Hao Hao ReportThe best China news and blog posts

Another summary of the Beijing Games from Marina Hyde, contrasting them with her expectations of the next games.

It seems that Olympic preparations are going smoothly in Beijing (621 days to go!), but then no-one is really able to complain. Not so in London, where questions about rocketing costs and grave doubts over the usefulness of staging the games are being voiced. This is just the start... There are about 2000 days of complaining and protests to come...

Everything has been prepared, all tickets have been sold, yet Beijing is not ready for the games. The majors issues, air pollution, freedom of speech and journalistic freedom as well as the whole visa thing cast a dark shadow above these Olympics. What will the Olympics be under these circumstances? Doing a review later is easy... therefore I do a preview. What will happen during the Olympics, what will be the outcome?

Tomorrow will mark one year until the Beijing Olympics. The games, which have been called everything from China’s great coming-out party to the genocide Olympics, will undoubtedly put the country under a media spotlight the likes of which most people living here have never seen.

"Take, for instance, the politicization of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. How incredibly aggravating it is to see the Chinese and the Chinese government demand that the rest of the world not politicize their cherished coming-out party, only to see..."

Not to scare anyone, but the State Department is warning Americans they could be watched by the government during the Beijing Olympics. You know, not in a warrantless-home-searches-in-the-middle-of-the-night kind of way, real intrusive stuff. They are advising Americans to be vigilant while in

Yet more news that the financial boom expected by the Olympics is proving lack luster. Anyone else beginning to think that the Chinese are trying to keep the Games to themselves?

With the Central Government and IOC in Beijing this week to mark the one year countdown before the start of the Olympics, problems are starting to surface concerning a variety of issues over the events, and in particular the 'soft' issues that are so important in making a success of the Games.

BEIJING — Visitors to China's capital can stroll through "Racist Park," enjoy a plate of "Crap in the Grass" and stop by a Starbuck's franchise for a cup for "Christmas Bland" coffee.

Now the Beijing government is trying to clean up such mistranslations and sloppy editing (including the inversion of 'a' and 'r' in carp on menus) before an expected 500,000 foreigners arrive for the 2008 Summer Olympics.