A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.
Chinese Businesses Look to Olympic Boost
Refusing to be overshadowed by international big names of Adidas and Coca Cola, Chinese sponsors of the Games are seeking to draw public attention from buses, subway trains, neon lights and right there in the Olympic venues.
The XY Games
If transgender athletes are now allowed to compete officially, and if gender testing has been shown frequently to render false results, then what exactly are the Chinese authorities testing for?
Play Magazine: Olympics Issue
The State Requests That Citizen Liu Win Gold; This Olympic Performance Made More Beautiful by Cover Girl; To the Victor, the Drug Test; The Games, Abridged; Beijing by the Numbers; Tryouts and Errors
For Chinese, It’s the Teflon Olympics
The Beijing Games have been dogged with global criticism on everything from censorship to pollution. But Chinese people still see them as their government does: a great coming-out party.
China Warns Protesters, Allows Tiananmen Music
China allowed a first foreign orchestra concert in Tiananmen Square on Sunday but also issued warnings to would-be protesters in delicate efforts to show openness while avoiding embarrassment at the Olympics.
Two Chinese Dissidents Back in Taipei from Hong Kong
Two overseas-based Chinese dissidents who flew to Hong Kong Saturday to try to protest China's holding the Beijing Olympic Games were denied entry and deported to Taipei Saturday night, press reports said Sunday.
Chinese Try to Sniff Out Pollution Before Games
China has promised to meet World Health Organization standards for the Games, but in recent weeks, pollution levels have at times been about double the benchmark Chinese officials had hoped to achieve. So, Chinese officials have added a human touch to their anti-pollution efforts. They're also employing human sniffers, who have been deployed to areas around Olympic sites to find foul air.
China Casts Off a Century of Shame
The Games are nothing short of a sacred ritual for this atheist state, and it is hard to exaggerate the enthusiasm. When the organisers advertised for volunteers to deal with baffled foreigners unused to local ways, a million people applied. Most of the 100,000 selected came from universities around the country, and have trained eight hours a day for two weeks.
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