The United States Olympic Committee has filed a lawsuit against two ticket sellers for duping would-be ticket buyers. The story, reported by New York Times, calls out http://beijing-2008tickets.com/ and http://www.beijingticketing.com/ for illegally using Olympic trademarks and failing to provide tickets to people who had paid for them.

The suit calls for the sites’ domain names to be impounded and http://beijing-2008tickets.com/ appears to be offline.

From the Beijing 2008 Olympic website:

Beijing 2008 Olympic ticket general public sales Phase 4 will be launched on 25 July 2008, and there will be 820,000 tickets on sale. After the sale is launched, general public can only purchase the tickets at the venue box offices within the business hours.

Check the Olympic site for details.  

The official rules are just in from China Daily and Xinhua: 

Spectators will not be allowed to take banners, musical instruments and soft drink containers into Olympic venues, according to a set of rules released Monday.

The Olympic venue rules, promulgated by BOCOG, 25 days ahead of the Games, advise spectators not to bring into the venues support banners or leaflets of commercial publicity, religion, politics, military, human rights or environmental and animal protection.

Huang Keying, a BOCOG official, said the rules, including 22 restrictions and four prohibitions, are completely in line with the Olympic Charter.

Each spectator is subject to the rules aimed at maintaining security and order of the venue,” he said.

Li Yong, a BOCOG volunteer, told the Xinhua News Agency people with banners will be stopped at the entrance security check.

Earlier last month, 800,000 Chinese volunteers began practicing routines to cheer on athletes - both Chinese and foreign - at the Games.

They were trained to do a four-step cheer in uniform sportswear, with easy-to-learn slogans.

These volunteers are required to stand up when national anthems are played and to remove trash at the end of an event.

The rules also ban taking photos with a flash, drunkenness, nudity and gambling, as well as whistles, long umbrellas, cigarette lighters, cameras and radios at venues.

Animals, except guide dogs, are not allowed in the venues.

Zhang Zhenliang, director of the Games’ inquiry center, said spectator rules were always one of the most difficult parts of the Games preparation as they must ensure an orderly, happy and harmonious environment.
The rule books have been delivered to spectators along with tickets. Overseas spectators can check the rules online or dial “12308″.
Zhang said the inquiry center is open daily from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

Many overseas spectators have inquired about whether they can bring babies into the opening or closing ceremony venue.” It is not advised.

Li Bingshuang, a office worker, has tickets for the beach volleyball and rhythmic gymnastics events. She carefully read the rules book attached to the tickets.

“I know little about rules, but I’m sure I should clap after athletes completed their routines,” she said. Zhang said the restrictions and prohibitions were roughly the same as those of the Athens and Sydney Games. The “spectator version” of the rules book features a simple and vivid language. Huang said the Beijing Olympic venue rules are different from those of the previous Games as the national situation and local habits are different.

Beijing people like to use a parasol to block out the sunshine. But we have to remind people not to open umbrellas in the seating areas so as not to block others’ view,” she said, adding collapsible umbrellas were acceptable for being taken into venues.

Posted by Adam Steinberg, AmCham Olympic Forum co-chair.

I hope this resourceful group can help me.  If you have tickets for sale to Olympic swimming events, we would be grateful for an opportunity to buy them.  

Please mail me at judykarp@amcham-china.org.cn with any leads you may have.

One of our member companies sent the following advisory to its foreign employees in China.  AmCham has not independently verified the information, but we wanted to make it available for general information.

 Please be advised that due to the impending Olympic Games the The Ministry of Public Security in China (PSB) has advised that the existing regulations for the completion of the Registration Form of Temporary Residence in China must be strictly adhered.  The steps required to complete the process will vary from city to city and will also vary depending on type of accommodation utilized.  Whilst the maximum penalty imposed for failing to register is currently RMB 5,000, an official may elect to impose a higher penalty if there are subsequent instances of non compliance.
Effective immediately and until further notice, all foreigners residing in private housing must register at the nearest Police station within 24 hours after arrival back to China every time they have been traveling outside China.  If the registration is not undertaken, both the management company/landlord and foreigner can be fined RMB 5,000.

It is important to note that this rule applies to any foreign person living in any apartment or private dwelling - even if it is for just for one night. And we understand the Ba Li Zhuang, Pan Jia Yuan and San Yuan Li PSB are the 3 local PSB in Beijing that are extremely strict in implementation of this rule. We would like to advise that should your resident falls under the coverage of this 3 PSB, you must ensure you are 100% in compliance. If staying overnight or visiting friends in China, registration must be carried out upon arrival with the local PSB office responsible for the area within 24 hours of arrival.

You will need to supply your passport and evidence of visa when presenting at the PSB office.  In most locations registration can be undertaken at the local Police Station.  For questions on what documents to submit &/or bring to your local police station, please inquire with your housing agent or landlord, as this can vary by district.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What documents are required for presentation or is it only passport and visa?
A:  The following documents should be taken when registering:

Original passport plus a copy of the passport ID page
One passport-style photo (not always requested)
Lease Agreement (original can be requested)
Landlord National ID Card and contact details
Ownership certificate and tax payment receipts (not always requested)

Q: Will all PBS offices or police stations have someone who speaks English?
A:  No.  In most cases there will not be an officer who is able to communicate in English.

Q: Does the employee have to register in person or can it be done by spouse/partner, agent, driver?
A personal appearance is not usually required by either the PSB or local Police Station.

Q: If in person, is it every visa holder including children under 18 years?
In cases where personal appearance is required, only one adult needs to attend (i.e. either the assignee or spouse / partner).

Q:  Do I need to register if I am staying in a hotel or serviced apartment?
A:  Guests must be registered upon arrival with the PSB by the hotel and if separate, the serviced apartment management company.  Usually this procedure is automatic with input from the hotel being directly fed into the local PSB computer at the check-in procedure, with no additional action being required from the guest. However, daily checks are now in operation and the PSB physically visits hotels to request copies of the hotels’ in-house guest lists to make sure they match the PSB’s own records. If they do not, the hotel / serviced apartment will be fined RMB5,000 per missing entry. Hotel guests under these circumstances would not be fined. However it does mean that foreigners wishing to stay at a hotel in China must provide full passport and visa credentials in order to check in.  

Has your employeer issued anything similiar? Will you be or are you personally in compliance with these regulations?

New York Times reporter Jim Yardley has recently published a piece about additional measures being taken to ensure that there’s nothing but blue-sky days starting August 8.

BEIJING: With Beijing struggling to clear polluted skies before the Olympics in August, the nearby industrial port of Tianjin has ordered 40 factories to suspend some operations for two months as part of a broader effort to improve air quality during the Games, the state media reported.

The planned shutdowns in Tianjin, about 110 kilometers, or 68 miles, southeast of Beijing, are one piece of a regional plan that is expected to bring temporary factory closures or slowdowns across a large swath of northern China during the Games.

As yet, few details are known about exactly which factories might close, or when, so the announcement in Tianjin offers a window into one aspect of the plan.

Beijing’s air quality remains a major concern for the Games as the city continues to struggle with pollution, despite a $20 billion government cleanup campaign. Beijing is also a victim of its neighborhood: pollution blows in from surrounding regions, which are dotted with coal mines, coal-fired power plants, steel mills, cement factories and other clusters of heavy industry.

The Olympic opening ceremony is Aug. 8, and meteorologists have said that officials must begin closing factories a few weeks in advance to make a difference. The suspensions in Tianjin will begin on July 25 and continue until Sept. 30, after the conclusion of the Paralympics in Beijing, according to Xinhua, the country’s official news agency.

Tianjin is one site for the Olympic soccer competition, and work at 26 construction sites near the city’s Olympic stadium will be suspended.

Meanwhile, one of the busiest steel centers in China is ordering 267 firms to shut down operations by July 8, according to Reuters, which cited people in government and industry.

The city of Tangshan, about 150 kilometers from Beijing, is closing 66 smaller steel mills, coking operations, cement factories and smaller power generators, the report said. The companies could reopen only on an unspecified date after undergoing an environmental review.

In recent days, rainfall in Beijing has been unusually heavy. When it has not rained, the skies have been clotted with haze. But the weather Sunday brought good news: the first truly blue skies in Beijing in many days.

The city will begin alternate-day driving restrictions on July 20 to ease traffic and reduce pollution. By then, experts say, more temporary factory shutdowns are expected to be announced elsewhere in the region.

Posted by Adam Steinberg Olympic Forum co-chair

Xinhua has released the long-awaited details on the traffic restrictions to be put into place in advance of the Summer Games.

Beijing is to ban vehicles with even and odd-numbered license plates on alternate days from July 20 to Sept. 20 to help improve air quality for the Olympic Games, the city has announced. Exceptions to the restrictions will include taxis, buses and emergency vehicles, said a statement on the website (www.bjjtwgov.cn) of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications.

The statement said the intention of the restrictions was to improve traffic flows and air quality during the Olympics and Paralympics, and to fulfill Beijing’s commitment to host a “green Olympics.” In the statement, the municipal government said the measure would be enforced throughout the city until August 28, but only in areas within the Fifth Ring Road and three freeways connecting downtown Beijing to the airport, Badaling and Chengde from August 28 to Sep. 20.

The municipal government is also to ban all motor vehicles that fail to meet the European No.1 standard for exhaust emissions as well as trucks registered outside Beijing without special permits from July 1. It is believed the temporary traffic controls will leave 70 percent of cars owned by government departments and institutions in the city in the garage.

To compensate motorists for the restrictions, all vehicle owners will be exempted from taxes and road maintenance fees for three months, costing the government 1.3 billion yuan (186 million U.S. dollars). During a test of the controls from August 17 to 20 last year, about 1.3 million vehicles were taken off the city roads each day and the emissions discharged were cut by 5,815 tons, according to a report by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection.

Posted by Adam Steinberg Olympic Forum co-chair

Quality lodgings in Beijing during the August Olympic Games may become a hot commodity.  Yet an AmCham-China member company tells us they have a number of rooms available during that time at a 5-star hotel with excellent facilities and grounds.  The hotel, the Loong Palace Hotel & Resort (www.loongpalace.com), is located about 15 minutes from the Olympic Park.  Rooms are available at a variety of prices and types, including standard, one- and two-bedroom duplexes and suites. Block bookings from August 7 to August 25 are preferred.

If you or your company are interested, please contact Michelle for details, prices, exact availability, etc.  Reach her via email at michelle0711@gmail.com

A Reuters report concerning this morning’s kick-off of Phase 3 Olympics tickets sales for residents of China (including foreign residents):

Snags, again, for China ticket sale

BEIJING, May 5 (Reuters) - Ticket sales for the Beijing Olympics again ran into problems on Monday, despite guarantees that the online system had been repaired after an earlier foul-up led to the dismissal of the ticket centre’s director last year. A total of 1.38 million tickets were to be released in the third round of ticket sales that began on Monday for 16 sports, including boxing, soccer, baseball, beach volleyball and wrestling. But online chat files and blog comments showed that ticket buyers were having problems completing purchases.

While people were able to log on to the Web site and select tickets fairly easily, they could not reach the final payment page.

A message reading, “The system is under maintenance. Please visit the page later” appeared on the screen. And the website kept directing users back to the login page, and finally showed a message apologising for not being able to process the purchase.

“It’s just frustrating and a waste of time,” said one person who tried numerous times to buy tickets before giving up.

Officials at the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games had no immediate comment.

State television showed footage of people queueing at a Bank of China branch, an alternative way of buying tickets, hours before the sale actually started.

“We got up at around 5 in the morning,” China Central Television quoted an elderly man as saying. Tickets for “hot” events such as basketball had already sold out, it said.

The former director of the Beijing Olympic Ticketing Centre was sacked in November after the online system collapsed due to overwhelming demand almost immediately after the second round of sales began.

In the first three hours of the October sale, the site received 20 million hits, BOCOG had said. As a result of the system crash, only 43,000 of the 1.85 million tickets reserved for the second round were allocated.

BOCOG had promised there would be no repeat of problems that had marred previous ticket sales.

Two-thirds of the seven million tickets available to the public have been sold.

Last month, organisers unveiled for the first time the design for the tickets, which have many high-tech features to prevent fraud and copying. (Reporting by Guo Shipeng and Ken Wills; Editing by Nick Macfie)

The embassy has issued a travel alert for all US residents and visitors in China. The e-mail, sent out to people on the amcitbeijing@state.gov e-mail list, cautions Americans about the threat of terrorist activity by unspecified groups. From the e-mail:

There is a heightened risk that extremist groups will conduct terrorist acts within China in the near future. In light of these security concerns, citizens traveling in China are advised to use caution and to be alert to their surroundings at all times, including at hotels, in restaurants, on public transportation and where there are demonstrations and other large-scale public gatherings. Consistent with our standard advice, American citizens are urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations.

For those who have been in other cities during the Olympics, is this kind of warning standard or is does there appear to be a different approach by the State Dept. to security this year?

There’s more information about travel safety and specifics about the 2008 summer Games on the State Dept. website.