Wang Meng

Minister of Culture Wang Meng, who for three years presided over a gradual liberalization in Chinese arts, has been fired, and a leading hard-line official has been appointed to act in his place, Chinese media announced Monday. The official New China News Agency reported that Wang, 54, a respected author, had asked to step down "to concentrate on writing and literary criticism."

Katherine Reutter was upset at herself, angry and, finally sad. That is why the short-track speedskater answered, "I'll be crying," to describe how she will deal with her fourth-place finish in Saturday's Olympic 1,500 meters. Reutter, 21, didn't expect that having her parents around to console her would make it any easier. "They traveled all the way to Vancouver to see a fourth place," she said. And then the tears started dripping down her cheeks. "The whole goal was just not to make any mistakes," Reutter said.

Katherine Reutter was upset at herself, angry and, finally sad. That is why the short-track speedskater answered, "I'll be crying," to describe how she will deal with her fourth-place finish in Saturday's Olympic 1,500 meters. Reutter, 21, didn't expect that having her parents around to console her would make it any easier. "They traveled all the way to Vancouver to see a fourth place," she said. And then the tears started dripping down her cheeks. "The whole goal was just not to make any mistakes," Reutter said.

Katherine Reutter was an Olympic-record holder for all of about three minutes. The Champaign, Ill., native will have to settle for that. In the first quarterfinal of the women's 500-meter short-track speedskating event Wednesday night, Reutter blazed around the ice in 43.834 seconds to set a new mark. In the next heat, China's Wang Meng shattered that time with a 43.284 and then went on to win the gold medal. Reutter was forced to watch the finals after starting slowly in the semis, never recovering and being eliminated in her bid for her first Olympic medal.

In 1956, a young Chinese writer named Wang Meng published a short story about a young Communist Party official disillusioned by his battles with the party's inert and apathetic bureaucracy. The story, "The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department," was soon officially denounced as anti-socialist, and Wang was sent off to do physical labor. For two decades, most of them spent in the Xinjiang region of far-off western China, Wang was unable to write anything at all.

When it comes to women's short-track speedskating, there's China's Wang Meng. And then there's everyone else. Wang has dominated short track and Wednesday night will seek to repeat the gold she won in the 500 meters in Turin, Italy, in 2006. Since that gold, Wang, 24, has continued to thrive in the 500, winning consecutive world championships and setting the world record of 42.609 seconds in 2008. During Saturday's heats at Pacific Coliseum, she set an Olympic record of 43.926 seconds to qualify for Wednesday's quarterfinals.

Katherine Reutter was an Olympic-record holder for all of about three minutes. The Champaign, Ill., native will have to settle for that. In the first quarterfinal of the women's 500-meter short-track speedskating event Wednesday night, Reutter blazed around the ice in 43.834 seconds to set a new mark. In the next heat, China's Wang Meng shattered that time with a 43.284 and then went on to win the gold medal. Reutter was forced to watch the finals after starting slowly in the semis, never recovering and being eliminated in her bid for her first Olympic medal.

China has sentenced the peasant leader of a secret organization to death for counterrevolutionary activities, according to a provincial radio report reaching Beijing. The report said Li Lianting, of eastern Shandong province, enrolled 130 members into the organization, called the Great East Asia Buddhist Society, and "conducted reactionary propaganda . . . and slandered and abused party and state leaders."

Chinese authorities plan to reduce the number of visitors allowed into Beijing's landmark Forbidden City. A visit to the Forbidden City should be a special occasion, Culture Minister Wang Meng said. "The atmosphere is destroyed by hordes of pushy tourists wandering aimlessly around the giant complex as though it were a normal tourist attraction." Wang added that lack of protective measures had led to the destruction of old trees and damage to priceless artifacts.

For the balloon of hype that built up Apolo Anton Ohno before these Olympics, and for all the air that leaked out when he failed to qualify for the finals of his first event, there is this: Ohno still can win as many medals as he did four years ago. Ohno advanced to the semifinals of the 1,000 meters and led the U.S. team to the finals of the 5,000-meter relay in short-track speedskating Wednesday. "I'm really happy for me and for the team," he said. "That was big.

When it comes to women's short-track speedskating, there's China's Wang Meng. And then there's everyone else. Wang has dominated short track and Wednesday night will seek to repeat the gold she won in the 500 meters in Turin, Italy, in 2006. Since that gold, Wang, 24, has continued to thrive in the 500, winning consecutive world championships and setting the world record of 42.609 seconds in 2008. During Saturday's heats at Pacific Coliseum, she set an Olympic record of 43.926 seconds to qualify for Wednesday's quarterfinals.

Minister of Culture Wang Meng, who for three years presided over a gradual liberalization in Chinese arts, has been fired, and a leading hard-line official has been appointed to act in his place, Chinese media announced Monday. The official New China News Agency reported that Wang, 54, a respected author, had asked to step down "to concentrate on writing and literary criticism."

In 1956, a young Chinese writer named Wang Meng published a short story about a young Communist Party official disillusioned by his battles with the party's inert and apathetic bureaucracy. The story, "The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department," was soon officially denounced as anti-socialist, and Wang was sent off to do physical labor. For two decades, most of them spent in the Xinjiang region of far-off western China, Wang was unable to write anything at all.

MEN'S 1,500-METER * Where: Palavela. * When: Feb. 12. * Best of U.S.: Apolo Anton Ohno of Seattle and Alex Izykowski of Bay City, Mich. * Best of the rest: South Koreans Ahn Hyun-Soo, Lee Ho-Suk and Song Wuk-Woo; Canadians Mathieu Turcotte and Jonathan Guilmette; and China's Li Jiajun and Li Ye. * U.S. chances to medal: Ohno won a controversial gold in this event in 2002 in Salt Lake City and stands an excellent chance of again winning a medal.

Last September, when the momentum of China's reforms and opening to the outside world appeared to be unstoppable, Zhang Xinxin, one of the country's leading young writers, spoke with a caution that many optimistic outsiders would have regarded as a little surprising. "It's true that the policy toward literature has recently been more open," she said. "But writers like us have been through many changes before.