A Chinese official has denied reports Beijing will expel migrant workers during the 2008 Olympics. But he said the Chinese capital is looking into how to keep the mentally ill from "damaging the public interest" during the Games.
Officials have promised that hosting the Olympics will improve respect for human rights. International Olympic Committee officials have warned them privately that excessive social controls could mar the games.
The Beijing Morning Post newspaper reported this month that many of the 1 million migrant workers in Beijing from other parts of China would be expelled before the games.
"This contention has no basis in fact," Zhou Jidong, head of the city government's legal department, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Beijing relies on migrants who lack official permission to live in the capital to do construction work and other menial jobs. But some residents complain they detract from the quality of life.
Zhou said he was unaware of a report this week by the New York-based group Human Rights Watch that Beijing had ordered the closure of 50 schools for migrant children as part of a pre-Olympic cleanup.
"I don't know about this," he said. "On the contrary, the city government has a special fund to provide for the schooling of the migrants' children."
"The rights of migrant workers should be protected," he added. "It is important to recognize their contribution to Beijing."
Zhou said Beijing hasn't decided how to deal with mentally ill people during the games, despite a Beijing Morning Post report that they all were to be hospitalized to prevent "harm to society."
"We are now studying the issue," Zhou said. "The city government plans to ask the municipal [council] to make a law about psychiatric health regulations aimed at providing mental health treatment and preventing mentally ill people from damaging the public interest."
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but