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Anorak News | America Invades

America Invades

by | 17th, October 2006

THEY’RE planting trees in Beijing.

When the Olympics reaches China for 2008, there will be millions of trees sucking up the poisonous air and making the capital clean and fresh smelling.

Nothing is being left to chance. Although even the Chinese can’t control all of nature. The People’s Daily newspaper says the invasive American White Moth has been “sneaking into China from its northeastern border since 1979 and is now seriously threatening trees and crops in Beijing and five provinces”.

Yeah, the American moth, the great gossamer winged Satan, is “sneaking in”.

“Beijing is preparing to host a green Olympics in 2008,” says Wu Jian, chief engineer of the State Forestry Administration. “Without timely control, the moth may turn the green Olympics into a brown one by eating all the leaves from Beijing’s trees.”

America and the West must not be allowed to destroy the Games. And while a spray is engineered to destroy the American moth, and keep Beijing as green as a Chinese Army tank, the Times brings news of the official mascots.

The five Friendlies will have even more impact on so much running and jumping than Athena and Phevos, the mascots for the Athens 2004 Olympics.

The five Beijing mascots are cartoon renditions of a panda, a carp, a Tibetan antelope, a swallow and the Olympic flame. They come in the five colours of the Olympic rings.

“They reflect the cultural diversity of China as a multiethnic country," says Liu Qi, President of Beijing Organising Committee.

No argument there. But the name is not to everyone’s liking. The Times says “Friendlies” is too easily mistaken for “Friendless” or “Friend lies”.

So the mascots have been renamed. From now on the five will be called Fuwa. A spokesman for the Games says: “Fuwa reads more smoothly. And we hope it helps the Chinese people to understand the mascots better. If they read about the Friendlies they might get confused.”

Fuwa is based on a Chinese word. As the Times says: “Fuwa is a term popular in southern China to describe children and links the character for ‘good fortune’ with a popular and familiar southern term for baby.”

And now there is nothing to stop the Games from being a roaring success. Unless, of course, the American moth mistakes Fuwa Nini for a tree…



Posted: 17th, October 2006 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink