BEIJING TODAY PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY March 21, 2008 – March 27, 2008 NO. 355 CN11-0120 HTTP://BJTODAY.YNET.COM CHIEF EDITOR: JIAN RONG NEWS EDITOR: YU SHANSHAN DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN
Shopping to tickle the ivories
Finding fields of flowers
Emerald Isle echoes Pages 12-13
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Survey shows multinationals short on responsibility Page 4
Air China trains Olympic attendants Prospective flight attendants practiced smiling during a training session in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, Tuesday. Air China, the official carrier of the Beijing Olympic Games, started to train its first batch of 34 candidates following a nationwide flight attendant selection. Photo by Shao Xing
Yao Ming may be first Olympic torchbearer
Page 16 Yao Ming
By Jackie Zhang The first leg of the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in China will be in Sanya, Hainan Province, and the first torchbearer may be Yao Ming, the Chinese basketball player now signed with the Houston Rockets, an NBA team. The responsible person from Sanya Administration of Culture and Sports told Xinhua that the torch relay route was decided. Liao Minxsheng, the bureau director, said the torch will arrive in Sanya on May 4. The relay will start at Tianyahaijiao, a famous CFP Photo site, and end on Fenghuang-
dao, Phoenix Island, China’s first international cruise liner port. Yao Ming may be selected as the first torchbearer and Yi Jianlian, another Chinese basketball player signed with the Milwaukee Bucks is an alternate candidate. The news was released yesterday by the Sanya Municipal Government. Organizers of the Beijing Olympics said Wednesday that the summer’s torch relay will continue as planned despite security concerns following the recent riots in Tibet. See TORCH/Page 2
Ethiopian hopeful won’t run if picked
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Harbin police bust slavery ring
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Hit-and-run driver ‘not guilty’
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Carry-on liquids allowed no more
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