By Jerome Dalieh

 

Preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games are being finalized for the opening ceremonies on Friday.

 

Friday opening ceremonies will take place in the Bird's Nest Stadium with fire works expected to be displayed from a hill-top in the Olympic forest park over-looking the central venues of the games.

 

Athletes and official delegations from around the world as well as media personnel have arrived in the Chinese Capital for the three-week events.

 

Most of the venues are centralized in Beijing and surrendered with trees and flowers, giving the environment the nick name "Olympic Green". The theme for this year's Olympics is "One World One Dream".

 

Journalists from Liberia arrived in the Chinese Capital Wednesday morning and later joined their colleagues from about 16 African countries for the opening ceremonies on Friday.

 

Welcoming African journalist at the Foreign Ministry, China's Special Envoy on Africa Mr. Liu Guijin responded to criticisms by acknowledging the universality of human rights such the right to speak, the right to life and work but he pointed out the basic thing is the right to feed their stomach and to survive.

 

Guijin also pointed out that there are different societies and different countries with each looking at things from different perspectives and may therefore have different views on human rights. But he indicated that China's efforts toward human rights have been a continuous process initiated over the last 30 years.

 

He therefore urged critics to look at the improvement the country has made within the short period of time.

 

"If one is objective one would see China is enjoying human rights like never before", Guijin said.

 

China has come under criticisms from within the international community for alleged human rights violations.

 

Meanwhile, in view of the spectacular opening ceremonies of the 2000 Sidney and 2004 Athens Olympic events, many observers stretching their imagination as to whether the Beijing Olympics would be more spectacular then the previous two.

 

In an interview he granted with the China Central Television (CCTV), the Director of the Athens Olympics opening ceremonies Mr. Dimitris Papaioannou acknowledged that the opening ceremony is one of the most important aspects that determines the success or failure of the event.

 

Papaionnou said most often there is a tendency to confuse greatness with long ceremonies, implying that the ceremonies do not necessarily have to be long to be great.

 

He said honesty is the magic power of life and therefore a ceremony simple and artistically truthful would be significant.

 

Papaloannou, also a designer and creator, said "although we live in a superficial world, we also strive for honesty" adding that seriousness and truthfulness should be the focus of the ceremonies and not an event to show off but to be simple and humble. By this Papaioannou thinks the mystery of China could be discovered at this year's Olympics opening ceremonies.

 

Source: The Inquirer