The Chinese Olympics, which were held again in Beijing for the first time in 14 years, are embroiled in various rumors at the beginning of the tournament.
The associated press and others introduced complaints expressed through Instagram by Valeria Basnetsova, CEO of the Russian biathlon. He, who was put under quarantine safety protocol after being tested positive for COVID-19, said, “It is a pain because my diet is poor and my health is not properly managed,” adding, “I am only eating a little bit of pasta and enduring it.” “I can’t eat the rest,” he said angrily. He also wrote, “I have dark circles,” adding, “I’m crying every day.”
Due to the poor quality of food that is provided at the Beijing Winter Olympics athletes’ village, the Korean athletes are primarily relying on lunch boxes at the meal support center supported by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.
The situation in the athletes’ village does not seem to be much different for other nations. Each country’s national team is struggling. “The food was so delicious at the Pyeongchang Olympics four years ago, but when I ate at a restaurant in the athletes’ village on the first evening after arriving in China, it didn’t suit my taste,” one athlete said. As expected, the ice skating team also said, “I ate food at the athletes’ village restaurant for just one day, but the players all said they couldn’t eat it next time. I don’t want to go if possible.”
A disturbing incident of a correspondent being pulled away from his live broadcast by Chinese security forces has gone viral on social media, leading to outrage. The scene was so shocking. Reporter Sörd Denas, a correspondent for Dutch public broadcaster NOS, was reporting the opening ceremony on the night of the 4th. However, a man with a red armband on his arm appeared in front of the camera and shouted in Chinese and kicked him out of the scene. A Dutch anchor who watched the events unfold live stopped the broadcasting with a surprised look, which spread strongly through social networking services.
Reporter Dennis, who witnessed the absurd event, said on his Twitter account, “A person wearing a red badge called ‘Volunteer for Public Safety’ forced the reporter off the screen without prior warning,” adding, “He did not reveal his identity and appeared to be very stressed.” “The live broadcast continued from the parking lot around the corner,” he wrote .Looking at the NOS reporter who was kicked out by security personnel during the live reporting,The International Olympic Committee (IOC) urgently reacted and made a statement. An IOC spokesman said, “This is a one-off,” adding, “It will not affect overseas reporters reporting the Beijing Games.” There was also a dubious decision that occurred in short track speed skating, a major event for Korea.
China won a gold medal in the 2000m mixed relay the previous day. However, the previous process, the semifinals, is drawing keen attention as it is tantamount to a biased judgment that gave home advantage.
China ran to third place with 13 laps left until the finish line and attempted to shift players. In the process, skaters were tangled, and a Russian skater was caught between Runzway and Zhang Yiting. Runzway accelerated the Russian touch, thinking it was Jang Witting. Zhang Yu Ting followed Runzwei and tried to touch it, but failed and the race continued. China finished third after Hungary and the United States, but the referee disqualified the United States and China advanced to the finals. “As the video reading was prolonged, I thought ‘no way’, but it was hard to accept it,” Some say that it is not fair enough in the consideration of home-ground advantage.
Let’s summarize the current situation of the Olympics. A woman commuting to Beijing by motorcycle from Yanqiao, Hebei Province, Beijing’s border, told a Newspim reporter on the 18th, “I’m undergoing mail nucleic acid tests to enter Beijing,” adding, “It’s become too difficult to enter Beijing.”
A man who commutes to Beijing once a week from Tianjin, about 140 kilometers away, is currently working from home. According to regulations, it is possible to come to Beijing after nucleic acid testing, but in reality, there are too many cumbersome things. On the morning of the 19th, an official at Beijing’s Korean subsidiary said that all employees living in Tianjin were returned to telecommuting.
With the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics just 15 days away, the entirety of Beijing is facing a state of “voluntary quarantine” that no one has forced – not a blockade – as the sporadic spread of COVID-19 continues. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China per day was counted as 55. Although the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Tianjin and Henan Province has decreased, Chinese authorities seem to be on high alert as infected people appeared in Heiden-gu and Chaoyang-gu, Beijing.
Beijing is immediately closing the infected resident complex while tightening control over people’s movement. Local residents with even one case of COVID-19 said not to leave Beijing.
Beijing City has mandated nucleic acid testing within 72 hours of arrival from January 22 to the end of March. When entering the city, the requirement of presenting a negative nucleic acid test within 48 hours will also be maintained. On the 18th, Beijing City stopped the train to Shandong Province just before departure when a resident’s nucleic acid test result was positive the previous day.
Beijing residents hike toward Hebei Province, including Zhangjiakou in the northwest, where the Winter Olympics are held on weekends, but hiking and leisure activities outside Beijing have become impossible since the end of 2021. Although there is no regulation not to go hiking in Hebei Province, hiking outside the city has been blocked through strict inspection procedures.
“If you plan to cover the Beijing Winter Olympics, you’d better not go to other cities as much as possible.” An official from China’s National Foreign Ministry said when a reporter asked if he would like to go to Dandong, Liaoning Province, when he was applying for an observation and coverage in February.
He advised that it would be better to avoid crowded areas in downtown Beijing as well as traveling out of the country. In other words, sporadic infections continue in Heiden-gu and Chaoang-gu, and if the routes overlap, it could lead to a bigger issue.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently reviewing foreign journalists who applied for coverage of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics whether they have traveled to other cities within 21 days as of February 4 and whether they have received their second or third vaccinations.
Even if it is not necessarily for the purpose of coverage, unexpected failures can occur during daily life if COVID-19 cases occur outside the city of Beijing or at a stopover. He visited a Chinese-Japanese friendly hospital near Wangjing to receive medical treatment in Beijing, and the hospital demanded a green card to check the route within 21 days. The hospital entrance manager waved his hand to go back, saying it was impossible to enter the hospital because he passed through the COVID-19 outbreak within 21 days. “I have to see a doctor right away…” There was no use in making any circumstances. Not long ago, a pregnant woman in Shaanxi Province was beaten to death at the door in front of the hospital for being a resident of the coronavirus outbreak area and miscarried. Under these circumstances, “self-isolation,” which inevitably traps itself ahead of the Winter Olympics, seems to be becoming commonplace and the de facto urban blockade is strengthening.
Sam Kim
Asia Journal
