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From the People's Daily, newspaper of the Communist Party of China:
Cosmopolitan New York shares Beijing's Olympic glory
The extinguishing of the Olympic flame may have drawn the curtains on the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but the heat it generated is yet to die down.
In New York, a cosmopolitan city that accommodates people of different races and cultures, the Beijing Olympiad has been widely watched and talked about, and will surely be remembered for a very long time.
Around 8 p.m. Eastern Time (2400 GMT) Sunday, many people stopped at NBC's big screen in bustling Times Square on Manhattan Island to watch the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. To them, the extravaganza was just another example of all-around excellence shown by the host nation.
"China did a great job," said Cameron and Megan Lynch from Australia who have been following the Games closely and did not mind comparing the Beijing Olympics with the 2000 Games in Sydney.
"Everything - the organizing, the venues, the environment (in Beijing) - all went so smooth, no trouble, no problem. We've been enjoying it," they said.
"Sports (in China) is good. The country is very progressive, and we've seen more technologies in this Olympics. We're happy that Russia is third on the gold medal chart, but China did better," said Russian students Grigory Kulikov and Eduard Galiullin, who are holidaying in New York.
The fact that China topped the gold medal chart was the most impressive event for Saurabh Gujarati, an Indian student doing his Ph.D at Michigan State University. "It is a spectacular feat by China. I hope India can do the same one day."
Some sports fans noticed that the host country had made progress in some events that are not China's traditional strong fields. Local high school students Dontaye Cerda and George Ayala praised the Chinese baseball team, which had put up a fierce fight against the U.S.
On or off court, many foreigners have found the Beijing Olympics offering a window to more insights into a real China.
"(The opening ceremony and the closing ceremony were) really good introductions to Chinese history, and I hope they gave everybody a better understanding of how much pride the Chinese people have for their country and history," said local businessman Tim Wendt, who lived in Beijing for a year.
He has been closely following the entire event and joined his Chinese friends at a bar in uptown Manhattan for the closing ceremony Sunday night. "It was so spectacular and I think everybody was impressed by what they saw."
"I think the Americans now talk a lot about how really good the Chinese audiences have been, especially when the Americans were part of the competition."
Wendt's Chinese friends find their confidence and pride hugely boosted by the success of the Beijing Olympics and the world's recognition of it.
Feng Zhu, an actor who just landed a part in the popular U.S. TV series Law and Order, hoped that the Chinese power demonstrated in the Olympics will promote the image of Chinese overseas.
Wall Street financier Yanhua Liu said he found courage and strength from the athletes, who motivated him to reach higher.
Margaret Chu of Taiwan was also excited about sharing the glory. "As a Chinese, I am so proud that we have achieved so much in the Olympic Games," she said.
"The Games have shown to the world a different China and lifted our international image," she added. "I am just so proud to be Chinese."
This is from the People's Daily, newspaper of the Communist Party of China.
Sincerest Condolences to American People
Xinhua News Agency reported the news first and verified the identification of the suspected attacker. Immediately, China's Foreign Ministry reported the event to The United States Embassy in China. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, on behalf of the Minister, immediately visited the wounded American tourist in hospital and expressed deep shock and sincere condolences to the victim's family and to the US government. Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee also expressed their deep condolences to the victim and sincere sympathy to the wounded tourist and her family. On the morning of August 10th when Chinese President Hu Jintao met with U.S. President George W. Bush, President Hu expressed his sympathy and deep concern to the incident. He said that the case will be carefully looked into and properly handled.
During the author's discussion of the tragedy with friends and colleagues, "disastrous" was the consistently used word. While people believe that it was just an accident that will not change people's opinion about security in Beijing as a whole, still it is seen as a regretful and saddening incident especially to the families and friends of the victim.
The Olympic Games is a great occasion for people all over the world. Just like the rest of foreign visitors, the 62-year-old stabbed couple Todd Bachman and his wife Barbara Bachman came all the way to Beijing with great excitement to see the Olympics.
Todd Bachman was the CEO of a Minnesota based gardening company and the wounded female is his wife Barbara. Their daughter Elisabeth, former Olympic athlete with American Women's Volleyball team, accompanied her parents to Beijing this time. Elisabeth's husband is an assistant to the American Volleyball coach. According to the brief statement of Bachman, Inc. President, the Bachmans were "extremely thrilled" to come to the Olympics. After the Olympic Opening Ceremony, they sent emails to their families and friends saying they were so happy and moved by the ceremony they had seen.
We hate to see unfortunate incidents like this, but what happened has happened. A netizen leaves a message online saying, "As people of the host country we have all the reasons to give them our prayers." Another netizen expressed his feeling in four brief words, "WE ARE SO SADDENED."
Indeed, aren't care and compassion included in the slogan "Beijing embraces the world" and the Chinese character "和" (Pinyin pronunciation as "he" and meaning "peace")? As the most precious thing in the world, a life is never inferior or superior to another despite the different nationalities, ethnic groups, or colors of skin. Love for and care about life is the most fundamental and greatest affections of human being. Chinese people would like to let all of our sincerest sympathy and deepest condolences go out to American people, to American athletes, and to the families and friends of the victim.
By Ding Gang, editor of People's Daily
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