Beijing Fighting to Win 2008 Olympics
B E I J I N G, Feb. 21 -- In China today, a delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was casing Beijing, which desperately wants the summer games for 2008.
Winning the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games isn't everything for Beijing — it's the only thing.
China has spared no effort and no expense in its Olympic quest.
In preparation for this week's visit from 17 IOC delegates, the formerly drab, polluted capital has been almost magically transformed by a veritable army of students and workers — and even the army itself.
They've been scrubbing and whitewashing the city, as well as planting trees and flowers. They're even using green paint to brighten things up where necessary.
One of the reasons China wants the games so badly is to prove its legitimacy as a country.
"It makes them part of the real world," says China analyst Jim McGregor. "This is a country that's come out of years of political hibernation. And now it wants to be a player on the world stage. The Olympics is another form of that."
Criticism over Human Rights
But a dark cloud hangs over China's Olympic dreams: intense international criticism of the country's human rights record. It's the same issue that helped sink China's bid for the 2000 Olympic games.
Eight years ago, the Chinese were elated when they thought they had won the 2000 games. But the nation was shocked when they realized soon after that the games had gone to Sydney. It was the lingering international anger over the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square.
Today, China is still being condemned for its human rights policies — for its harsh crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement, the persecution of religious groups and the widespread use of torture in China prisons.
One dissident even risked imprisonment by telling ABCNEWS his country doesn't deserve the games.
"China's terrible human rights record runs counter to the Olympic spirit," he says.
Related Stories
ABC News Live