign language speakers are needed to offer volunteer services for the Beijing Olympic Games, according to the Office of the Volunteer Work Coordination Group for Beijing Olympic Games.

BOCOG is looking for volunteers who speak English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, German, Korean, Italian, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Romanian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovak, Thai, Turkish, Farsi, Danish, Lithuanian, Hebrew, Azerbaijani, Norwegian, Latvian, Armenian, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Slovenian, Hindi, Georgina, Macedonian, Indonesian, Amharic, Lao, Estonian, Albanian, Afghan, Icelandic, Philipino, Cambodian, Burmese, Moldavian, Catalan, Luxembourgish, Bosnian, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Bulgarian, Malay or Urdu.

If you’re going to be in Beijing next summer, here’s a chance for an inside view of the Olympics. For more more information, check out www.volunteers.beijing2008.cn.

Via Xinhua

About 300 Canadian athletes will be headed to Beijing, according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.

OTTAWA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) — Canada will send about 300 athletes to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and it hopes to finish among the top 16 in the overall medal table.

The remarks were made by Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) President Michael Chambers Monday in Ottawa.

In case national pride and fame aren’t enough motivation, the COC has created the Athlete Excellent Fund, to award cash prizes to Canadian Olympic medalists.

Starting from Beijing Olympics, Canadian athletes will receive 20,000 Canadian dollars (20,600 U.S. dollars) per gold medal won at any Olympic Games, said Chambers.

Silver winners will be compensated 15,000 Canadian dollars (15,450 U.S. dollars) per medal and bronze winners will earn 10,000 Canadian dollars (10,300 U.S. dollars).

Think they’ll make the top sixteen for overall medals? More importantly, can you beleive I made it through this post without one “eh?” joke?

Via Xinhua

Patrick hasn’t put up any babes in a few days, but don’t worry! Who needs a hot flight attendant or a sexy cheerleader when we have this…

And this!

Girls dressed like pandas!

Artist Zhao Bandi has apparently been making panda-inspired art for years. He’s done panda-related photography and visual art, and now, panda fashions! This show is part of China Fashion Week, in Beijing right now. Xinhua describes their gallery of pictures:

A model presents a creation for Bandi-Panda fashion show by Chinese conceptual artist Zhao Bandi at China Fashion Week in Beijing Nov. 4, 2007. Zhao uses the medium of fashion to present 33 Chinese social classes and social issues.

Ok, from now on I’m letting Patrick choose the Beijing babes.

Via Danwei, photos from Xinhua

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has banned fire department officials from receiving sexual favors as bribes from companies seeking their business, local media reported on Friday.

The new anti-corruption laws also forbid city firefighters from taking bribes, receiving discounted housing, or having their children placed in top schools. Their immediate family members are prohibited from profiting through fire companies or fire-fighting products as well.

A commentary carried by the official Xinhua news agency on Friday praised the order — officially abbreviated as the “Four Strictly Forbiddens” — as timely.

“For every 10 corrupt officials, nine are involved in illicit sex. This old tune has already been proved by statistics from disciplinary organs many times,” Xinhua said.

“The people believe that the trade of authority for sex is still comparatively serious,” the commentary said.

Dreaming of romance with Mr. September from the fireman’s calendar is still legal.

Via Reuters

Sometimes I get the idea that Beijing is only city with air pollution problems. Partly because the air here makes me hack and cough, and partly because of all the new coverage the air and the Olympics are getting. But this story on Shanghai Scrap reminds me that Olympic football games will be held in Tianjin, and Tianjin has it’s own pollution issues.

That’s the main terminal in the distance - roughly 200 meters, I’d say. Like many Chinese cities, Tianjin’s population burns wood and coal for heat during the winter months - and it was plenty cold when I was there. Also, Tianjin has a significant manufacturing sector, lots of cars, and - most important - it is downwind from Shanxi Province,* the beating heart of China’s coal country, and home to yet another thriving manufacturing sector.

Looks pretty grey.

I don’t want to be all negative or alarmist. The sailing events for the Olympics will be held in Qingdao, a beautiful coastal city in Shandong province. When I was there last year, the air was very clear, and the beaches were some of the cleanest I’ve seen in China. All in all, a beautiful spot to hold the games.

Via Shanghai Scrap

The Italian women’s volleyball team has just qualified for the Olympics by beating the Cuban team.

Italy secured a ticket to the Beijing Olympics by recording its 10th straight win in the women’s volleyball World Cup, beating Cuba in straight sets.

Playing without injured captain Eleonora Lo Bianco but with former Cuba star Taismary Aguero in the line-up, the European champion landed the 27-25, 25-19, 25-16 victory to seal a top-three finish with one match to go.

“I think we played a good match. We have improved day by day,” said Italy head coach Massimo Barbolini. “This year we played very well and we are very, very happy because it is the first time that the Italian team obtained qualification for the Olympic Games at the first round.”

Via The People’s Daily Online

From an article today in The Straights Times:

CHINA would not need ‘one cent’ of foreign financial support to hold the Beijing Olympics, which are expected to turn a profit of about $20 million (S$29 million) to $30 million, according to a senior Games organiser.

Mr Yu Zaiqing, an executive vice president of the Beijing Organising Committee for Olympic Games (BOCOG), said revenues from broadcast rights, sponsors, merchandise and ticket sales would exceed anticipated costs of US$2.4 billion to host the Games.

‘Revenue from these four main areas can guarantee a budget of US$2.4 billion. According to my initial estimates, the (Olympics) will generate about US$20 million to US$30 million in net profit,’ Yu told Friday’s China Business News.

‘I can confidently tell you, we do not need one cent of foreign financial support to hold this Olympics,’ Mr Yu said.

It seems to me like China is making a killing on Olympic sponsorships, because you can’t go anywhere without seeing an “official sponsor of the 2008 games” logo on something, but then there’s the high cost of all the construction in the city. Good to hear an official number from BOCOG.

Via The Straights Times,

There are plenty of new ads and billboards asking Beijingers to be more polite, form lines and stop spitting, in time for the Olympics. But instead of showing you those, here’s a public service announcement from the 1950’s asking folks not to spit on the ground!

Via MentalFloss

If you read China news, you’ve been hearing rumors about the reporter database. Which doesn’t exist. No, wait, it does. No, no, it doesn’t.

The International Herald Tribune said on the 12th that:

The Chinese government is creating a database with profiles on the thousands of foreign reporters who will be covering next summer’s Beijing Olympics, a top official said in comments published Monday.

The database will contain information on nearly 30,000 reporters and was designed to prevent people from posing as journalists to trick or blackmail interview subjects, Liu Binjie, minister of the General Administration of Press and Publication, was quoted as saying in the state-run China Daily newspaper.

However, two days later, The Washington Times ran this story:

The Chinese government and Beijing Olympics officials yesterday tried to back away from newspaper reports that the Communist authorities are assembling a database to monitor foreign journalists covering the games.

The story in Monday’s China Daily raised questions about the country’s pledge of increased media freedom, part of a successful campaign in landing the Olympics six years ago. It also suggests the authoritarian government might have heavy-handed plans for dealing with the 28,000 reporters expected for the Aug. 8-24 games.

“The report you mentioned is incorrect,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. “There is no such database.”

The original China Daily article, called Crackdown On Bogus Reporters, says:

A database of the 8,000 overseas reporters who will be allowed inside of Olympic venues has been completed, while a database of the 20,000 foreign reporters to be allowed to work in China during the Games is being built

Tennis player Justin Henin-Hardenne is worried about air pollution at the Olympics, because she’s already left a Chinese tennis tournment due to complications from poor air quality and asthma.

“I have had asthma for a few months now and I felt very bad in New York at the end of the tournament so I was really concerned about Beijing,” the Belgian told a news conference in Madrid on Monday.

Henin said had to withdraw from the China Open in Beijing in September because of her asthma.

“I had to go back and see a specialist to start other treatments but I’m feeling better now. I was pretty disappointed because I wanted to play the tournament and get used to the conditions.”

Henin is still hopeful that Beijing’s air will improve and she wil be able to defend the gold medal she won in the 2004 Olympics.

Via Reuters UK