e-magazine
The Hot Zone
China's newly announced air defense identification zone over the East China Sea aims to shore up national security
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Science/Technology
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Hot Links

cheap eyeglasses
Market Avenue
eBeijing

Olympics
10th NPC & CPPCC, 2007> Olympics
UPDATED: December 11, 2006 NO.20 MAY 18, 2006
Law-Abiding Games
Beijing has begun work on laws and regulations to guarantee the smooth operation of the 2008 Olympics
By LU LING
Share

One of the major tasks for Beijing as host of the 2008 Olympic Games is to establish regulations and laws to govern the preparations for and conduct of the Games. Thus, on April 10 the Olympic Legislation Coordinating Team (OLCT) came into existence and assigned the first group of tasks involving such areas as communications, public security, health and environmental protection.

The main responsibilities of the OLCT are to present clear guidelines for rules and regulations to all relevant agencies, to collect and analyze suggestions for such rules, to coordinate departmental activities so that rules are promulgated in a timely manner, and to direct agencies to develop measures to deal with all possible problems that might occur during the Games.

According to the OLCT, when large-scale events were held in the past, the government issued executive orders to manage all social aspects. However, during the 2008 Games, city management and law-enforcement officials must follow relevant laws, letting athletes, officials and the public know what behavior is and is not permissible. In addition, law-enforcement officials must understand the limits of their powers and have the ability to take timely and efficient action to cope with different types of problems.

In addition, said Ji Lin, Vice Mayor of Beijing, the Olympic legislation must establish a system of accountability. If a department does not make suggestions relating to legislation prior to the Olympic Games and encounters a problem during the Games, the responsible officials in the department must be punished.

At present, the first group of Olympic legislation requirements, including a "holiday" for Beijing residents, visa requirements and the operation of motor vehicles, is attracting notice. Officials said that the idea of the holiday came from the experience of Athens during the 2004 Olympic Games and is aimed at reducing traffic pressure in the city by allowing residents to leave the city to travel during the Games.

During the 2004 Olympics, nearly half of the 4 million residents of Athens departed, significantly reducing traffic problems.

With regard to visas, Clive Granger, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Economics, pointed out that there still are some practical difficulties for foreigners to get visas. He suggested that allowing foreigners to obtain visas through the mail, by phone or over the Internet would make the process more efficient and economical for both the Chinese Government and visitors.

He said China can learn from the experiences of Sydney and Los Angeles to resolve the issue so that more foreigners can come to China to see the Games.

According to the Office of the Beijing 2008 Environmental Development Head-quarters, the study of these legislation requirements will be completed within six months.



 
Top Story
-Protecting Ocean Rights
-Partners in Defense
-Fighting HIV+'s Stigma
-HIV: Privacy VS. Protection
-Setting the Tone
Most Popular
 
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved