Archive: August 3, 2008 - August 9, 2008
Eight Killed in Attack by 'Suicide Bombers' in Western China (Updated)
Chinese police shot and killed five suspects during a pre-dawn clash Sunday with attackers who hurled homemade bombs at government buildings in the country's Xinjiang region, according to state media. Two police officers and a security guard were wounded during the attacks on a local police station and office of...
August 9, 2008; 10:31 PM ET | Comments (0)
American Tourist Killed in Beijing (Updated)
One American tourist was killed and one more was injured while sightseeing at Beijing's Drum Tower at mid-day today, China's official news service Xinhua reported. Chinese authorities have identified the attacker as Tang Yongming, 47, from Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang Province. Xinhua reports that the attacker committed suicide by...
August 9, 2008; 6:55 AM ET | Comments (5)
State Media: World Leaders Praise China
President Bush dedicated the new $434 million U.S. Embassy in Beijing today and said it is a symbol of the deepening ties between the two countries, but there was little news about this in the Chinese media. Bush has become a virtual persona non grata in China over the past...
August 8, 2008; 11:57 AM ET | Comments (11)
Tiananmen Closed on Opening Day
HOTSPOT Tiananmen Square, the symbolic center of China, was closed this morning, the opening day of the Olympics. But the closure didn't deter thousands of mostly Chinese tourists from thronging the sidewalks across the streets from the square. Sporting Chinese flag decals on their cheeks and foreheads, they jostled with...
August 8, 2008; 6:50 AM ET | Comments (1)
White House Press Corps 'Welcome' in Beijing
When I arrived in Beijing with other members of the White House press corps following President Bush to the Olympics on a chartered aircraft, we received an interesting introduction to the bureaucratic ways of China. Check out my latest entry to our On The Plane blog, about traveling with the...
August 8, 2008; 4:20 AM ET | Comments (11)
China Bloggers to U.S. Cyclists: Go Home
In the months leading up to the Olympics, China's bloggers launched ugly online attacks against the Western media for what they said were biased reports about Tibet, and lambasted France, French companies and the French people for the melee over the Paris leg of the torch relay. Now they have...
August 7, 2008; 3:00 PM ET | Comments (106)
Tiananmen Square Today
HOTSPOT On special occasions like national holidays, so many Chinese tourists crowd into Tiananmen Square that it can take hours to push and shove your way from one end to another. The eve of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is apparently not one of those days....
August 7, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
U.S. Christian Protesters Detained, Pro-Tibet Activists Deported
Three American Christian activists calling for greater religious freedom in China were kneeling to conduct a prayer vigil in Tiananmen Square earlier today when plainclothes security guards dragged them off their knees and took them away. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, was able to speak to a...
August 7, 2008; 5:47 AM ET | Comments (28)
Chinese Press: It's Fog, not Smog
The Chinese government's vast media operations have been in overdrive in recent weeks in anticipation of Friday's Opening Ceremony. While the foreign media has raised questions about what the skyrocketing air pollution index means for athletes' health and the competition, the Chinese media is quoting experts that say there is...
August 6, 2008; 7:10 PM ET | Comments (2)
A 'Civilized' Beijing
On practically every street corner of China's capital, colorful splashes of banners and flyers urge local residents to do his or her part to ensure a 文明 Beijing for the Olympics. Literally meaning civilized, the word--spelled wenming in Roman letters and pronounced WHEN-ming--has a much deeper meaning in the Chinese...
August 6, 2008; 5:37 PM ET | Comments (5)
