After nearly seven years and billions upon billions of dollars spent on preparation, China is finally on the cusp of hosting its coming-out party: the 2008 Beijing Olympics. China's president and the country's top athlete launched the Beijing Olympics torch relay on March 31st in Tiananmen Square, amid cheering, dancing and tight security, marking the symbolic start to the Summer Games. It will return to Beijing on August 6th after traveling throughout China, two days before it is used to light the cauldron at the Olympic opening ceremony. But will they uphold their promise for a “Green Olympics”?
On July 13, 2001, the International Olympic Committee awarded the Games to Beijing, to an uproar of dissent. Critics said China's record of human rights abuses should have excluded it from consideration. But Olympic officials wanted to give China a chance to change, while the world watched. Beijing beat out Toronto by two votes for the 2008 Games. For the world’s Olympians,......
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