Beijing excited, dismisses controversy as Olympics begin

By HUIZHONG WU and SAM McNEIL
Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — Many Chinese are filled with pride as the Beijing Olympics begin. It doesn’t matter that the city just held the Summer Games 14 years ago, or that the country had to artificially construct snow, or that the U.S. and several other Western countries were staging a diplomatic boycott over Beijing’s internment of a large part of its minority Uyghur population. Even though the Olympics are being held with strict COVID-19 prevention measures, there is still a festive air in the capital city.