Let's face it; China needs to bolster its reputation before the Summer Olympics begin.  Otherwise, the several countries that are already considering boycotting may, in fact, do so.  In my opinion, it would be a shame if a past representation of political and economical unity were to be halted.  After all, if this one year is a bust, future Olympic games may follow in failure.

PRWeek recently ran an article in their online resource that the Chinese government was interviewing potential US and UK-based PR firms in the hopes to gain some positive pre-game press, prior to the events.  However, no PR firm has admitted to being in the bid war for this lucrative account.

China needs the help, and fast.  The running of the Olympic Torch, which used to be heralded as a sacred and photo-worthy event, has been marred by protests.  Despite its sleek, high-tech design, the torch has been snuffed out in several different instances.  In Paris, the torch had to be put out and then smuggled on a bus to keep it from potentially being stolen or damaged.  Reports of other interferences are also prevalent in written and online media.

The San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition had a protest yesterday in two different popular locations.  This is not the first action that the organization has taken to protest the location of the Olympics.  They are using many Web 2.0 services such as Facebook and Twitter to gather support for their cause.  Quick glances at both of these sites/services did not garner much information, however.  Most of the recent comments found on Twitter were accusations of overzealousness of the protest groups (perhaps I can do a quick study of this later).  Time will only tell if these protests will drastically effect the production of the games in any way.

To China's credit, the Olympic committee (which chooses the location via vote) resoundingly voted for China to be this year's host.  The second place location, Canada, had less than half of the votes.  At the very least, the officials seem to think that a friendly competition can happen in China.  What will happen remains to be seen, as protestors edge closer and closer in their tents.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy China's first attempt at easing the tension between countries, the 100-episode cartoon series about the upcoming Olympics.  If only the cute Fuwa could ease all the trouble in the world!

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