Beijing Games: Olympic torch relay begins in a shorter time

Due to concerns about the coronavirus, the three-day torch relay for Beijing Olympics was cut significantly. Wednesday’s torch relay saw an 80-year old speedskater carry the flame.

The Olympic Forest Park was the opening point of the relay. Luo Zhihuan was the first leg’s runner.

The torch will be carried throughout the three Olympic zones. It will start in Beijing and continue to Yanqing District, Zhangjiakou Province and then on to Zhangjiakou.

Already, Beijing Games has been affected on a scale similar that Tokyo’s last year’s Summer Olympics. China has stated that only select spectators will be permitted to the events. Olympic officials, staff, and journalists must remain in a bubble to avoid contact with the general population.

Beijing, home to 20 million people, has only reported two COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. China’s “zero tolerance” approach to pandemics requires strict rules that require mass testing and lockdowns when any suspected or real case is found.

Luo seemed to be unimpressed by the shortened program. After receiving the torch from Vice Premier Han Zheng, Luo said that it was the fulfillment of a decades-long dream.

Luo, who was wearing a red-and-white jacket with the No. 1. “Today, my dream came true… How happy am I?”

The Beijing Games’ opening comes just days after the Lunar New Year holiday in China, which is China’s largest annual celebration. During this time millions of Chinese families travel back to their homes for reunions. The government advised people living far away to stay put for the second consecutive year. Train and plane travel have been restricted.

Participants in the torch relay must have had their health checked and are closely monitored starting two weeks prior to the event.

Other torchbearers Wednesday included Jing Haipeng (captain of the Chinese Astronaut Corps), Ye Peijian (77-year-old consultant for China’s lunar exploration programme), Yao Ming (former NBA player), and Zhang Yimou (Chinese film director) who will be directing Friday’s opening ceremony at Bird’s Nest.

This torch relay is far removed from 2008 when Beijing sent the Olympic torch on a global trip ahead of hosting the Summer Games. Protesters in China against China’s policies and violations of human rights in Tibet, Xinjiang, and elsewhere led to violent confrontations, and even the cancellation of stages overseas.

Similar political controversies have plagued the Winter Games, as well as medical concerns.

Six weeks ago, the United States of America, Britain, and other allies declared that they would not send dignitaries for the Beijing Games in protest at the Communist Party’s human rights violations.

The organizing committee threatened athletes with “certain punishments” if they said or did anything that would offend Chinese hosts. Several delegations also urged those heading to Beijing to bring “burner” phones to avoid any personal data being compromised.

The National Hockey League claimed that the pandemic caused uncertainty to prevent all its players from participating in the Olympic tournament. American broadcaster NBC also said that it wouldn’t send announcing teams from China due to the same virus concerns as when it pulled all of its reporters out of the Tokyo Games.