Olympic flame related events

The "Harmonious Journey" of the Beijing Olympic Flame is a global journey that challenges people's psychological and physiological limits. From the beautiful spring scenery in Almaty, the cold spring weather in London and Paris, the passionate tango in Buenos Aires, to the pouring rain in Dar es Salaam, the scorching sun and the vast night in Muscat, in various extreme states Countless touching stories happened there. Xinhua News Agency reporters who followed the torch all the way recorded the top ten scenes.

Scene 1: The audience is enthusiastic

When the Olympic torch was being relayed at night in Muscat, a group of overseas Chinese and Indians living there held a long banner to greet the Olympic Games. The torch saluted with the slogan of the Beijing Olympics - "One World, One Dream" written on it. Their own actions are the best interpretation of this concept.

Everywhere the sacred flame goes, it is warmly welcomed by the local people. In Almaty, 300,000 people spontaneously took to the streets to welcome the Holy Fire, and the whole city was in an unprecedented festive atmosphere; in St. Petersburg, 700,000 residents poured into the streets, and the blazing Holy Fire made them forget the cold spring; In Buenos Aires, there was a spectacular scene of tens of thousands of people following the Olympic flame; in Muscat, a group of children walked together 6 kilometers to the relay in the mountains in order to witness the Olympic flame, which visited the Gulf region for the first time. The route awaits the arrival of the Holy Fire.

Seeing these enthusiastic audiences, Zhang Ming, executive director of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Operation Team, sighed again and again: "The torch makes us feel its powerful charm, cohesion and appeal."

Scene 2: The disabled torchbearer defends the dignity of the torch with his or her body

When the Olympic torch was being passed on in Paris, a group of "Tibetan independence" elements fought hard against the disabled torchbearer Jin Jing who was sitting in a wheelchair, trying to snatch it away The torch in her hand. Jin Jing was not afraid in the face of danger and used her disabled body to protect the torch and defend its dignity. According to foreign reports, Jin Jing embodies the strong and unyielding spirit of the Chinese nation. And people also remember the ugly face of the "Tibetan independence" element, which was a symbol of barbarism and shamelessness.

Scene 3: The flame guards protect the flame with their flesh and blood

The Olympic flame encountered shameless difficulties from lawless elements such as "Tibetan separatists" in London and Paris. Tomatoes, rotten eggs, The mineral water bottle was thrown at the flame guard mixed with bad words. The young men did not fight back, did not retaliate when scolded, and used civility and restraint to respond to each other's brutality and despicability, guarding the sacred flame without being desecrated in any way. Zhang Ming, who was sitting in the command car, witnessed all this and was so sad that he could hardly restrain himself. Afterwards, she said that as a mother, she felt that her child was being abused, and her heart was bleeding.

Scene 4: Overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese are deeply patriotic

The torch was treated coldly in London and Paris, which made the overseas Chinese in the United States very angry; they spontaneously rushed to San Francisco to form a "convoy" of 100,000 people for the torch. Army. The starting point of the San Francisco Torch Relay was filled with patriotic flags, and overseas Chinese put up various slogans to express their love for their motherland and their support for the Beijing Olympics. A young man named Zou Zhou took a seven-hour flight from North Carolina to come here. He said he would run all the way to accompany the torch. As the "Tibetan independence" elements were extremely vicious and started violent and sabotage activities, the torch relay was temporarily changed its route, which frustrated the wishes of most Chinese and overseas Chinese to witness the torch with their own eyes, leaving a big regret.

Scene 5: The "Iron Lady" works hard

The torchbearer operation team led by Gu Min is a small "women's army" composed of three people. They shoulder the heavy responsibility of transporting and transporting the torch. important task of the hand. Their arms and hands were all covered with scars, some were burned by torch fuel tanks, and some were injured by torches. They are also responsible for the difficult and meticulous tasks of overcoming various language barriers to communicate with the torchbearers and planning the locations before operation. They sleep for just over an hour each operating day. Because of the heavy workload, they rarely have time to rest even in the hotel. Gumin said that every time they board a plane, it is the most relaxing moment for them because it means that the work is temporarily over. Although the three "Iron Ladies" seriously lacked rest, they were full of energy and high morale, and made no mistakes in their work.

Scene 6: The spokesperson is selfless

Qu Yingpu, the spokesperson of the Olympic flame operation team, has a master's degree from Harvard University. In dealing with Chinese and foreign media, especially Western media, He gave full play to his skills in both Chinese and English, as well as his tact and flexibility, which promoted communication between the operation team and the news media and eliminated various misunderstandings. His work diary has also been excerpted and reprinted by some Western newspapers. When the Olympic torch relay was disrupted by "Tibetan independence" protesters in London and Paris, he became the busiest person, and his cell phone kept ringing. Qu Yingpu was so busy dealing with the media that she forgot to use her own personal mobile phone, and every call was made via international long-distance roaming. After a few days, the phone bill has exceeded 10,000 yuan, and all of it has to be deducted from his personal account.

Qu Yingpu leads a professional team that serves the media. Another spokesperson, Li Ping, and press officials such as Peng Jie, Lu Chuan, and Zhang Liang also fulfilled their duties and created the best conditions for media interviews. Peng Jie drags her thin body up and down to take care of all media. After a busy day, she looks exhausted every time; once she vomited due to overwork after boarding a chartered flight.

Scene 7: Running six kilometers with a heavy load

When the Olympic torch was relayed in Dar es Salaam, because he could not get into the media car, China Daily reporter Hu Yinan wanted to cover a complete interview. Standing in the torch relay, I decided to follow him throughout the race. Carrying an interview bag containing two laptops and other supplies, he followed the torch to take photos and interviews, and was very busy. In this way, he kept running the entire 6,000 meters. The young man was a 10,000-meter and marathon runner when he was in school. The 6,000-meter run was never a problem, but this time he felt a little tired. At the end of the final celebration, he was lying on a chair, fighting back fatigue to organize photos and write manuscripts.

Scene 8: Logistics service "feeling like home"

From checked baggage to passport management, as well as the food, clothing, accommodation and transportation of the torch team, there are so many details of logistics services, all of which must be managed by the logistics team to complete the specific implementation. Team leader Yeo Shimin is a 63-year-old energetic old man. One thing he always talks about is "we must take good care of everyone in the team." For this reason, the old comrade only sleeps for about three hours a day. Every time he goes to the back office, everyone can always see his busy figure. He has the typical selfless enthusiasm of the older generation for his work.

The back office opens when the main team arrives and closes when the main team leaves. Under the leadership of Yeo Shimin, the office works efficiently and orderly, creating a home-like atmosphere for the main team. Dong Huagang and Wang Ting took good care of everyone's checked luggage. Pang Ke was busy handling the customs procedures for the team's entry and exit almost every day, and counting more than 100 green leather official passports of the entire team, claiming that his face was "lit green." Zhou Yuewu, the "God of Wealth" from the Bank of China, often works in the back office from midnight to dawn after sorting out the cumbersome financial accounts every day.

Scene 9: A second warm home

Except from Beijing to Almaty, several other city-to-city transfers of the Torch team were conducted at night. Long haul flight. For example, the three consecutive flights from Paris to San Francisco, from San Francisco to Buenos Aires, and from Buenos Aires to Dar es Salaam all took more than 10 hours. We spend more time on planes than sleeping in hotel beds. Therefore, the "Olympic Torch" charter flight has become everyone's second home. The attentive and considerate service provided by the flight attendants made everyone feel like they were back home.

The Chinese embassy in the country where the city is being delivered is another home for the torch team. The Turkish Embassy provided each person with two bags of dried fruits, and the Argentine Embassy hosted the team for a Chinese dinner, allowing each team member to feel the warmth of being cared for by their relatives in a foreign country. When the chartered flight made a technical stop in Luanda, the Chinese Ambassador to Angola boarded the plane to greet them, which made everyone feel even more cordial.

Scene 10: Working without fear of danger

Before the Olympic torch relay started in San Francisco, a story that most people didn’t know happened.

At that time, five torch team members headed by Lei Tao drove from the starting site to the celebration ceremony. As soon as their car left the starting site, they were blocked by a large group of "Tibetan independence" elements, and the car windows were blocked by these irrational people. Thugs smashed. An American police officer sitting in the car immediately called more than 20 colleagues through the intercom. They held hands to form a channel and rescued the five staff members. Since there was still work to be done at the ceremony, Lei Tao and others insisted on rushing over, but the American police refused to let them go because there were many dangers along the way. It was not until they received the order from the command car that Lei Tao and others returned to the starting site under the protection of the American police.

Afterwards, the reporter asked Lei Tao if he was afraid at the time. He said that at that time, all he thought about was that there was work to do, and he didn’t think much about anything else.