Beijing 2022 Olympics

[Randy W]

Security Flaws Seen in China’s Mandatory Olympics App for Athletes
Researchers said the app, which will store sensitive health data on participants at the Winter Games, has serious encryption vulnerabilities.

from the NY Times

Quote

 

The mandatory smartphone app that athletes will use to report health and travel data when they are in China for the Olympics next month has serious encryption flaws, according to a new report, raising security questions about the systems that Beijing plans to use to track Covid-19 outbreaks.

Portions of the app that will transmit coronavirus test results, travel information and other personal data failed to verify the signature used in encrypted transfers, or didn’t encrypt the data at all, according to the report by Citizen Lab, a University of Toronto cybersecurity watchdog. The group also found that the app includes a series of political terms marked for censorship in its code, though it does not appear to actively use the list to filter communications.

China has entered the final planning stages for a Winter Olympics that will seek to control the spread of Covid-19 by keeping athletes and other participants separate from the greater Chinese population. The app, called MY2022, was designed to bolster those precautions, enabling electronic links between the government and participants to contact trace in the event of any outbreaks. It resembles a broader system of app-based health codes used to control population movements in the event of outbreaks.

The new concerns about the app underscore broader worries about censorship and surveillance during the Games in China, which has one of the world’s most sophisticated surveillance and censorship systems. Officials have already said athletes will be given cellular services that will allow them to circumvent widespread blocks on sites like Facebook, Google and Twitter.

 

for participants

on Google Play

My 2022

北京金融控股集团有限公司Sports

MY2022 4+

北京金融控股集团有限公司

Designed for iPhone

 

for general Olympics coverage

Olympics

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

What is the route of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Torch relay?

The flame was lit at the site of the Ancient Olympia in Greece on October 18, 2021 and was passed to the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee the following day. The flame then left for China where the relay continues until the start of the Games.

Due to the current pandemic and the measures put in place to meet the prevention and control requirements, it was decided to reduce the length and duration of the traditional relay route, as well as the number of relay runners.

The relay is scheduled between February 2 and 4, 2022 (date of the opening of the Games) with the participation of 1,200 torchbearers. The three host zones of the Games will host the relay.

Until then, the flame will be on display to the public as well as by official local Games partners and TOP partners. The torch will also travel to parts of the country known for its history and culture of winter sports.

The traditional relay is scheduled from February 2 to 4 next year with the participation of about 1,200 torchbearers. The three host zones of the Games Beijing’s city proper, Beijing’s Yanqing District and the city of Zhangjiakou in the neighboring Hebei Province will welcome this traditional relay.

The Olympic flame will also be displayed at the sites of some Beijing 2022 TOP and local official partners, as well travel to different areas of the country known for their plentiful ice and snow resources with a strong history and culture of ice and snow sports.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to reduce the traditional relay route length and duration, reduce the number of torchbearers, and to strictly follow the pandemic prevention and control requirements.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

【Editorial】Respect the Olympics and transcend political differences – this is the common wish of humanity. This event, a stage not for anti-China politicians but for athletes, will be page of struggle, unity and joy in future history books.  https://bit.ly/3FYpy8G

Don't "be framed as a clown in history."

from the Global Times on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/globaltimesnews/photos/a.123349831079259/4921684387912422

Beijing Winter Games witnesses humanity’s resilience, unity: Global Times editorial

Quote

The Beijing Winter Olympic Games is not a stage for anti-China politicians, but an event for athletes from all over the world. IOC President Thomas Bach emphasized that support from the international community for these Winter Games is evident and is very much welcomed. The pure ice and snow sports cannot tolerate dirty political calculations. Anyone who attempts to disrupt and sabotage the unity either by making an issue of the Winter Games or by manipulating the athletes will be framed as a clown in history.  

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Dozens of positive Covid cases found in Beijing Olympic bubble and airport ahead of Winter Olympics

The International Olympic Committee reported 72 positive cases of Covid-19 in the lead up to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/239319175048158/

[Randy W]

The Beijing Olympics Has Its First Big Covid-19 Challenge: the Russian Olympic Committee
At least five positive cases are threatening the participation of ROC athletes. Russian officials say their star figure-skating teens are exempt from vaccination and quarantine.

from the WSJ

Figure skater Mikhail Kolyada is out of the Olympics.
PHOTO: MAKSIM KONSTANTINOV/ZUMA PRESS

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Positive Covid-19 tests are mounting among Russian athletes, threatening the participation of stars across figure skating, hockey and sliding sports in a country whose sports programs have barely acknowledged the virus—until now. At least five positive results have been reported as of Wednesday.

Throughout the pandemic, Russia has pushed ahead with full-scale sports events, in which few participants have been masked even when not competing. Athletes have frequently been described as having pneumonia or undisclosed illnesses rather than Covid-19. Only half of the athletes representing the Russian Olympic Committee in Tokyo had been vaccinated. 

Now, the Russian Olympic Committee is attempting to pull off something even more risky. While it says most of its Beijing athletes are vaccinated, Russian officials say that the vaccination requirement for these Games does not extend to teenagers—a group that includes three figure-skating stars who could sweep the women’s podium. Russia says it can still bring them to the Games without either having been vaccinated or spending 21 days in quarantine, as required for almost everyone else by the Beijing organizers. 

 . . .

When the withdrawal of men’s figure skater Mikhail Kolyada and the possible Covid-related ouster of skeleton racer Nikita Tregubov were announced Tuesday, it rattled an already on-edge cohort of winter sports competitors trying to train and travel to Beijing while ducking the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

 . . .

For many delegations, the prospect of athletes testing positive after they get to China is particularly grim—for concerns over their welfare, but also for competition. The logistics of getting athletes to China under “zero-Covid” policies make the prospect of late substitutions almost impossible to conceive. 

 . . .

Alexander Kogan, director general of the Russian Figure Skating Federation maintained that Shcherbakova, Trusova and Valieva weren’t covered. “In accordance with the recommendations and regulations of the Organizing Committee of the Games and according to the law of our country, underage members of the national team will not be vaccinated,” Kogan told TASS.

 

 

[Randy W]

Cool animation to present Olympic Spirit
#WinterOlympics | Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts released an animation themed "Toward a bright future side by side" recently to embrace the #BeijingWinterOlympics.

The Official Beijing 2022 Olympic Mascot #BingDwenDwen takes on the leading role to display scenery in Beijing, Chinese traditional culture and the Winter Games venues. At last, the frame is fixed at the foot of the Great Wall and Yanshan mountain, reflecting the Olympic Spirit and the vision of Beijing. 

According to one of the producers Liao Xiangrong, it took the team more than half a year to design and create the animation and the most difficult part is the presentation of the dynamic of sports - 24 continuous moving images are displayed per second, which requires high accuracy. The team also spent a lot of time and energy to better present the views of 2022 Winter Olympics venues and its host city Beijing.

#China #Guangzhou #Beijing #animation #videooftheday

from Master GD on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/MastersinGD/videos/1057945141431810/

[Randy W]

China pledges 'purification' of the internet ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year

from CNN

See Beijing's 'closed-loop system' for Olympics (2:56)

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Hong Kong(CNN Business) - China's top cybersecurity regulator is vowing to crack down on "illegal" online content as part of a campaign to clean up the internet ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics and one of the country's most important annual holidays.

The Cyberspace Administration of China announced Tuesday that its month-long internet "purification" campaign is intended to create a "healthy, happy, and peaceful online environment."

The powerful internet watchdog — which President Xi Jinping set up in 2014 in the name of protecting China's internet and data security — tied the campaign to the start of the Lunar New Year, a major festival that runs from January 31 to February 6.

But its timing also coincides with the beginning of the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will kick off at the start of February. The games mark the largest international sporting event that China has hosted since Xi took power in 2012, and his government has attached great importance to them as a chance to display a powerful and unified China.

According to the cyberspace agency's plan, the homepages of key media sites, trending topic search lists, push pop-up windows, and important news content pages must be carefully managed to present "positive information." It added that obscene, vulgar, bloody, violent and other illegal or bad information should be eradicated to create a "positive online atmosphere."

The regulator said it will also clamp down on online rumors, as well as prevent "illegal and immoral" celebrities from making a comeback. China has for years punished celebrities it sees as having misbehaved by scrubbing their presences from the internet. Last year, for example, the works of major Chinese actress Zheng Shuang were removed from broadcasters and video sites as she was fined $46 million for tax evasion.

Other "bad" behaviors targeted by the regulator include those that show off wealth or worship money, those that feature over-eating or drinking, and those that advocate or practice fortune-telling on the internet.

 

 

[Randy W]

A Beijing-only relay. I  keep hearing on CGTN about "underwater robot" participants, but haven't seen anything about them.

Beijing kicks off torch relay ahead of 2022 Winter Olympics

from the SCMP on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/1333945710438688/

Olympic torch relay

Edited February 2, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

A no expense spared Olympics

Beijing 2022: Life inside the Winter Olympics bubble

from Yahoo News

People can book in a quick nap if they need it at one of these constantly cleaned cubicles

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The world of the Beijing Games is made up of three main gated "bubble areas" spread over a 160km (100 mile) area.

Each bubble is centred around a sporting venue and is connected via designated travel lanes. They encompass hotels, conference centres, worker dormitories and other facilities.

 . . .

Constant vigilance is the overriding theme.

Cleaners are constantly present in communal spaces and there are floor robots moving throughout, spraying disinfectant.

Our reporters note how during press conferences, a volunteer rushes up to wipe the microphone between questions.

At the sleep pods dotted around venues, teams will clean the cabin after someone's finished their nap.

"They provide disposable bedsheets in the cubicles," says another BBC producer, Christine Hah.

 

 

[Randy W]

Beijing 2022: Blind eyes come cheap at the IOC

Dan Wetzel - Yahoo Sports
Thu, February 3, 2022, 1:34 AM

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), gives gifts to staff members of a restaurant as he visits a restaurant in Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games village, ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. (Wang Zhao - Pool/Getty Images)

Quote

 

Why are they doing this in a country with an absurd, so-called “Zero COVID” plan that defies science and logic because it’s about neither science nor logic?

“I doubt that we will see fair play in the competitions in China,” Michael Hoelz, the president of the German snowboarding federation, said last month. “It is relatively easy with the [COVID-19] testing. Someone can later say, ‘We’re sorry, it was a false positive.’”

Give Hoelz credit for saying out loud what everyone else is discussing privately.

Is it fair to be presumptively suspicious of state-sponsored cheating? It is when dealing with the modern Olympics.

The last time the IOC succumbed to corruption and cowardice, and placed the Games in one of these totalitarian-type countries, the Russians built a structure in Sochi next to the doping lab and spent each night passing dirty samples out and clean samples in through a hole in the wall.

Two predictable things happened.

1. Russia won the most medals. 

2. No Russian tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

When they were done, the Russians went on to cheat the Paralympics for good measure.

That, of course, got the IOC to “ban” Russia from future Olympics, but that’s true only if you believe having hundreds of Russian athletes competing for the “Russian Olympic Committee” and not “Russia” is a distinction with a difference.

 . . .

They allowed the Games to get so expensive, the bid process so rigged, the concept of the Olympics so toxic and distant from its once high-minded ideal that they’ve done the near impossible: they created an Olympics that Olympians don’t want to be at.

Oh, the athletes would like to compete, but only in a place that will treat them with respect and fairness, not sift through their emails or put them in an isolation center whether they are contagious or not.

What the hell is this, Beijing 2022, a Winter Games where smog but not snowflakes fill the sky — virtually all the snow is man-made, the aquifers be damned and drained?

It’s what happens when the Olympics become so pernicious that perfectly legitimate places such as Oslo, Norway, and St. Moritz, Switzerland, scrap their bids so they won’t lose to bribes and kickbacks. That left only two cities willing to get into business with the IOC in 2022: Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, a fellow dictatorship that proudly billed itself as the “world’s largest landlocked country.”

 

 

[Randy W]

Why?? - from the Global Times

Beijing delivers first-ever underwater Olympic torch relay between robotic bearers ahead of Winter Games

By 

Deng Xiaoci

Published: Feb 02, 2022 06:30 PM

http://1253985869.vod2.myqcloud.com/ee20c49fvodtransgzp1253985869/51d078cd387702295533271521/v.f100040.mp4

Quote

 

Beijing staged a futuristic show in its Olympic torch relay on Wednesday, presenting the world a fantastic underwater rendezvous between two robotic torch bearers, marking a first of its kind in the Olympic history.

It is worth noting that, also a first in the Olympic history, that the underwater flame of the torches in the Beijing Olympic relay adopted a special smoke-free environmental-friendly gaseous fuel, and designers with the 31 Research Institutes of the Third Academy of state-owned space giant China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) proudly shared with Global Times that it just proved the high-tech and green and clean characteristics that China has promised to the world in the 2022 Beijing Olympics. 

Compared to the foreign underwater torches that were lighted with solid fuel, whose flame would come with pollution, the one for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics would be overcoming designing difficulties and adopting gaseous fuel, which is smokeless and free of pollution, they said.

Under the witness of the whole world, the curling-like amphibious droid took over the flame from the No. 254 human torchbearer An Guoyu and waltzed to the hole of the iced Yongding River in Beijing on Wednesday, before it connected with another submersible robotic partner.

The second robot, after around 8 minutes, lifted the flame out of water and passed it to the 255th torchbearer An Yixiang, marking a success of the feat.

 

 

[Randy W]

The canteen at the #Beijing2022 Main Media Center (MMC) deploys an automatic meal delivery system to minimize contact during dining amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has amazed visitors and attracted attention from the media.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/galleries/4183.html

from the Global Times on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/globaltimesnews/posts/4959030714177789

[Randy W]

2022 Winter Olympics: Location, Dates, Tickets (A Full Guide is Here)

Opening Ceremony at 8PM China time, 7AM EST, Feb. 2

from ChinaHighlights

The 2022 Winter Olympics (北京冬奥会 Běijīng Dōngàohuì /bay-jing dong-ao-hway/), also known as Beijing 2022, is scheduled to take place from February 4 to February 20, 2022, which is in the Chinese New Year period (from February 1, 2022). 

Beijing, the first dual Olympic city to host both the summer and winter Olympics, is partnering with Zhangjiakou, home to yet more high-quality ski resorts, to host the winter games. Scroll down to find information on venues, tickets, and recommended travel solutions for this grand international event.

Content Preview

• Location
• Venues
• Tickets

• Dates
• Sports
• Mascot

• Transportation
• Hotels
• Travel Solutions

Edited February 4, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Take a look at the opening ceremony of the #Beijing2022 Winter Olympic Games, held at Beijing's stunning National Stadium (aka the Bird's Nest)! (Photo: Xinhua)
Watch at: https://www.cgtn.com/special/Live-updates-on-Beijing-Winter-Olympics-opening.html?fbclid=IwAR2ko4NgocHcjdlGnR65L4xRx4J9X-x3aCnzi1k2jkLcOy9yBYbFtUxXmcQ

from CGTN on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ChinaGlobalTVNetwork/posts/511379743688836

 

 

[Randy W]

I'm not sure how much of this was actually part of the show (as opposed to added on later by CGI). Although it has the feel of a TV productiom more so than an outdoor show, it still looks pretty impressive.

Shenzhen faz aquecimento para as Olimpíadas de Inverno #Beijing2022

Como uma das dez cidades de aquecimento para a cerimônia de abertura dos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno de Beijing 2022, Shenzhen apresentou uma impressionante performance na Praça do Cidadão com a ideia de "tecnologia + arte".

Shenzhen warms up for the #Beijing2022 Winter Olympics
As one of the ten warm-up cities for the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Shenzhen presented an impressive performance at Citizen's Square with the idea of "technology + art".

from China Xinhua News on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/1629228347341832/videos/1363281040779471

Edited February 5, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)