The Japan Times - Beijing Olympics opening ceremony starts under cloud of Covid, rights fears

EUR -
AED 3.832604
AFN 79.302548
ALL 98.345388
AMD 416.213474
ANG 1.88158
AOA 953.195728
ARS 1092.497295
AUD 1.657158
AWG 1.880827
AZN 1.775131
BAM 1.962787
BBD 2.108004
BDT 127.320206
BGN 1.958457
BHD 0.393306
BIF 3041.670362
BMD 1.043455
BND 1.416529
BOB 7.214615
BRL 6.144903
BSD 1.044017
BTN 90.200246
BWP 14.490447
BYN 3.416731
BYR 20451.711527
BZD 2.097146
CAD 1.49658
CDF 2968.62876
CHF 0.945725
CLF 0.037418
CLP 1032.487813
CNY 7.605432
CNH 7.598484
COP 4414.867142
CRC 526.870595
CUC 1.043455
CUP 27.651549
CVE 110.953472
CZK 25.103391
DJF 185.443007
DKK 7.460466
DOP 64.078047
DZD 140.965539
EGP 52.472728
ERN 15.65182
ETB 136.327656
FJD 2.409307
FKP 0.859376
GBP 0.843584
GEL 2.984038
GGP 0.859376
GHS 15.859523
GIP 0.859376
GMD 75.128582
GNF 9031.100182
GTQ 8.06853
GYD 218.425495
HKD 8.128053
HNL 26.61286
HRK 7.700224
HTG 136.444431
HUF 409.900238
IDR 16917.008833
ILS 3.735912
IMP 0.859376
INR 90.188761
IQD 1366.925617
IRR 43916.331343
ISK 145.895667
JEP 0.859376
JMD 164.132735
JOD 0.740329
JPY 162.666226
KES 135.125685
KGS 91.248336
KHR 4206.165454
KMF 493.127499
KPW 939.109319
KRW 1497.003017
KWD 0.32153
KYD 0.870089
KZT 543.599991
LAK 22747.311736
LBP 93493.538884
LKR 311.742325
LRD 203.421866
LSL 19.293371
LTL 3.08105
LVL 0.631176
LYD 5.128612
MAD 10.43089
MDL 19.47113
MGA 4925.106292
MKD 61.790503
MMK 3389.100065
MNT 3545.65908
MOP 8.376741
MRU 41.613195
MUR 48.478964
MVR 16.080055
MWK 1811.961908
MXN 21.182897
MYR 4.637137
MZN 66.686871
NAD 19.293269
NGN 1626.224488
NIO 38.427018
NOK 11.737749
NPR 144.320394
NZD 1.836244
OMR 0.40165
PAB 1.044007
PEN 3.872784
PGK 4.176167
PHP 61.176701
PKR 290.758449
PLN 4.210601
PYG 8255.190464
QAR 3.799207
RON 4.975396
RSD 117.113183
RUB 104.214055
RWF 1452.4889
SAR 3.913743
SBD 8.842995
SCR 14.91121
SDG 627.116517
SEK 11.467327
SGD 1.412655
SHP 0.859376
SLE 23.677596
SLL 21880.722614
SOS 596.341121
SRD 36.630502
STD 21597.404937
SVC 9.135303
SYP 13566.9976
SZL 19.293581
THB 35.414801
TJS 11.427071
TMT 3.662526
TND 3.333055
TOP 2.443872
TRY 37.195339
TTD 7.097198
TWD 34.113451
TZS 2625.331861
UAH 43.849382
UGX 3847.660691
USD 1.043455
UYU 45.691786
UZS 13570.127942
VES 58.11215
VND 26222.01585
VUV 123.881034
WST 2.922536
XAF 658.2942
XAG 0.034276
XAU 0.000379
XCD 2.819988
XDR 0.804456
XOF 655.813064
XPF 119.331742
YER 259.87242
ZAR 19.270865
ZMK 9392.339483
ZMW 29.050139
ZWL 335.991978
  • CMSC

    -0.0050

    23.485

    -0.02%

  • SCS

    -0.0400

    11.54

    -0.35%

  • BCC

    0.1350

    128.055

    +0.11%

  • JRI

    0.0050

    12.535

    +0.04%

  • BCE

    0.1000

    23.25

    +0.43%

  • GSK

    0.6750

    34.105

    +1.98%

  • CMSD

    -0.0450

    23.915

    -0.19%

  • RBGPF

    -0.9200

    61.28

    -1.5%

  • NGG

    0.7000

    60.75

    +1.15%

  • RIO

    0.4200

    61.54

    +0.68%

  • BTI

    0.4550

    37.025

    +1.23%

  • RYCEF

    0.2600

    7.53

    +3.45%

  • AZN

    0.4470

    68.647

    +0.65%

  • VOD

    0.0240

    8.404

    +0.29%

  • RELX

    0.0590

    49.319

    +0.12%

  • BP

    0.3150

    31.445

    +1%

Beijing Olympics opening ceremony starts under cloud of Covid, rights fears
Beijing Olympics opening ceremony starts under cloud of Covid, rights fears

Beijing Olympics opening ceremony starts under cloud of Covid, rights fears

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics began on Friday as China attempted to turn the page on a troubled build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns and Covid.

Text size:

The lattice-shaped "Bird's Nest" stadium took centre stage, just as it did at the 2008 Games -- seen as China's coming-out party on the world stage -- as Beijing becomes the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics.

The opening ceremony was attended by President Xi Jinping, under whose rule China has adopted a more muscular attitude internationally compared to 14 years ago.

Xi, who will declare the Games officially open, will be joined by more than 20 world leaders including Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the two presidents having met earlier in the day.

China and Russia have both seen ties with Washington deteriorate markedly, and with tensions rising in Europe over Russia's troop build-up on the Ukrainian border, Putin hailed the "truly unprecedented nature" of relations with his hosts.

The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia are among countries staging a diplomatic boycott of the Games over China's rights record, particularly the fate of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.

Their athletes will still compete at the Games, which run until February 20 and are taking place inside a vast "closed loop" designed to thwart the virus.

Some spectators will be present at the opening ceremony at the 90,000-capacity "Bird's Nest" but it is unclear how many and, like sports events at the Games, tickets were not sold to the general public because of the pandemic.

The show is the mastermind of acclaimed Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, who was behind the 2008 extravaganza.

Zhang has promised a "totally innovative" ceremony but conceded that the pandemic and freezing weather will limit its scale compared to the Summer Games, when 15,000 performers took part in a lavish gala featuring opera singers, acrobats and drummers.

This time about 3,000 performers will take part and themes will include "environmental protection and low carbon emission".

- 'Appalling' -

But China's assertion that these will be a "green Games" has been challenged by some experts because they are taking place in one of the driest places in the country and on almost entirely man-made snow.

There are other concerns, including warnings from some Western nations about surveillance of their athletes and what will happen to them if they make anti-China comments or other displays of protest against local authorities.

Gus Kenworthy, a British freestyle skier, said he would not be silenced and called China "not well suited" to be hosts.

"In my opinion I don't think any country should be allowed to host the Games if they have appalling human rights stances," he told the BBC.

On Thursday, about 500 Tibetans marched outside the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Smaller demonstrations took place in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Covid also looms large. The nearly 3,000 athletes and tens of thousands of support staff, volunteers and media have been cut off from Beijing's general population.

China, where the virus emerged in late 2019, has pursued a no-nonsense zero-Covid policy nationwide and has adopted the same approach to the Games, with everyone inside the bubble tested daily and required to wear a mask at all times.

There have been more than 300 Covid cases in the bubble, among them an unknown number of athletes.

- 'In our hearts' -

Unlike the huge celebrations and outpouring of national pride that greeted the 2008 opening ceremony, enthusiasm for these Games has been noticeably more sober this time among the locals.

Covid restrictions mean that most will watch the show from home.

Those lucky enough to be there in person were told to wear a mask at all times and sit several seats apart.

Speaking on the streets of the capital, Yin Rui, 31, said she was eager to get settled in front of her television.

"Even if they are at home people will cheer for the Olympics," she told AFP, adding that "enthusiasm in everyone's hearts remain" for the Games -- even though they will take place behind high fences and with the public mostly shut out.

Away from the ceremony, the figure skating began with strongly fancied American Nathan Chen firing a warning to Japanese reigning champion Yuzuru Hanyu by producing a personal best score in the men's single short programme of the team competition.

The two will vie for gold in the eagerly awaited men's single event beginning on Tuesday.

T.Maeda--JT