World

Glum mood overhangs China’s Asian Games – ‘People just don’t care’

Published

1 year ago

September 21, 2023

Glum mood overhangs China’s Asian Games – ‘People just don’t care’

HANGZHOU, China, Sept 21 (Reuters) – China hopes to make a splash with the Asian Games, opening on Saturday, but nationwide excitement has been muted as the economy sputters and some locals question the cost of the sporting extravaganza.

Delayed a year by COVID-19, the quadrennial games, kicking off in the eastern city of Hangzhou, will be China’s biggest sporting event in over a decade, with more than 12,000 athletes from 45 nations competing in 40 sports.

Organisers this week expressed confidence in holding a “magnificent” games, thanks to President Xi Jinping’s “important instructions” and great, broad-based efforts. Analysts agree the event will likely go smoothly, given China’s famously meticulous preparations.

Local officials will be aware that Xi previously worked in Hangzhou, is known to like big sporting events and will host a long list of leaders and other VIPs – including Bashar al-Assad on only the second visit by a Syrian president to China since the countries established diplomatic ties in 1956.

But enthusiasm in Hangzhou and elsewhere in China is lacking, with some saying the new stadiums and other gleaming facilities reflect misplaced priorities.

“After three years of COVID, the economic and social atmosphere in China and the confidence are really low, and for Hangzhou these Asian Games are just a cash-burning project,” said John Yan, founder of the Chinese media firm Score Sports and a leading football commentator in China.

“People care more about their own lives, and the Asian Games are not on the top of their list of concerns,” Yan said. “People just don’t care.”

MONEY BETTER SPENT ON YOUTH

Organisers have not disclosed spending for the games, though the Hangzhou government has said it spent more than 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) in the five years through 2020 on transport infrastructure, stadiums, accommodation and other facilities.

“It would be better if this money were spent on the common people and on the youngsters,” said Jiang, 69, a Hangzhou resident who asked to be identified only by her surname. “It’s hard to find a job now. Some companies have closed down. It’s really not easy for young people nowadays.”

The expected flow of Chinese medals could lift the public mood around the games. Various issues marred the run-ups to Beijing Olympics in 2008 and 2022, but “when the sporting action kicks off, then the narrative very much changes,” said Beijing-based commentator Mark Dreyer, author of a book on China’s sporting ambitions.

Still, in an indication of the subdued tone for the Asian Games, state media coverage until this week has been less comprehensive than before the 2022 Olympics – which were much smaller than these games and held under strict COVID restrictions.

It is easy to be unaware of the games, some Chinese social media users have written, unless you visit Hangzhou, where the slogans and other promotion are overwhelming.

HANGZHOU TRANSFORMED

The city in the wealthy province of Zhejiang near China’s financial capital Shanghai, known for its picturesque lake, greenery and tea plantations, has been transformed in a huge spruce-up akin to Beijing’s before the 2008 Olympics.

Hangzhou’s streets wear bright colours to match games posters, pensioners have received English lessons and officials have adorned some older-looking or road-facing properties with flowers or other decorations.

“The impression I have is that over the past year, the entire city has been under construction,” said 42-year-old city-centre resident Wu Lili, an e-commerce business owner.

“There’s a saying online: ‘The Hangzhou city government, when encountering even a dog, wishes they could catch it and give it a fresh coat of paint’.”

Several residents said they were happy with the improved transport links and hoped for a boost to the local economy. Some saw the games as a welcome sign of opening up to the world amid concerns Xi’s China was taking an inward, national security-focussed shift.

“Over the past few years due to the pandemic, our entertainment activities and mental wellbeing have been suppressed for a long time, so we need such events to boost our confidence,” said a 24-year-old auto sector worker who asked to be identified only as Zhang.

Jules Boycoff, a scholar of the politics of sport at Pacific University in the U.S. state of Oregon, said that for China’s authorities, “it’s about registering power at home, but it’s also about putting your best foot forward to a global audience at a time when there’s a lot of scepticism in the West toward China.”

($1 = 7.2870 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Dylan Martinez in Hangzhou and Martin Quin Pollard in Beijing; Additional reporting by Xihao Jiang in Hangzhou; Editing by William Mallard

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Acquire Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Martin is a (China) political and general news correspondent based in Beijing. He has previously worked as a TV reporter and video journalist and is fluent in Mandarin and French.

Related Topics:ASG asia ASXPAC CN DIP DLI EASIA ECO ECON EMRG Featured GEN MCE MTPIX MTVID NEWS1 POL SOCI SPO

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World

Man on vacation with family goes overboard on Norwegian cruise ship in Bahamas

Published

7 minutes ago

December 27, 2024

Press Room

Man on vacation with family goes overboard on Norwegian cruise ship in Bahamas

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The frantic search for a Norwegian Cruise Line passenger who went overboard has been called off.

A spokesperson for the cruise line confirmed to Fox News Digital that the 51-year-old went overboard from Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic late Thursday afternoon.

The incident was first noted at approximately 3 p.m. as Norwegian Epic was sailing from Ocho Rios, Jamaica en route to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.

The passenger was on the cruise with his family, the spokesperson said. The cruise left from Port Canaveral, Florida on Saturday, Dec. 21 and was a seven-night Western Caribbean voyage.

DISNEY CRUISE LINE NO LONGER ACCEPTING PHOTOCOPIES OF GUEST BIRTH CERTIFICATES

The cruise liner Norwegian Jewel built at the ship yard Meyer in Papenburg, northern Germany, goes down the river Ems. (AP Photo/Joerg Sarbach, File)

The cruise line said that authorities were quickly notified and search and rescue efforts were immediately implemented.

SOCIAL MEDIA USERS GET DRAMATIC AFTER CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP HITS ICE IN ALASKA: ‘TITANIC MOMENT’

“After an extensive search that was unfortunately unsuccessful, the ship was released by the authorities to continue its voyage,” the spokesperson said.

The Norwegian Epic, which was built in 2010 and refurbished in 2020, has 19 decks. (Norwegian Cruise Line)

Norwegian Cruise Line said the passenger’s loved ones on board were “being attended to and supported during this very challenging situation.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time,” the spokesperson added.

The Norwegian Epic, which was built in 2010 and refurbished in 2020, has 19 decks. It can accommodate 4,070 passengers with double occupancy of its cabins and has 1,724 crew members.

It was not immediately clear what caused the man to go overboard. The man has not been identified.

World

Olive oil, milk and cereals: How did food prices fluctuate in 2024?

Published

1 hour ago

December 27, 2024

Press Room

Olive oil, milk and cereals: How did food prices fluctuate in 2024?

After food prices soared in 2021 and 2022, over five essential food products saw price drops in 2024, including milk and cereals.

In 2024, agricultural prices in the European Union saw a modest decline, falling by 2% compared to 2023.

This price decline followed sharp increases in 2021 and 2022 that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather conditions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Despite a surge in olive oil prices in 2024, the prices of cereals dropped by 15%, eggs by 8%, and vegetables and horticultural products declined by 2%.

The price of pigs and poultry also shrank by 7% and 8%, respectively.

According to Eurostat figures, milk prices decreased in 16 EU countries in 2024.

The sharpest decline was recorded in Finland with a 12% drop in prices, followed by Portugal with 10% and Spain with 8%.

By contrast, the sharpest increase was in Ireland with a 15% rise in prices, followed by Lithuania with 11% and Latvia with 10%.

In terms of production, the cost of seeds and veterinary services rose by 3%.

However, prices for fertilisers and soil improvers plummeted by 18%, food for animals by 11%, and plant protection products and pesticides by 2%.

Commission measures between farmers and buyers

After a year in which farmers have protested regularly, the EU Commission has presented an initiative to ensure they receive fair compensation and are no longer forced to sell products below production costs.

The proposed measures include mandatory written contracts that require buyers to clearly outline key terms such as price, quantity, and delivery timelines, taking into account market conditions and cost fluctuations.

The package also introduces a regulation to enhance enforcement of the Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) Directive, which was adopted five years ago but remains largely unimplemented.

Video editor • Mert Can Yilmaz

World

Jay-Z’s Accuser Can Remain Anonymous, Judge Criticizes His Lawyer’s ‘Relentless’ Filings

Published

10 hours ago

December 27, 2024

Press Room

Jay-Z’s Accuser Can Remain Anonymous, Judge Criticizes His Lawyer’s ‘Relentless’ Filings

The woman accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her when she was 13 can proceed anonymously (“at least for now”) in her lawsuit against the rappers, a judge ruled Thursday.

New York Judge Analisa Torres also condemned the legal team representing Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) for the “relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks [on accuser’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee],” according to a court order obtained by Variety. “Since Carter’s attorney first appeared in this case seventeen days ago, he has submitted a litany of letters and motions attempting to impugn the character of Plaintiff’s lawyer [Buzbee].”

Judge Torres continues, calling the complaints “inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client [Jay-Z].”

Jane Doe, who filed her original lawsuit against Combs in October, and re-filed it with Carter’s name in early December, will remain anonymous at this early stage of the litigation. She could still be required by the court to reveal her identity.

Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Carter, recently asked the judge to dismiss the entertainer from the woman’s lawsuit. He cited a report from NBC News that revealed the accuser had admitted to some “inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” in her allegations. His team has also issued public statements referring to Buzbee as a “1-800 lawyer” who is “in the pursuit of money and fame.”

Judge Torres denied Carter’s request to dismiss the case. Representatives for Carter did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.

In the last few weeks, Buzbee issued his own lawsuit against Roc Nation, the entertainment company owned by Carter, claiming they are using “shadowy operatives” to bribe his former clients into filing “frivolous” complaints against him. Carter has also sued Buzbee for defamation.

Jane Doe, who alleges she was 13 when Combs and Carter raped her in 2000, says she encountered the pair at an afterparty for the MTV Music Video Awards.

Carter responded to the allegation almost immediately. “You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Carter wrote in a letter addressing Buzbee. “I’m not from your moral world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.”

Combs has been held in a Brooklyn jail since September. He will remain there until his trial is scheduled to begin in May.