U.S. cyclists apologize for wearing masks upon arrival in Beijing

Thursday 07th August, 04:55 AM JST

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13 Comments

DS at 08:03 AM JST - 7th August

Why apologize? Many Chinese themselves are intelligent enough to wear masks as they go about their daily business. THe cyclists are merely following their lead...
rajakumar at 09:18 AM JST - 7th August

Good, to apologize and be humble. Way to go US cyclists and games 2008 unity.
dendychou at 10:24 AM JST - 7th August

DS,you does not understand the most basic politeness as a person.in fact i don't know air very well in beijing,u just got the news from media of ur own country.u know i have never find any good news from bbc site and other western website,they alwayse bespatter chinese government.of couse we are honoured that olympic games can held in beijing ,our government have taken a lot of measure to reduce the pollution in some large cities for the beijing olympic games in china,and the quality of air is really improve! i dare to say we do the most efforrt to prepare the beijing olympic games!i don't why foreign medias alwayse like to attack chinese people.and i wanna ask u a question,if u were chinese,what;s ur feeling when u see this sentence "Why apologize? Many Chinese themselves are intelligent enough to wear masks as they go about their daily business. THe cyclists are merely following their lead..."
DS at 10:32 AM JST - 7th August

The too little and too late actions by the Beijing regime to solve the pollution problems are being shown as pretty much pointless. Even IF Beijing were to make a dent in the pollution, the cities and regions around Beijing are still spewing toxins into the atmosphere.

The media is NOT attacking "the chinese people". Dont take it personally. The media IS attacking the government, because the government in china is basically a brutal and murderous dictatorship.

If I were Chinese and saw that sentence or situation, I would be ashamed. Ashamed because my country was destroying it's future just to make a few dollars, and to puff up some false pride to the rest of the world.
thedeath at 12:31 PM JST - 7th August

i think beijing should a apologize for her pollution which cause so much concern to every athletes / spectator going overthere.
Xennon at 12:55 PM JST - 7th August

While I don't 100% agree with DS, I think he does make a point. IMO, it was rather silly (and a stab at China) by wearing masks right off the plane inside the airport.

But as DS said, Chinese all over the country wear masks on a daily basis and when in Rome.....
TonyUS at 01:20 PM JST - 7th August

And at the same time local Chinese walking around with masks on.
TonyUS at 01:21 PM JST - 7th August

Who's idea was it for them to apologize any way?
presto345 at 04:59 PM JST - 7th August

“The wearing of protective masks upon our arrival into Beijing was strictly a precautionary measure we as athletes chose to take, and was in no way meant to serve as an environmental or political statement,

I watched this on TV. It looked offensive. If they were that worried about the air quality in Beijing they should have stayed at home.
TheNoSpinZone at 05:02 PM JST - 7th August

presto345, I agree.

I am a loyal US supporter, bt these guys portrayed a poor image of the US to the rest of the world.
taiko666 at 05:06 PM JST - 7th August

dendychou: You're whinging. The BBC coverage seems pretty even handed. For all the (factual) accounts of the pollution, there are articles like this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7511876.stm, which feature nothing but praise for the Chinese.
shayouzoku at 09:22 PM JST - 7th August

I would have shown up in a pressurized astronaut suit with external oxygen tanks, but that's just me.
TonyUS at 02:07 PM JST - 8th August

dendychou. If any one and I would like to repeat, everyone that criticizes CHina, probably 99% is aimed at the leaders of China and not the people. If it was not for the people of China that has been so isolated by the Communists leaders over the years , other countries would have nothing to do with China to begin with. So do not take these criticisms too personal because they are not aimed at the people but mainly criticisms towards the leaders of China for the better good of you and the people. Which I believe has done much in the past to the present for the people of China with rights and openness. It is not a strange site to see every day Chinese citizens with white face masks on going about their daily lives. They were given these masks to wear at their own discretion and they wore them, I see no reason to say it was an embarrassment to anyone when the leaders of Beijing know very well the problem with the air quality there and also the people of China that makes it an everyday norm to wear the masks. Some day we will all witness the people of China having a say on all matters within China, Activist groups that the government will have to appease on issues just like with other free societies around the world,. Then we will see the qualities of many issues about China improve because the people will be able to demand it . Besides, with out pollution controls in place , these athletes arriving there have no idea what chemicals are in the air that they were getting off the plane to breath. I think that can be a litle worrying to anyone , easpecially well conditioned athletes