Chinese groups celebrate athletes
Chinese groups celebrate athletes
Colourful displays attract hundreds to Hill
Cassandra Drudi, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, August 11, 2008
Chants of "Go, China, Go" and "Go, Canada, Go" rang out on Parliament Hill yesterday as several hundred people from Ottawa's Chinese community gathered to celebrate the 2008 Beijing Olympics with an afternoon of dance and martial arts performances.
Groups of drummers and dancers in brightly-coloured costumes gathered to ready themselves for performance, while nearby, a continuous stream of attendees posed with five people wearing the inflatable costumes of the brightly-coloured mascots of the Games, eager to have their photos taken with Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini.
People came from as far away as Toronto and Montreal for the event, said Katie Ng, one of the organizers.
The day's focus was on the excitement of the Games themselves and the hard work of all the athletes -- not on any of the political issues, such as Tibet and China's human rights record, which have been generating protests at the Chinese Embassy in the past week.
"I am really focusing on the Olympics," Ms. Ng said.
"(The athletes) have worked very, very, very hard, and I think we have to concentrate on giving them recognition. We are going to give them all the encouragement to come home with gold, silver and bronze medals."
Riven Zhang, 33, wound through the crowd, handing out homemade Olympic flags.
"Everybody's happy. Everybody shows the emotion of this event, especially after the opening ceremonies," he said.
Mr. Zhang is so excited about the Beijing Games that he watched the opening ceremonies three times.
Ottawa West-Nepean MP and Environment Minister John Baird briefly addressed the crowd that had "come together to celebrate the Olympic spirit."
Because of the size of the crowd, the RCMP had a significant presence at the event with 45 officers -- including members of both the demonstrations and special events and public order units -- on Parliament Hill yesterday, said Cpl. Don Michaud, site commander of the RCMP's demonstrations and special events unit.
"When you have a lot of people, you have to have a lot of officers, just in case something happens," Cpl. Michaud said.
On Friday, a recorded message about an RCMP tactical squad operation on the Hill planned for yesterday made its way to a Maritime web developer's pager. The message told its members to meet at the force's Vanier Parkway headquarters dressed in Level 2 uniform, which includes a vest and sidearm. They were also told to bring their helmets and gas masks. The message said the operation was in relation to the Beijing Olympics, but did not provide any further details.
Cpl. Michaud said he heard about the leaked message yesterday morning, but said the tactical squad was not involved in security at yesterday's event.
"The only reason we would call the tactical troupe is if we have a situation. That's what they're deployed for. You don't bring a tactical troupe here, especially at an event," he said. "It wouldn't make any sense."
The officers at yesterday's event were wearing regular uniforms, with no helmets or gas masks visible. "It's our standard issue -- nothing fancy," Cpl. Michaud said.
Yesterday's event was organized by a number of community groups, including the Ottawa Chinese Community Association and the Chinese Heritage Centre, Ms. Ng said. She is a member of both those organizations.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
Chinese groups celebrate athletes
Colourful displays attract hundreds to Hill
Cassandra Drudi, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, August 11, 2008
Chants of "Go, China, Go" and "Go, Canada, Go" rang out on Parliament Hill yesterday as several hundred people from Ottawa's Chinese community gathered to celebrate the 2008 Beijing Olympics with an afternoon of dance and martial arts performances.
Groups of drummers and dancers in brightly-coloured costumes gathered to ready themselves for performance, while nearby, a continuous stream of attendees posed with five people wearing the inflatable costumes of the brightly-coloured mascots of the Games, eager to have their photos taken with Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini.
People came from as far away as Toronto and Montreal for the event, said Katie Ng, one of the organizers.
The day's focus was on the excitement of the Games themselves and the hard work of all the athletes -- not on any of the political issues, such as Tibet and China's human rights record, which have been generating protests at the Chinese Embassy in the past week.
"I am really focusing on the Olympics," Ms. Ng said.
"(The athletes) have worked very, very, very hard, and I think we have to concentrate on giving them recognition. We are going to give them all the encouragement to come home with gold, silver and bronze medals."
Riven Zhang, 33, wound through the crowd, handing out homemade Olympic flags.
"Everybody's happy. Everybody shows the emotion of this event, especially after the opening ceremonies," he said.
Mr. Zhang is so excited about the Beijing Games that he watched the opening ceremonies three times.
Ottawa West-Nepean MP and Environment Minister John Baird briefly addressed the crowd that had "come together to celebrate the Olympic spirit."
Because of the size of the crowd, the RCMP had a significant presence at the event with 45 officers -- including members of both the demonstrations and special events and public order units -- on Parliament Hill yesterday, said Cpl. Don Michaud, site commander of the RCMP's demonstrations and special events unit.
"When you have a lot of people, you have to have a lot of officers, just in case something happens," Cpl. Michaud said.
On Friday, a recorded message about an RCMP tactical squad operation on the Hill planned for yesterday made its way to a Maritime web developer's pager. The message told its members to meet at the force's Vanier Parkway headquarters dressed in Level 2 uniform, which includes a vest and sidearm. They were also told to bring their helmets and gas masks. The message said the operation was in relation to the Beijing Olympics, but did not provide any further details.
Cpl. Michaud said he heard about the leaked message yesterday morning, but said the tactical squad was not involved in security at yesterday's event.
"The only reason we would call the tactical troupe is if we have a situation. That's what they're deployed for. You don't bring a tactical troupe here, especially at an event," he said. "It wouldn't make any sense."
The officers at yesterday's event were wearing regular uniforms, with no helmets or gas masks visible. "It's our standard issue -- nothing fancy," Cpl. Michaud said.
Yesterday's event was organized by a number of community groups, including the Ottawa Chinese Community Association and the Chinese Heritage Centre, Ms. Ng said. She is a member of both those organizations.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
