Archive: June 15, 2008 - June 21, 2008
Clinton Calls for Unity as Convention Begins
By Shailagh Murray Washington Post Staff Writer DENVER, Colo. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a call for unity as the Democrats prepared to kick off their national convention this evening with a full slate of speakers who will sell Sen. Barack Obama to a national primetime audience. In her...
August 25, 2008; 4:09 PM ET | Comments (0)
Olympics Report Card: Success or Failure?
The Beijing Olympics the world saw on television was a runaway success. The athletes broke world records -- including three by just one man, Jamaica's Usain Bolt. The venues sparkled. Pollution was low and throughout most of the games there were brilliant "blue sky" days. China for the first time...
August 24, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (66)
Want to Find the Best Restaurants? Check Your Blood Pressure? Ask an Olympic Volunteer
One striking aspect of the Beijing Olympics is the ubiquitous smiling volunteer. Armed with facts and figures about 5,000 years of Chinese history, Olympic trivia, subway schedules, and first aid, they are stationed on practically every corner of Beijing. In some high-traffic areas you need only call out something...
August 24, 2008; 1:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Pro-Tibet Demonstrator Speaks about Detention in Beijing
://admin.brightcove.com&autoStart=false'base='http://admin.brightcove.com' id='fo510216' name='fo510216'width='454' height='305' allowFullScreen='false'allowScriptAccess='always'seamlesstabbing='false'type='application/x-shockwave-flash' swLiveConnect='true'pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash'> Kurt Langer, 34, is a member of the board of Students for a Free Tibet. While Langer did not actively participate in any of the group's protests in Beijing, he observed them and explained the goals of the demonstrations to the media. Other...
August 23, 2008; 1:00 AM ET | Comments (11)
Grandmothers Sentenced to Reeducation Labor Camp Say They Are Not Afraid
Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, were told they might have to go to reeducation labor camp because they were "disturbing the public order" for applying for a protest permit during the Olympics. The two women wanted to protest their eviction from their homes in 2001 because they...
August 22, 2008; 1:30 PM ET | Comments (3)
Pro-Tibet Protesters Speak Out
Ginger Cassady and Alice Speller, members of Students for a Free Tibet, spoke at a press conference in Beijing Friday. The grassroots activist group has managed to pull off eight separate demonstrations since Aug. 6. Cassady, 30, from San Francisco, works for a forest conservation organization. Speller, 25, is...
August 22, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
U.S. Tourist Attacked Aug. 9 in Beijing Now in "Good" Condition
Barbara Bachman, whose husband Todd was stabbed and killed in Beijing during the Olympics, is back in the United States and has been upgraded to "good" condition by the Mayo Clinic where she is being treated. In a letter posted this week to a Web site dedicated to the family,...
August 22, 2008; 4:57 AM ET | Comments (0)
Blogger Zhang Shihe On Dissent During the Olympics
Zhang Shihe, 53, a blogger, has advocated for the rights of migrant workers who helped construct the Bird's Nest National Stadium and other Olympic venues and of people who were driven out of their homes by construction for the games. His blog, 24-hour blog bus, is routinely censored by...
August 21, 2008; 12:30 PM ET | Comments (0)
Protestors from Hong Kong, U.S. Taken Away by Beijing Police
A group of disgruntled Hong Kong businessmen who went to protest outside Beijing's Zhongnanhai compound where China's leaders live were taken away by police. One of the men, Wang Wenjin, previously told The Washington Post that he and the others had been cheated out of their investment in a Shanghai...
August 21, 2008; 7:52 AM ET | Comments (0)
Village Sacrifices Water for Olympics
Cheng Yu, 22, a teacher from Hebei Province, talks about how her village used to be one of the only lush parts of China's arid northeast, which in terms of per capita water resources is as dry as the Middle East. But a diversion project that sends the water...
August 20, 2008; 12:30 PM ET | Comments (1)
Two Women, Ages 79 and 77, Sentenced to Re-education Labor After Applying for Protest Permit
Two Beijing residents were sentenced to a year of labor re- education after they applied for permits to demonstrate against their 2001 eviction from their homes, according to New York-based Human Rights in China. Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, went to Chinese police five times between Aug. 5...
August 20, 2008; 1:18 AM ET | Comments (18)
Five American Pro-Tibet Activists Detained
Five American activists who unfurled a banner spelling out "Free Tibet" on Tuesday near the National Stadium in Beijing have been detained. The five protesters were taken away by security before midnight, according to Students for a Free Tibet. The organization identified the detained activists as Amy Johnson, 33, Sam...
August 20, 2008; 12:42 AM ET | Comments (2)
Who's No. 1? Depends On How You Count Medals
Every day since the games began, the Olympics medal chart has dominated the front page of China's main state-run newspapers. China is always ranked first. On Wednesday, the chart showed that China has 43 gold medals as compared to the 26 that went to the United States, 16 to...
August 19, 2008; 11:55 PM ET | Comments (249)
