WORLD
September 7, 2008 | From Reuters
The international Paralympic Games opened Saturday in Beijing in spectacular fashion, launching an event China's leaders hope will show their country in a compassionate light. The crowd roared its approval at performances in the National Stadium, called the Bird's Nest, which also was used for last month's opening Olympic ceremony. Particularly well received was a ballet performance by a young girl who lost a leg in May's massive earthquake in Sichuan province. An athlete hoisted himself up a rope, along with his wheelchair, to light the Paralympic flame.
SPORTS
August 25, 2008 | Philip Hersh, Special to The Times
Beijing The air turned an eerie white four days before the opening ceremony, then became a murky haze that hung over this city for a week. The Chinese still chalked up some of those sunless days in the "blue sky" category, according to their measurements of air pollution, which was one of the reasons to wonder if a clear picture of the 2008 Summer Games would ever emerge. The sky actually went blue in the middle of the first week of competition, the sun came out almost every other day, and the Beijing Olympics wound up looking as most expected.
SPORTS
August 24, 2008 | BILL PLASCHKE
Beijing There are more than a billion people in this country, but I wouldn't capture my Olympic experience here until I was alone. At least, I thought I was alone. It was a quiet weekday afternoon, I was hustling through the quiet lobby of our military-owned hotel, taking an empty elevator up to the 16th floor, walking down an empty hallway, ducking into my empty room to pack for my next assignment. Five minutes later, the hotel phone rang. "Your door is open," said a voice.
BUSINESS
August 16, 2008 | Greg Johnson, Times Staff Writer
The closing ceremony in Beijing is still a week away, but sports marketers already are scrambling to determine which athletes can squeeze the most sponsorship gold from their Olympic feats. The early favorites are the whale in the pool, the boomer's delight and a plucky gymnast.
WORLD
August 15, 2008 | Mark Magnier, Times Staff Writer
China came under criticism from the International Olympic Committee on Thursday after a British reporter was dragged away by police and detained for 20 minutes while covering a protest. China pledged to provide open access for foreign news media as a condition for winning the right to host the 2008 Olympics.
WORLD
August 9, 2008 | Barbara Demick, Times Staff Writer
The World Park offers so many globe-trotting activities you might almost forget you are in China. You can climb a 100-foot-high replica of the Eiffel Tower, walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and get your picture taken in front of the New York City skyline -- complete with the World Trade Center. But one thing you apparently cannot do is protest, despite assurances from the Chinese government to the contrary -- a reminder that this still is China and a China unchanged.