There are many Olympics co-host cities surrounding Beijing. What do residents in those cities think about the Olympics?

It’s half way through the Olympics and the atmosphere in Beijing remains intense. However, it isn’t the same for ordinary residents in the co-host cities such as Tianjin and Qinhuangdao. Two young men in their mid 20s said that they didn’t go to the Games because the tickets are too expensive. They felt the Olympics only benefits a few businesses and suppresses the rest.

When asked about what impact the Olympics has on their local economy and people’s lives in Qinhuangdao, one of the young men said, “It’s good for some businesses but not so much for others.”

“For some businesses, the authority forced them to shut down fearing they would damage the city’s image—this is not just for street vendors but also for some shops. The authority abused the residents just for the image. Many people originally thought they would make extra money from the Olympics, but it turned out to be the opposite. The taxis do well, they are not regulated by the odd/even license-plate number rule. Many people who own cars now take taxis.”

We talked to a taxi driver in Tainjin. He didn’t seem very excited about the Olympics because of the corrupted officials. “Corruption is everywhere; it’s especially bad in Tianjin. I don’t mind if the officials are corrupted but they should at least try to comfort the people. We just want to have enough to eat and not worry about our lives too much. If the officials have meat, then at least let us have some soup—they don’t even let us have bowls! How can we not be upset!?”

“The authority did not compensate those whose houses were demolished (because of the Olympics) or properly relocate them. The officials can’t be perfect but they should at least try to satisfy most people.” added the driver.

The two young men also talked about impact of the Olympics on northeastern China, which is remote from Beijing geographically. “Cement plants have been forced to suspend operations, so are the coal and iron mines. The mines in the northeast all suspended operations for the fear of pollution and mining accidents.”

“So the mines will resume work after the Olympics?” asked the reporter. “No, there is still the Special Olympics,” the young man replied.

These types of discussions can be heard everywhere on the street, but never on the media. The Olympics is not to be criticized as ordered by Beijing.