Hao Hao ReportThe best China news and blog posts

The Beijing Welcomes You (World of Warcraft Version) music video for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"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..."

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?

A LEAKED speech by a police commander in charge of security at the 2008 Beijing Olympics has disclosed that the authorities fear mass protests by disaffected Chinese as the biggest threat to the Games. Yu said he was planning the preventive detention of anyone organising “incitement” and of those who “plot behind the scenes”. He said police were building a databank of people known for bad behaviour, singling out Chinese who use the traditional right to petition government as a means to make trouble.

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.

Huang Ju, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Vice-Premier of the State Council, died of illness at 02:03 a.m. June 2 in Beijing at the age of 69.

An obituary issued by the central authorities called Huang "an excellent member of the CPC, a long-tested and faithful Communist fighter and an outstanding leader of the Party and the state."

Brazil thrashed China 4-0 in the Women's Football World Cup yesterday and it seems that Huang Jiangxiang has lost his title of being the world's most annoying football commentator. Hat tip to the Shanghaiist.

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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.

Unless China dropped a nuclear bomb on Tibet, there was never any doubt in my mind that Mr. Bush would attend the opening ceremony. When he was asked about his decision to attend at a press conference in Japan on Sunday, the President stated that “the Chinese people are watching very carefully about the decisions by world leaders and I happen to believe that not going to the opening ceremony for the games would be an affront to the Chinese people, which may make it more difficult to be able to speak frankly with the Chinese leadership.” He was almost right...