The Olympic in Beijing Motto itself is "Swifter, Higher, Stronger"

Image via Wikipedia The Chinese really are trying hard. With four months to go until the curtain goes up on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the final preparations are put in place to win over the world.

With the Olympic torch relay hitting the London leg today, the talk back home is more on impending demonstrations against China's human rights record. The fact that there was talk that Fu Ying, the Chinese Ambassdor, may boycott the event, which is supposed to embrace the Beijing games' motto of 'One World, One Dream', shows that the threat against a peaceful games without incident is a very real one.

The Olympic Motto itself is "Swifter, Higher, Stronger", the games are primarily a showcase and celebration of the world's best in sport, but at a time where China's growing economically day by day, and the country's involvement in world issues in Darfur

The Bird Nest
The Olympic Stadium in Beijing, where the athletics and football will be held.

and most recently the crisis in Tibet, the opportunity for protesters to get their voices heard on a world stage is likely to be taken up.
But the Chinese people themselves are embracing the true embodiment of the games. They are so excited that their country will host the games; this country is on a mission to deliver the best Olympic Games the world has ever seen.

The stadia and facilities are state of the art, the main Olympic stadium, nicknamed 'The Bird Nest' is without doubt the best stadium I have ever sen (though you can't get that close to it yet.)
Sure, the rest of the area is still a building site and a bit of a mess, but you just know the Chinese will get that sorted.

One thing any Westerner will know if they've ever visited China is that the Chinese are fascinated by our faces, they have no problem with staring at you, laughing, and taking photos without permission ... and that's mostly in Beijing's city centre as well.
If the world is going to be made to feel welcome, this will have to stop. We will have to get used to the habit of spitting in the streets though, and toddlers with all in one suits on that have holes where their bottoms are so they can just crouch and go to the toilet in the street!

China is an astonishing country from what I've seen of it already, it's so diverse and every place is different. Sitting on a train from Xi'an to Shanghai writing this, looking out the window at the beautiful farmland, I have no doubt China will deliver the world a great games, though it will be a very different games from recent times.

Yes, this probably is the ideal opportunity to sound a voice, but peacefully, without disruption, and the Chinese will then let their enthusiasm and passion for their Olympic dream carry them through to deliver a spectacle that for one reason of another, will be remembered for decades.