A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.
The 2008 Olympics in Pictures
Links to photo essays of the Olympics
Going For The Gold
This Olympics, I’m ruefully told, was about the changing of the guard. It was the symbol of an emergent China and the waning of the West; the representation, in red shorts, swimsuits and tights, of a new order in sports. Yet for all its novelty, the new order seems little different from the old.
Registration Error Led to Underage Gymnast Reports, China Says
A Chinese Olympic gymnastics champion whose age is under investigation had her date of birth incorrectly registered at a tournament last year, leading to inaccurate reports of her age, Chinese officials said today.
China Put on Great Show in Beijing, But With Iron Fist
China will put the finishing touches on the Beijing Olympics today with a closing ceremony that's expected to dazzle with performances much different from the opening.
China Rules in Gold; U.S. Leads Overall
The Beijing Olympics will be remembered as the event at which the massive host nation put on a great - if sometimes controversial - show and flexed its imposing sports muscle on an international stage. But the Americans did pretty well, too. That's the perspective of the U.S. Olympic Committee, anyway, which said it was thrilled at its record medal haul and dignified performance despite some high-profile failures in track, boxing, baseball and softball.
Learn local customs to start business in Asia
With Asian countries developing into economic powerhouses, it pays to know titbits about how to converse, negotiate, dress, dine, and socialise when doing business with its people of the continent, says an US expert on cross-cultural communication. The way to a man's heart may be undoubtedly through his stomach but for potential business-seekers in Asia, learning basic facts of the people and their countries can work wonders, writes Mary Murray Bosrock in "Asian Business: Customs & Manners".
Was China truly ready for the Olympics?
For China the Olympic Games were the most important event of the last few decades, a showcase for its organisational capacities and proof of its athletes’ physical prowess as they triumphed in the medal count. It was a show that the government in Beijing wanted “free of politics” but which itself “politicised” first. Here is an analysis by Li Datong, a Chinese journalist fired for criticising censorship.
America’s Commercials at the Olympics
Most of the thousands of spots that ran expressed sentiments familiar to viewers of so-called big events on television. Patriotism is good. Striving for athletic achievement is noble. The world would be a better place if we all drank the same beverages, drove the same cars, shopped at the same stores and bought things with the same credit cards.
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