The Olympics are coming, everybody is learning English, the city is becoming truly international. OK, that’s the official version Beijing wants us to believe but I am still looking for that unique taxi driver who can speak any usable English.
As for the “10th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo”, held in May, I fail to understand the word “International”.

I was dragged, without too much enthusiasm, as a speaker into the “Forum on Science and Technology Innovation and City Management” (Sunday 27 May). For sure here the term “International” was all my fault as I was the only foreigner (long-nose type) in the vast conference hall (300 people target audience). Understandable, who wants to go there on a Sunday afternoon.
I was asked to give a 15 minutes speech and it was “confirmed” there would be simultaneous translation. But why have translation for the one ignorant foreigner, right? Panic. Please keep it to 15 min. I flatly refused, I had prepared my 15 min PPT and that was it, no time to cut half. So, I took just over 30 min with the translation and left some Chinese fuming (too bad for them).
Finally we had a “panel discussion”. By then, all had gone home except for some lonely journalists. The poor guy/girl from Beijing Today must have been very sleepy or very poor in English – probably both. Messed up great and I was shocked (= exaggeration, I don’t care anymore) by the nonsense he/she wrote. See below the original text as posted on their (horribly poor) website that was recently “improved” (now worse).
So, don’t believe a word of the crap they published.
What I DID say was (part of my PPT):
“Traffic – drastic measures needed”
The main cause for pollution and the deteriorating health of Beijing’s citizens: too many cars, too much chaos on the roads. Beijing needs the courage to stem private transport and to impose traffic order. Remove cars parked everywhere, limit parking except for indoor parking lots. Improve respect for traffic rules, respect for pedestrians and cyclists – and the disabled.
Also the “lindao” must obey the rules. Better traffic police – who really IMPROVE traffic.
In principle the reduction of cars and the special Olympic lanes will guarantee good transportation. But some have concerns about the overall traffic coordination and logistics, as the venues are spread all over the city.
The massive construction of the many metro lines is promising but there needs to be more coordination between the different metro lines and other public transport such as bus lines. Also, transfer stations have to be improved to be more convenient.
Metro stations needs modernization, e.g. some go very deep and have only escalators going up. (The only thing the journalist got right!).
What they printed: 1 June 2007 – Registered vehicles hit 3 million
By Chu Meng – Beijing Today
The number of registered automobiles in Beijing hit three million on Saturday, causing tremendous pressure on the city’s existing traffic system and environment, a traffi official said in the 10th High-tech Expo this week.
“This number reflects the capital’s economic and social development, but at the same time, it poses new problems,” Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Munial Transportation Commission, said.
Statistics show that 30.2 percent of Beijing residents travel by bus and 29.8 percent drive cars, Liu said. “The rapid increase in the number of privately-owned cars and decrease from1.52 persons per car to 1.26 persons per car is not conducive to energy conservation,” Liu said.Statistics show that the number of newly-registered automobiles in Beijing is growing at a rate of 1,000 a day, and the total number will reach 3.3 to 3.5 million by August next year, when the Olympic Games begins.
As a short-term measure for the Olympics, it has decided to restrict the access of more than one million vehicles, particularly those belonging to government departments and state-owned enterprises, to alleviate traffic congestion and improve the quality of air during the Olympics Games.
Liu said that as many as 45 percent of the residents are expected to use public transport by 2015.
Gilbert Van Kerckhove, chairman of Public Procurement of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China supported the plan, but noted that it was an unusual to providing special roads for athletes and artificially control traffic during the Games.
He said that the Olympics would bring legions of visitors, but what worried him was transportation after the Games.
“I think that checking into hotels i Beijing will be difficult because they are so spread out. It will be difficult to coordinate transportation. There will be many subway lines built in the next three to five years, but relying on the subway is not the best method. To make the transport system convenient, we must ensure that transfer stations are trouble-free,” he said. He also pointed out that most of the subways only offered an escalator that goes up, but not down, making them impassable for the handicapped.
So, what other stuff did I say? Sorry you missed that. Like… what will happen to Gongti Xilu (Babyface, Destination) during the Olympics…