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BEIJING, April 17 – A group of enterprising editors have launched an all out PR campaign to drum up excitement and support for the coming Olympic Games in Beijing this August.
After weeks the Olympic torch relay placing China and its international policies being placed squarely at the center of what has become in many countries an organized street riot, some in the Beijing community are responding by rolling out a concerted PR campaign in the city that is to host the games in little over three months.
All around the capital city tonight, bumper stickers boldly proclaiming “Beijing Jia you,” or “Go Beijing” can be found. From bars to metro walls to taxis, the stickers are everywhere. KFC, one of the largest Western-style fast food restaurants in China has also picked up the promotion.
Launched by the Legal Evening News and popular internet portal Sina.com, the promotion is apparently the spontaneous brain child of a team of editors. “The government has absolutely no idea about our plans and we did not inform them beforehand,” Wang Jia, one the paper’s editors told the South China Morning Post.
The stickers are being distributed for free by department stores, cinemas, KFC, travel agencies and gas stations with the hope that some of Beijing’s 3 million cars will sport the red and yellow slogan through the Olympics in August.
Beijing as a city has finally gotten tired of being dragged through the mud it would seem and is trying to focus attention again on the city and the promise that the Olympics held for the entire country back in 2001 when the Games were given to China. For tonight at least, the city relived that joy again.
Thats a bit more like it ! Mentioning the night Beijing won brings back memories – I had just flown in from a week in North Korea and most of Beijing’s expats were drinking it up in the old Franks Place by the Worker’s Stadium. When Samaranch opened the envelope and said “Beijing” the place just went mental. We all then headed off to Tiananmen Square and an impromptu party began – fireworks went off and some of the officials from Zhongnanhai came to join the crowds – including then President Jiang Zemin…it lasted until 2am and was a real blast. Beijing sometimes can really let it’s hair down when it wants to. It was certainly a great evening. Fingers crossed the Olympics themselves start to show off what China is really all about.