In continuing a long tradition, political sparring will be feature of Beijing Olympics

As much as Olympic officials want to focus on sports, the Beijing Olympics are sure to feature plenty of politics.

The International Olympic Committee likes to say the games are about sports.

The latest instance came after IOC president Jacques Rogge responded to Steven Spielberg's withdrawal as an artistic adviser for Beijing: the IOC is a "sports, not a political organization."

Spielberg pulled out because he says China isn't doing enough to pressure Sudan into ending the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region.

Historians and political scientists contacted during the uproar over Spielberg's departure offered a long list of other games that were tied to politics: Berlin (1936), Mexico City (1968), Munich (1972), Montreal (1976), Moscow (1980), Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988). They probably could have added others.

Chinese-born historian Xu Guoqi, author of the soon-to-be published book on Chinese sports _ "Olympic Dreams" _ disputed the nonpolitical claims.

"As a matter of fact, the main reason for China to host the games is for political considerations rather than its appreciation for the games itself," Xu said in an e-mail. He teaches history at Kalamazoo College in Michigan.

Despite Spielberg's withdrawal and threats of protests from human rights groups, religious groups and Tibet and Taiwan separatists, Xu said the games _ in the long-term _ will reinforce a positive image of China.

"By bidding for and hosting the Olympic Games, China obviously tried to project a positive image abroad as a peace-loving and respected power," Xu said. "At home, however, the message transmitted from the propaganda machine is that hosting the games is a glorious moment in Chinese history and every Chinese should present the best face of China to the world and help Beijing successfully host the greatest party, bringing honor to the nation and the Communist Party."

David Huang, who completed his doctorate at Bowling Green State University and works for the Beijing municipal government, said Beijing would try to control the political aspect of the games.

"The Olympic Games have been trying hard to get rid of politics," he said. "Unfortunately, the Olympics are a place that is good for politics.

"China definitely will not let political issues be involved in the Beijing Olympics, but some other countries will."

Writing in the Times of London, columnist Simon Barnes said China should brace for foreigners who oppose areas of Chinese politics or culture.

"By wishing the Olympic Games on itself, China has come into greater contact with the Culture of Disagreement than would otherwise have been possible. Beijing will be stuffed full of athletes and journalists who disagree with all kinds of things. ... Some will make a fuss about Darfur and executions and reeducation and so on, others will not. It's an individual decision."

Yosuke Fujiwara, the head of broadcast relations for the Beijing Olympics, has worked at Olympics since 1992. Fujiwara, who is Japanese, has been in Beijing for three years and said the Chinese government, Chinese people and the IOC have different ideas about what will constitute successful games.

"I don't quite understand what the Chinese people, the Chinese government and the organizing committee will use to evaluate if the games are a success," he said. "Will it be good looks, fairness, international rules or large participation by ordinary Chinese? This is a riddle for me."

And for others.

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AIR AND MARATHON: Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie said a few weeks ago in Beijing that the Olympic race should begin at 6:30 a.m. to avoid stifling heat and humidity.

However, Liu Wenbin, deputy director of the Sports Department for the local organizing committee, said there are no plans to deviate from the scheduled start at 7:30 a.m.

Gebrselassie also threatened to skip the race, complaining bitterly about Beijing's polluted air. IOC president Jacques Rogge has said repeatedly that endurance events would be rescheduled if the air were too bad. Liu, however, said he knew of no contingency plans to reschedule because of pollution.

"So far our contingency plan doesn't have any relation with the air quality, only the bad weather," he said this week.

Asked if he was upset that growing numbers of countries are planning to set up training camps away from China, hoping to avoid the pollution, Liu replied: "It's their choice. We welcome them and it's their decision."

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NO FOREIGN HELP WANTED: Zhang Jilong, a director for the Beijing organizing committee, confirmed this week what everyone suspected: no foreigners will be among the 28 competition managers. All managers will be Chinese nationals, people who are likely to have grown up in the state-run sports system and probably are also loyal members of the Communist Party.

The IOC had been pushing for the Chinese to employ foreign experts, but lost the battle. This goes against trends in Athens and Sydney, where many foreigners were employed.

Zhang said 11 "candidates" had trained in Athens for several months to prepare for these Olympics. Being a competition manager can become a high-profile job if there is controversy with disputes being contested in English or French. The post could also be on the front line in the event of security problems.

"I am very confident in their competence," Zhang said. "I believe all of them will do a good job and play their role."

Zhang said the games would provide a "legacy" of Chinese who are trained in managing sports, many of which are foreign in China _ like fencing, sailing and equestrian events.

Zhang's assistant, Liu Wenbin, said all 28 would have strong language skills in English or French and "none of these competition managers will have to resort to an interpreter."

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DON'T BANK ON IT: The Olympics could put Chinese banking technology under stress.

Guo Ligen, vice chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, cautioned in a statement this week that an expected influx of 800,000 foreigners _ and one million Chinese from outside Beijing _ might overload the system that handles bank card transactions.

He said technology problems in the last year at five commercial banks "revealed the fragility of our banking information system."

"We can by no means bring the problems to the Olympics and spread hazards outside the banking industry," Guo was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Despite rapid changes, China is mostly a cash-based society. Credit cards came in to common use only about a decade ago.

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TIDBITS: Beijing's roads, Olympic venues and hotels will be decked out with millions of flowers during the games. According to widely published plans, 20 roads that lead to venues, 31 venues and 24 Olympic hotels will be filled with flowers by the end of July. ... Shanghai is making its contribution to the Olympics: 40 female university students from the city will become medal presenters. The Eastern Morning Post in Shanghai reported that recruiting ends on March 10. Candidates must be 18 to 25 and of a certain height. In addition, "appearance must be relatively good, features must be in proportion, there must be a high-degree of political awareness, a devotion to group consciousness and a certain degree of English."