Yesterday was the 6.8km prologue for Tour of China II with 122 starters and 21 teams. Yesterday was also the day of large protests in China, with violence of an anti-Japanese nature. The Reader's Digest version is this:Japan decided to pursue the purchase on Tuesday of some islands in the East China Sea whose sovereignty is claimed by both Japan and China. Japan claims the islands (which Japan calls the Senkaku and China calls the Diaoyu) are owned by a private Japanese citizen; China claims otherwise. Japan's announcement of the purchase inflamed anti-Japanese sentiment here. Sentiment which has long been plagued by China's bitter memories of Japan's military aggression in the '30s and '40s.
Jump ahead to 2012 and we have major protest scattered throughout China. I've been following US news sources as best I can (NY Times, NPR, BBC - I have these apps already loaded on my iPad), but access to all standard US news sites is blocked (no CNN, NBC, CBS, PBS, etc...). You're pretty much screwed if you're an English speaker and you want news (which is a frustrating 12 hours behind anyway). Anyway, what I've found seems to understate the situation here. CCTV (which is every channel here... CCTV1, CCTV2, CCTV3... you get the idea) is showing pretty violent protest and vitriolic speech, especially in those regions which suffered the most from Japanese military aggression. Just so happens, that's where we're headed next. So, as a precaution (and, let's face it, some real fear), both the Japanese based team AND our Japanese Doping Control Officer (performing the anti-doping testing for the UCI) are flying home today.this:
It's too bad for the event, but safety always comes first. The race organization and Chinese Cycling Association were very professional and cooperative and worked together to make sure everything was done in the best interests of the team and the Anti-Doping Officer.
That brings us up to today, a 500km transfer from Wuhan (Hubei Province) to Huainan (Anhui Province). Not much to report, but even street photos can be interesting here!
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| Street food looks good this morning! |
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| I've never seen so many people sweeping streets than here in China. And they're all using handmade brooms such as this one. |
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| Ya know, that just doesn't look that safe.... |
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| Not all the housing here is new. |
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| Old... and new. |
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| There are little markets everywhere you look, even next to the highway. |
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| This market looks busy. |
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| The amount of stuff carried on one scooter continues to amaze me! |
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| Somebody in the convoy got lost, so all 100+ vehicles just stopped in the slow lane of the highway to wait. Now THAT doesn't happen at home! |
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| Unlike the US, people ride their bikes and scooters on the highway. |
Posted with Blogsy
The old and the new are quite a contrast Carla! You look great in that turquoise shirt! You are right, they would not stop the 405 fwy like that! See you soon sister!
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