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Americas: Celebrating BlogDay

lingua → es · pt · ar · sr

August 31 marks the celebration of BlogDay around the world. According to the site the event was created so that blogs from other parts of the world can be discovered by others:

On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors. With the goal in mind, on this day every blogger will post a recommendation of 5 new blogs. This way, all blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, previously unknown blogs.

Members of the Latin American team from Global Voices Online decided to recommend five blogs collectively as a group, and one post in particular that may be of interest to others:

Venezuela

Luis Carlos Díaz recommends El Chigüire Bipolar [es], which is an increasingly popular blog from Venezuela and one that has received half a million visits in less than four months online. The post titled, “We Never Thought That 203 Other Countries Would Attend” [es] is a satirical post about Venezuela's participation in the recent Olympics:

El presidente del Comité Olímpico Venezolano (COV), Eduardo Álvarez, aclaró hoy en rueda de prensa las razones por las que hasta ahora la delegación venezolana no ha cumplido las expectativas trazadas en un principio en las Olimpíadas de Beijing. “Cuando hicimos el pronóstico de 5 medallas de oro, nunca pensamos que iban a asistir otros 203 países a la cita. Eso echó al suelo el pronóstico inicial” informó Álvarez ante la insistencia de los medios y la opinión pública, que esperaban ver a los venezolanos en los podios de Beijing.

The President of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee (COV for its initials in Spanish) Eduardo Álvarez, in a press conference stated the reasons why the Venezuelan delegation did not meet expectations that were set at the beginning of the Beijing Olympics. “When we made the prediction of 5 gold medals, we never thought that other 203 countries would take part in the games. That wiped out our original prediction,” said Álvarez when asked by the media and public opinion, who hoped to see Venezuelans on the podiums in Beijing.

Peru

Juan Arellano highly recommends the blog Choledad Privada [es], which may only be understandable by Peruvians for its slang and “inside jokes.” However, articles are meant to elicit laughter from its readers for its tongue-in-cheek articles “How Much Does a Peruvian Cost?” and about other subtle peculiarities of Peruvian society [es].

Argentina

Jorge Gobbi from Buenos Aires, recommends Merodeador [es], which is a blog that focuses primarily on the media, but also other topics such as the lack of recycling programs in the capital. There was one law called Basura Cero (Zero Garbage) that sought to reduce the amount of waste by 30%, however, that was ended by the current mayor. There is one type of informal recycling program that is carried out by “cartoneros” (cardboarders):

Todas las noches, los cartoneros revuelven las bolsas de basura antes de ser recogidas por los camiones, en busca de papeles y cartones que luego venden para su reciclaje. Es ésa su única retribución: el pago por la cantidad de papel que juntan.

Every night, the cartoneros go through the garbage bags before they are picked up by the trucks, in search of paper and cardboard that can later be sold for recycling. That is their only payment: money for the amount of paper that is collected.

Ecuador

Milton Ramirez, who writes about Ecuador recommends Dialogo con Joselias [es], which discusses the role of provincial autonomies in the new Constitution. Joselias criticizes a recent editorial in the newspaper El Telégrafo, which dismisses the call of the province of Manabí for increased autonomy.

Con el más puro egoísmo intelectual analiza la aspiración manabita de su autonomía administrativa. Nos ubica como “sucursal menor del bastión guayaquileño”. Que la autonomía es una cantaleta que “vuelve desde otra provincia, Manabí, para confundir a la opinión pública”. Que desde Manabí se está calificando al Presidente de “dictador” y “traidor” porque la Asamblea Constituyente no aprobó la autonomía manabita.

With the purest form of intellectual selfishness, (the newspaper) analyzes Manabi's aspiration for administrative autonomy. They place us as “the minor branch of the Guayaquil bastion.” That autonomy is another term that “comes from another province, Manabí, to confuse public opinion.” That Manabí is calling the President a “dictator” and “traitor” because the Constituent Assembly did not approve the Manabí autonomy.

Bolivia

One of the new bloggers from the Voces Bolivianas project, Virginio Sandy, represents his indigenous community as one of the leaders. One member of the community is named “Authority” for the duration of one year, after which it is rotated to another. He also represents his community online with his blog Ayllus de Dalence [es], where he writes about festivities, traditions, but also about archeaological ruins near his community.

Por las caracteristicas que presenta, se evidencia que fue una fortaleza, la que fue construida con fines defensivos y refugio de los habitantes, cuando eran atacados por otros pueblos. Al pie de esta fortaleza se encuentra la Comunidad de Pucara Grande, población milenaria, cuyos origenes se pierden en el tiempo y espacio. Esta fortaleza conserva aun parte de las tres murallas que se erigieron alrededor de la colina y en la parte superior de este cerro, se encuentra los cimientos, de viviendas circulares, todas con puertas orientadas hacia la salida del sol.

For its characteristics, it is evident that it was a fort, which was constructed for defensive reasons and a shelter for the residents, when they were attacked by others. At the base of the fort, one can find the community of Pucara Grande, millennial peoples, whose origins are lost in time and space. This fort still conserves three walls that were built along the hill and in the higher part of the mountain one can find the foundations of circular houses, with all of their doors that pointed to the rising sun.

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Egypt: Respecting Traffic Lights

Eman AbdElRahman · 18:30 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → pt · bn · es · zht · zhs

What does people's attitudes towards crossing the road have to do with where their country stands in the world? Egyptian blogger Egyptian in the USA brings us the answer in this translation from Arabic.

Writing in Egyptian Wish, the blogger quotes part of an article published in Aljazeera.net, by Mohamed El Sayed Ahmed which says:

رغم احمرار اشارة عبور المشاه باحد ضواحي دبي الا ان الطريق كان سالك - فعبرت وبعض الهنود والافارقة - فيما ظلت فتاتين صينيتين ورجل اوروبي منتظرين حتى تفتح الاشارة - ففكرت في دلك واكتشفت ان هذا هو الفرق بين الصين واوروبا من جه وبين الدول الاخرى من جه اخرى - فاحترامهم للقواعد جعلتهم الاقوى - فقررت الالتزام باشارة المرور لعلي اصبح مثلهم - هذة هي الصين عملاق المستقبل

Despite the red traffic light on one of Dubai suburb’s streets, where the road was empty, I crossed the road with a few Indians and Africans, while two Chinese girls and a European man stood waiting until the traffic light turned green. I thought about this, and discovered that this is the difference between China and Europe on the one hand and other countries on the other. Their respect for rules made them stronger. So I decided to respect the traffic rules in order to be like them someday.
This is China, the giant of the future.

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Blogger of the Week: Siniša Boljanović

Solana Larsen · 18:23 · Eastern & Central Europe

lingua → fr · zht · zhs · es

Siniša Boljanović had never blogged when he volunteered to report on Serbian blogs for Global Voices in 2007. He read an article about Global Voices in a Serbian online magazine and was so hooked on the idea of contributing, he taught himself to write in English and to use Wordpress for the first time in spite of one additional obstacle: Siniša is blind.

Among the topics he has blogged about in the past year are, atrocities of war in his region, the arrest of Radovan Karadžić, human rights, Serbian politics, and Kosovo's independence claims.

Siniša lives with his family in a town called Novi Sad, which is well-known for the EXIT music festival. He is a graduate of Serbian language and literature at Belgrade University. He does not have a personal blog, but is planning to create one in the future. More urgent are his plans to help start a new Lingua website, Global Voices in Serbian.

In his spare time, Siniša likes reading books and sometimes writes short stories. Before he became blind, he liked to play tennis. These days he is a fan of Serbian tennis players Novak Djoković, Janko Tipsarević, Ana Ivanović and Jelena Janković, and also likes Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova.

Serbian Authors Ljubiša Bojić and Siniša Boljanović at the Global Voices Summit in Budapest 2008, Photo by Elia Varela Serra

When did you first learn about Global Voices?

One day in May 2007, while I was surfing the internet, I accidentally found an interview with Global Voices co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon in a Serbian online media magazine called Link. Until then, I'd never heard anything about Global Voices. Starting with the first of Rebecca's sentences, it was already clear to me that Global Voices is a really serious, modern and interesting project. While I was reading the interview I remembered an old Latin proverb:Vox populi vox Dei (‘the voice of the people, is the voice of God’). I think if there are more voices, there will be much more truth around the world. At that moment, in my eyes Global Voices looked as an modern version of this saying. Of course, I immediately visited the website.

What is your most memorable blogging experience?

Every time I remember how I published my first post for Global Voices I am numb with fear again. Just a few days after reading Rebecca's interview I wanted to write a post for the site. Back then I didn’t know english almost at all. Back then I didn’t know how to use WordPress at all. I didn't know almost anything what was necessary to start blogging for Global Voices. At the same time I was enthusiastic and I had a strong desire to publish my first post. I was translating it the whole day using a Serbian-English dictionary. Ljubiša Bojić, Global Voices’ other contributor from Serbia, and Veronica Khokhlova, the Central and Eastern Europe editor, unselfishly assisted me, and thanks to them I succeeded in finishing my foolish adventure. I’ll remember that as long as I live.

Can you describe the software you use to read and write on the computer without seeing?

Blind and low-vision persons use screen reading software to read digital text. These softwares are logically based on use of keyboard shortcuts, instead of a mouse. I use Jaws. It's one of the best screen readers. There are numerous applications that are supported in JAWS, including word processors, encyclopedias, financial and spreadsheet packages, email and messaging applications, and more.

For example, in Internet Explorer, for navigation over the page I use arrows on the keyboard or TAB or PageUp/PageDown buttons. Jaws can read everything in a textual form on the page. If I want to enter a web address to visit a website, I type “ALT+D” to make the address bar available for editing. Jaws says: “Address - Edit”.

When I hear that, I can fill out the address bar.

Apart from Jaws' keyboard shortcuts there are also Windows keyboard shortcuts. They are not exclusively intended for blind and low vision computer users. You can see these options in the menus of almost all applications and use them instead of the mouse.

How do you write the posts for Global Voices?

I have no problems doing that, because the WordPress platform is accessible for screen reader users.

Vera, Siniša, Ethan, Ljubiša at the Global Voices Summit in Budapest 2008. Photo by Ljubiša Bojić.

What are the Serbian issues you are most interested in communicating to the rest of the world about?

I think there are a lot of interesting things Serbia can communicate to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, we are in the shadow of political issues. I am sure we will communicate with the European Union more and more in the next months, in order for Serbia to become a member as soon as possible. Slobodan Milošević's regime isolated Serbia for more than a decade, but Serbia is a very nice and attractive country from many aspects. We can communicate with people around the world about tourism, economy, industry, sport, art and other issues too.

Do you think we can look forward to a Serbian language Global Voices website?

I am thrilled to announce that a Serbian-language Global Voices website will start very soon. My friend Dijana Djuričković, who will be one of translators, is currently preparing the site, and I hope the first post will be translated and published in the Serbian language at the beginning of September.

How do you think Global Voices could be better?

As time goes by Global Voices is getting better and better. There are a few new interesting initiatives such increasing the availability of audio versions of posts. They would make Global Voices better and more approachable by different kinds of readers.

I think there are more populations who can get their place on the Global Voices in the future. For example, I am very interested in how young people live around the world. I remember when I was 13-15, I wanted to know how persons of the same age from other countries live, what their problems are, what they think about etc.

I would love if we could provide something like a “Junior Global Voices” website, where young people could read posts created by other young people. For now, everyone of us could find several boys and girls from different countries and encourage them to be bloggers. I think the Global Voices could be better in this way.

Do you think your daughter Maša will grow up to be a blogger?

I think she will be. She is a very clever and curious little girl. She is almost 4 and I am going to enroll her in an English school. She likes the computer and she already knows how to type on the keyboard. Maybe these are initial steps to becoming a blogger one day.

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Libya: The Ramadan Special

Fozia Mohamed · 18:15 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → es

Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, begins in all parts of the Islamic world. Depending on where you are located, it could have either started, will start tomorrow or even Tuesday in some areas.

The Libyan blogosphere is being populated by Ramadan posts and while most of them are of a congratulatory nature such as this example from the Alwafy blog run by the duo Hassen and Hana, others have a different flavour.

WEDA 4 All revives the beautiful Libyan traditions of her Benghazi city and she takes us on a virtual tour of the Fish Market (Soug al hoot) which she used to visit with her parents.

“you can't be in Benghazi in ramadn & u don't go there…..really you'll miss alot…..as you go there you'll see the crowed which starts at abut 2pm..alot of home made libyan bread “tanoor”, harrisa, emsaer, boreek, olives, knafaa,…etc..& of course fireworks.[sic]”

There is another touching part to her post but you'll need to go read to understand.

Then there is PH from My Personal Space who highlights several negative societal aspects in the Arab world associated with Ramadan and which apply to Libya as well. These come as a result of - in my opinion - the very fast loss of values which is plaguing our region lately. I cannot pinpoint what brought it and when it began exactly but I admit it is forming a part of the mosaic of our society and culture. So the extensive number of cartoons he has posted reflects: preoccupation with Ramadan TV programmes, extreme socialising of youth instead of spiritual quests, hypocrisy and addictions, bad timekeeping and other bad practices at the office, greed and lust, soaring prices, conspiracy theories from satellite providers and the ‘West', and not forgetting that it would not be PH without the odd political insinuation and so we have the Arab street looking the other way at Arab hot topics and my personal favourite is the cartoon with the US military arresting the Mesaharati (aka the person who traditionally wakes up Muslims so they can have their suhour i.e the Ramadan breakfast before sunrise) and accusing him of terrorism intention.

On the edge, an American married to a Libyan is counting down to Ramadan. She shares with us her Ramadan preparations while her husband went to the beach:

“[…]stayed home to spend the day in the kitchen cooking food to freeze ahead for Ramadan. Ramadan is only a little more than a week away [.]I am hoping that by cooking as much as possible before hand, I won't be spending ALL my time in the kitchen this year [.] Today I did some more cooking by preparing all the pickled veggies by setting them to start marinating. Tomorrow I hope to finish up with baking the pizzas. I also cooked up the soups too. All this goes into the freezer to be taken out as needed for dinners. Next I have to tackle the house cleaning …ugh ! I hate that part more than the cooking .Ramadan is 90% preparation and 10% doing what needs to be done. This isn't the correct way to celebrate Ramadan but it helps to get these things out of the way so you can devote your time to prayer, charitable acts, good deeds, good thoughts, and being good. Behaving well, being the operative words here. That's why prayer is so good, it keeps you on track [..]”

The humour notwithstanding she does manage to remind us that Ramadan is about tapping into your spirituality and connection with God which is Ramadan's message and blessing.

And while we are on the subject of 3ibadah (tenets of worshipping God) and spirituality, another Ramadan related post is by White African , a Libyan in Britain. She recently returned from Umrah and is sharing with us the beautiful spirit of Mecca and Medinah from her clandestine mobile phone camera.

“seeing the haram again was amazing, the whole place takes over you and you forget about all your problems, life, bills, application forms etc… its simply serenity…obviously i took pictures but the ones inside the haram where from my mobile as my camera is too big to hide […] its always weird to come back after visiting mecca and madina, you kinda get absorbed by the life style of praying in the haram and listening to the adhan and generally having more ibadah in your life[..]mecca and madina is filling up pretty fast with people who are coming especially for ramadan, by the time we left it was choca block…”

Another facet is expressed by Khadijateri, an American living in Tripoli and married to a Libyan. Like On the edge, she is making her own Ramadan preparations.

“I've spent the weekend relaxing and getting things ready for Ramadan[…]The shopping part was the pleasant part. I got a new blender and a microwave oven. Also some stuff for the kitchen; plastic containers and soup spoons. I have plenty of everything for the kitchen already. I also picked up some curtains for my bedroom and a small furniture dealie with three drawers in it that fits nicely under my desk. I didn't need those but I wanted them and cash was in my pocket so I got them. I decided that for the groceries I'm not going to go shopping for anything special. There's a shop around the corner that always has just about everything I need.”

She also hits Libyans under the belt:

I can't understand why Libyans go berserk at the grocery store right before Ramadan starts. You would think that all the food was going to disappear or something.

To be fair Ramadan has been increasingly commercialized in the Arab world at least and even in Libya shopping for groceries and cooking utensils and renovating kitchens has become a major aspect in pre-Ramadan planning. Also the ills of modernization and globalization are increasingly catching up with us and eroding some of the more innocent aspects of our culture making us more materialistic. Yet I would like to think that most Libyans were not shopping because they are gluttons or stupid enough to think that food would disappear soon but rather perhaps the simple reason is like on the edge implied i.e. early preparations in order to save more time for religious contemplation?

Ramadan Mabrouk to you all!

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Ecuador: Abortion a Controversial Topic in New Constitution

Milton Ramirez · 14:14 · Americas

lingua → pt · fr · es · zht · zhs · sr

With a little more than one month until the Constitutional Referendum in Ecuador, the campaign has intensified, especially on the internet. Both the “pelucones” (the nickname given to the opposition) and the supporters are finding their arguments and their reasons why to support or oppose the draft Constitution. More attention is being given to the support or opposition within the universities.

Alianza Pais (Correa's political party) is more interested in winning sympathizers inside local universities in order to alleviate the discontent among university students. A group of students from the Catholic University of Guayaquil has expressed their opposition to the new Constitution, which produced a music video with this sentiment. “Yo también digo no” (I also say no), is a post written by La Alharaca [es] and refers to a musical video with a theme song in which criticize to the “pelucones” and makes mockery of presidential remarks to silence demonstrators at the Catholic University of Santiago of Guayaquil (Santiago is a surname people of Guayaquil feel proud of and that was the original name of the Guayas province).

The Catholic University Votes ‘No' - Theme: I want to be the ward's pelucon

However, one of the most controversial topics in the new Constitution is abortion and the right to choose by women in Ecuador. Don Javier [es] compares the section regarding Families in different Ecuadorian constitutions, such as the 1979 and 1998 versions, including all their various reforms, stresses why he will be voting YES in the referendum of September 28th.

Según veo desde 1979 nadie nunca lo oí pegar el grito al cielo diciendo que eran constituciones abortivas o que permitían el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo. Ni oí a ninguno de esos curas de Mercedez Benz y tenedores de deuda externa decir que estas constituciones protegían el aborto….Yo Voto SI y mil veces SI.

As I see it that ever since 1979 I never heard the heavens crying out that Constitution was pro-abortion of that it allowed same-sex marriages. I have not also heard from those priests with Mercedez Benz and the holders of the foreign debt that have Constitutions what protect abortion… I vote YES and a thousand times YES.

Kevinhurl [es] writes about a long online debate with his friend, who supports the NO in the next electoral process in Ecuador, and points out intentions of Antonio Arregui Yarza (President of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference) and strongly makes his point that the Constitution to be submitted into referendum does not establish the right of any women to abort:

El derecho de la madre a abortar se termina donde empieza el derecho del niño a vivir: desde la concepción, ya que el artículo 46 dice claramente que El Estado reconocerá y garantizara la vida, incluido el cuidado y protección desde la concepción. En ninguna parte dice que se podrá abortar en ejercicio de un derecho, ya que en ningún lado está estipulado el derecho a abortar.

The mother's right to abort ends where the child's right to life begins: from conception, since Article 46 clearly states that the State recognizes and guarantees life, including the care and protection from conception itself. Nowhere has it been said that the abortion is a right, and nowhere is it stipulated that there is a right to an abortion.

In a deeply religious country like Ecuador, this topic will continue to be a topic of controversy up until the date of the Referendum.

Thumbnail photo by L. Marcio Ramalho

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China: gold medals=a great power in sports?

Bob Chen · 04:13 · East Asia

lingua → es

Achievement

“Truly Exceptional” is the term IOC honored the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the time that Chinese people strived to impress the world with grandiose stadiums, seamless organization and the best service ever provided, the Chinese athletes didn’t disappoint the host nation with 51 gold medals, topping the table for its first time. Only 10 medals fewer than U.S, China seconds by the total medals won.

Thinking back the 1932 Los Angels Olympics when only 1 athlete from China made his appearance with no gain, no one could deny this is a historic achievement.

China maintained advantages on sports such as gymnastic, badminton, diving and Ping-pong, but also achieved ground-breaking victories on rowing, gymnastics trampoline, and fencing etc.

Questions

However, with the farewell fireworks dying down and life back to normal, more and more people begin to question whether the result could suggest China is indeed a great power in sports.

On portal website 163.com, an online voting was conducted on the topic “Is China a great power in sports?” 4730 Yes vs. 17030 No more or less proves a large part of people still thought China has a long way to go.

China’s weakness on worldwide popular sports like football and basketball is clear. We also fell behind both on tracks and swimming pool, the merely 2 bronzes got on track and field are more than embarrassing. Liu Xiang’s withdrawal from 110-metre hurdle race extinguished the last hope for a gold medal for Chinese in the spectacular National Stadium (Bird Nest).

An internet user (网易中国网友) commented on 163.com that:

各种奥林匹克比赛，奥林匹克考试中国都行但看看，得到的金牌的含金量，举重8块，试问，世界上有几个国家开展？中国有个人玩这个项目呢？最最起码的常见的体育项目田径、游泳成绩惨不忍睹，世界都玩的中国有几个强的？

Look at the true value of the gold medals we won. How many countries in the world play weight-lifting, on which we totally grabbed 8 gold medals? How many Chinese people are actually practicing weight-lifting? On the other hand, for the most basic and common sports like tracks and swimming, we have poorly performed. Have we really excelled on any game the whole world play?

In an opinion (网易特评) written directly by 163.com, the author questioned that though China won a gold medal on rowing, the playing of the game is in fact uneasy to see in daily life of Chinese.

在中国的湖面、河道上几乎看不到赛艇的踪迹，很多人甚至连赛艇是什么都不知道，但是在欧美国家，赛艇的普及程度超乎中国人的想象。在那里，公开水域、宽广的河面常常点缀着各色赛艇

On the lakes and rivers in China, rowing boats are hard to find. Many people don’t even know what it is. But in western countries, it is far more popular than Chinese could imagine. There in public waters and broad rivers a great many kinds of rowing boats scattered around.

However, another side of opinions thinks quite the other way.
Internet user from Zhongshan, Guangdong (网易广东中山网友) said:

有人说我们田径不行，所以我们不是强国！那牙买加一定是强国，因为他们田径厉害。有人说我们足球不行，所以我们不是强国！那巴西一定是强国，因为他们足球厉害。也有人说我们篮球不行，所以我们不是强国！那立陶宛一定是强国，因为他们篮球厉害！可是如果你说牙买加、巴西、立陶宛是体育强国的时候，估计人家会把你当作疯子。我们就是强国，完全没有必要妄自菲薄！那些说自己不是强国是人，要么是别有居心，要么是自卑的民族自尊心在作怪，是对自己民族的一份不自信！

Some says we played poor on tracks so that we are not a great power in sports! Then Jamaica must be a great power because they are dazzling on the track. Some says we played poor on football so we are not a great power. Then Brazil should be a great power. And Lithuania is also a great power for its basketball. But consider that if you assert Jamaica, Brazil and Lithuania are all great powers on sports, I bet people would think you a mad man.
We are exactly a super power in sports, and we need not humiliate ourselves! For those denying our status are either with a covert intention or a self-contemptuous mind, in-confident on our nation.

石头儿 said:

我竟然在新华网上看到—— 一个世界上最荒唐的命题——-“金牌第一”不等于体育强国！为什么当美国金牌数第一的时候说美国是体育强国？

In xinhua.net, I saw a most ridiculous proposition in this world—- No. 1 on gold medal doesn’t mean a great power in sports. Then why should we call U.S a great power when they topped the table?

Though defenders’ comments are inspiring, questioners refused to give up any ground. They further called in question that the number of gold medals implies a great investment on professional athletes training, but don’t necessarily mean adequate support for populace health and sports, namely enough stadiums, spaces, infrastructures built for common people.

The comment by 163.com aforementioned also states:

中国现在的体育场地有85万多个，体育场地面积达13.2亿平方米，仅从数量上看已具有一定规模，但是相对于多达13亿人口而言，每万人仅拥有6.58个体育场地，人均体育场地面积权1平方米多(wiki)一点，与同时期的发达国家平均每万人拥有200多个体育场地的状况比起来，这可是30多的倍的差距。
据2005年有关部门对全国10多万名学生的调查表明，2/3(66%)的学生每天锻炼时间不足1小时，近1/4(24.8%)的学生每天基本不锻炼。

There are now 850,000 sporting venues in China, 1.32 billion m2 in area. It’s notable by quantity, but to the 1.3-billion population, it just means 6.58 venues for 10000 people and not much more than 1 m2 per person. It’s a 30-time margin to the developed countries where 200 venues were shared by 10000. According to a national-wide survey of 100,000 Chinese students, 66% exercised less than 1 hour every day and 24.8% basically do no exercise.

Internet user from Fuzhou (网易福建福州网友) said：

看看农村中小学的体育现状吧,很可悲,体育器材不全,领导重视不够,我做为一名农村教育工作者是最清楚的，我学校有6年没开运动会了

Look at the pessimistic status in quo of sports in villages. Equipments are incomplete, while the officials paid no attention. I am so clear with this as a rural teacher. In my school, sports meeting is not open for 6 years.

Internet user from Heilongjiang(易黑龙江绥化网友) said：

看看我们小学生的近视眼占都多少，就知道了

You’ll realize the truth when seeing so many grade-schoolers are wearing myopia glasses.

Internet user from Nanjing (网易江苏南京网友) said：

金牌获得多，只能说明是比赛强国。因为中国13亿人口，选拔参加奥运比赛选手还是比较占优势的。而且，运动员因为训练比赛而失去健康，其实不是一件好事，因为那已经不是运动爱好者，更不是为了健康而运动了。

A great haul of gold medals means nothing but that China is a super power in COMPETITION. It’s not hard to choose from 1.3 billion people the best to attend the Games. Furthermore, it’s not a pleasing thing for those who lost their health in training, as they are no long practicing for joy and health, but only for competition.

Comparation

So is U.S a super power in sports?

Holding that China is far from a super power in sports, most people unconsciously took U.S as an idol, for both its balance on gold, silver and bronze haul, also its populace participation in sports.

But the “idol” is quickly broken in ridicules.

In Tianya, 鎏金岁月 said:

那些说美国全民体育的人估计没几个真正到过美国的,
一到美国你就会发现原来真正的美国人和好莱坞大片中的美国人不太一样,
美国人的肥胖率是全球最高的,都是让垃圾食品害的,
要是全民体育,人人都是体育迷,每天抽一两个小时出来锻炼身体会有这么高的肥胖率?

I guess those suggesting a mass participation in sports in U.S have not really been in U.S. Once you are there you’ll find Americans much different from that depicted in Hollywood films. U.S is one of the fattest nation in the world due to their trash food. If it was really a sporting country full of sport fans, would it be possible for such an obesity rate?

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