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August 25 人生不相见August 14 And the story continues...http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080814.BCOLYREPORTER14/TPStory/?query=MICKLEBURGH
China Daily reporter armed with a degree from B.C. universityROD MICKLEBURGH August 14, 2008 BEIJING -- The reporter from the state-owned China Daily who made headlines in Canada by grilling B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell on local 2010 Olympic controversies turns out to be a smart, 25-year-old with a degree in communications from Simon Fraser University. His incisive questions to the Premier at a news conference here this week surprised observers used to the tame reporting of Chinese members of the news media. But Hu Yinan said he wanted to go beyond the usual pap at such events and find out something real about Vancouver's preparations for the 2010 Winter Games. "It shouldn't just be, 'okay, we're all prepared. In 549 days, we welcome the world.' ... that sort of stuff," Mr. Hu said. "That doesn't tell anyone anything about Vancouver." He said he was not trying to offend Mr. Campbell, but didn't deny that he also thought it fair game to go after Vancouver and London, which is hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics, in light of the intense scrutiny Beijing organizers got from the Western news media in the months leading up to the current Games. "I don't believe China was treated fairly, and now there are reasons to ask tough questions about the next Olympics, whether it's Vancouver or London," he said. Mr. Hu joked that Mr. Campbell likely expected a typically lame query from the Chinese news media when he selected him to ask the first question. "Something like 'How did you find the opening ceremonies? Is this your first time to China?' Those kinds of questions." But, armed with his SFU communications degree and perhaps an example of a younger generation of more aggressive reporters in China, that wasn't for Mr. Hu. Instead, he put three specific questions to the Premier, asking him about the recent rock slide that closed the road to Whistler, the possibility of disruptive, anti-Olympics protests by the strident Anti-Poverty Coalition and cancellation of the Vancouver leg of China's Paralympic Torch Relay. The news media had been invited for Mr. Campbell's announcement of a new press centre at Robson Square in Vancouver for journalists not accredited by the International Organizing Committee to cover actual events of the 2010 Olympics. B.C. reporters covering the same announcement were stunned to find someone from the China Daily so knowledgeable about current events in the province, referring easily to the Sea-to-Sky Highway and a specific protest group, the APC. But Mr. Hu said he knows the territory, having spent six years in B.C. before returning to China in 2006, and he continues to keep up with what is happening there. Despite working for a paper owned and controlled by the state, Mr. Hu said he believes, like any good journalist, in writing the truth. He said the English-language China Daily, well known to foreigners because of its free distribution across the country, has changed from the days when it was considered a bastion of lapdog journalists writing ultradull stories with occasionally amusing turns of phrase because of an unfamiliarity with proper English. Even he has been surprised by the paper's improvement. "When I came here two years ago, we didn't even have space for investigative reports, for instance. Now we have that. I know we are regarded as a [Communist] Party mouthpiece, but we don't see it that way." He said it is no longer an embarrassment for a journalist to work for the China Daily. "And I'm going to continue to work there, until it gets even better." In the meantime, he intends to continue probing what's going on in Vancouver as the city prepares to host the 2010 Olympics. "The Vancouver slogan is: Our Time to Shine, but there's always some dark under the light." As for Mr. Hu's story about the news conference in yesterday's China Daily, it contained no mention of his questions to Mr. Campbell. For me, this lies at the heart of the Canadian media's coverage of the eventThe Campbell event, of course.... and the following comment was left by a pal back in Canada:
Jeremy K from Canada writes: I'm laughing my head off here at this article. the author seems stunned that a Chinese colleague has done his due diligence and fact checking before questioning Campbell. Is professionalism in journalism really so lacking that when it shows up everyone turns their head and gawks? or is the author betraying a subtle racism, expressing a sincere surprise that a Chinese guy who have his act together? August 13 Somehow, this made the newshttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080813.BCOLYREVERSAL13/TPStory/?query=campbellTables turn on Vancouver in 2010 Games grillingROD MICKLEBURGH August 13, 2008 BEIJING -- China was under intense scrutiny ahead of its Summer Olympics, and the host country's media yesterday decided it was time to turn the tables. Moments after announcing a new Winter Olympics press centre for Vancouver, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell was questioned closely about perceived problems with the 2010 Games. One of the questioners was a reporter for the China Daily, the ubiquitous, state-owned English-language newspaper that is available throughout China. Displaying a surprising grasp of issues and names back in British Columbia, the reporter asked the Premier about "the recent rockslide along the Sea-to-Sky Highway" that cut off the route from Vancouver to Whistler. Then, even more surprisingly, the questioner wanted to know about protest threats from a specific anti-Olympics activist group, the Anti-Poverty Committee.
"Will they try to block the road?" Mr. Campbell assured the reporter from China, where censorship and human-rights abuses are rife, that, while breaking the law would not be tolerated, "we will make sure there is a free flow of goods, people and expression during the 2010 Olympic Games." It was a sobering reminder that the international media will not be looking for jolly-good stories as Vancouver prepares to play host to the Winter Olympics in two years. The eyes of the world, which Games boosters like to trumpet will be focused on Vancouver, are looking for the bad, as well as the good. For their part, B.C. reporters homed in on the state of the notorious Downtown Eastside, which many believe will shock the international news media when they come to Vancouver for the Olympics. The Premier was asked what the neighbourhood's mean streets, currently crowded with addicts, homeless people and the mentally ill, will look like when the world comes calling in 2010. The area is barely a few hundred metres from the site of two of the Games' showcase events: ice hockey and the opening and closing ceremonies. Mr. Campbell vowed a different Downtown Eastside by 2010. "I think we are already seeing some improvements. I think we will see more," he said. "I think people who come from outside Vancouver will see communities striving to be even better. ...There will be significant improvements." He pointed to the large Woodward's redevelopment project that will have several hundred social-housing units, a dozen sites being developed specifically for social housing, government outreach programs and funds to spruce up the adjacent areas of Gastown, Chinatown and Strathcona. "I believe we are making some significant steps to improve the lives of those [in the Downtown Eastside]," Mr. Campbell said. "I don't see this as an area of problems. I see this as an area of possibilities." The Premier appeared somewhat nettled that he had travelled halfway around the globe to take in the Summer Olympics, and that the questions he faced made it seem as if he had never left home. Asked whether he was surprised by having to deal with domestic matters, Mr. Campbell said, "I've got three domestic reporters who are asking all the questions." Elaborating on the future of the Downtown Eastside, Mr. Campbell said the government's increased investment in the area had nothing to do with the coming Winter Olympics. "We're dealing with it because we think it's important to make it a healthier community to live in. ...We're dealing with literally thousands of citizens who have significant challenges in their lives." That takes time, Mr. Campbell said. "It's not something that can be done quickly. If it was, it would have been solved across the country, and around the world." The International Media Centre, with a price tag of $2.5-million, will be located at Robson Square. It will house several thousand journalists expected to come to Vancouver for the Olympics without International Olympic Committee accreditation to cover actual events. Mr. Campbell said another 10,000 accredited journalists will also be in the city to cover the Games. They will be based in the new convention centre. "Just as Beijing has rolled out the red carpet, so will Vancouver in 2010 welcome the world," Mr. Campbell said. The Premier said the state-of-the-art new facility will be the first "green certified" international media centre ever at the Olympics, with carbon-neutral emissions. At an early morning media availability today, Mr. Campbell categorically denied that there were any plans to move homeless individuals or other residents out of the Downtown Eastside before and during the Winter Olympics. "These people have neighbourhoods, too," the Premier said. "We are working to make those neighbourhoods healthier, with better services for people." Campbell fires back at Chinese criticsQuestions about homelessness, rock slide from government newspaper reporters stir responseJeff Lee, Vancouver SunPublished: Tuesday, August 12, 2008Premier Gordon Campbell stopped by Beijing's Main Press Centre Tuesday to sell his message about the state-of-the-art media centre the province is building in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games. Instead, he found himself in a political discussion with reporters from some of China's government-run media who wanted to use his press conference to focus on problems affecting the Vancouver Olympics. But the questions seemed to have more to do with political positioning than with eliciting information. When one reporter from the China Daily, considered by Westerners to be a government mouthpiece, zeroed in how Campbell will handle "anti-Olympic groups such as the Anti-Poverty Coalition," Campbell gave a political lesson of his own.
"In Canada we will be open to opportunities for people to express whatever views they have," he said. "There will not be opportunities to break the law, [but] we will make sure there will be full and equal expression throughout the 2010 Olympics." It was a diplomatic message not lost on any of the foreign reporters covering his conference. "I would have read it that way," said Tomas Bengtsson, a reporter with Sweden's Tidningarnas Telegrambyra. "I think [the Chinese media] get so tired of people coming here and criticizing China about its human rights that they wanted to point out Canada has problems, too." Campbell was also asked about the recent rock slide on the Sea to Sky Highway. He described the slide as "a 200-year event" and said there will be adequate contingencies in place for any problems the government foresees. "Clearly the rock slide that took place on the Sea to Sky Highway was something that wasn't expected," he said. Other reporters asked about whether Canada's lack of approved tourism destination status from the Chinese government will affect the Games. "I can tell you I am always hopeful that we will receive approved destination status," he said. "But I can tell you that even without that we've seen significant increases in Chinese tourists who come to British Columbia." Campbell also faced tough questions from several Vancouver reporters who asked about poverty and homelessness issues. He found himself talking about drug addiction, Vancouver's seedy Downtown Eastside, and the homeless and mentally ill on the streets. It clearly wasn't what he was expecting when he announced that the new media centre, which will be built at a cost of $2.5 million, will serve upwards of 3,000 reporters and editors who can't get International Olympic Committee accreditation to the 2010 Winter Games. In fact, none of the questions he received dealt with the 2,600 square-metre facility, which will be built at Robson Square. He gave a terse "no" when asked if he was surprised that government-run media would zero in on the issues of poverty and free speech in Canada. But the premier also didn't shirk from answering the questions, even though he knew that these issues would overtake his good-news message. And he lavished praise on the Beijing Organizing Committee, saying it had put on a "stupendous" event. He said Beijing's transportation plan and its volunteer program were exceptional and he hoped the Vancouver organizing committee will take lessons from them. Laura Ballance, who is coordinating construction and operation of the media centre, said it will go beyond anything done so far at the Olympics. "Our facility will be extremely technically advanced," she said. "It will have everything from broadcast feeds for television to green screens [used for camera backdrops]." The facility is scheduled to open in early 2010. Some of the costs may be recovered through sponsorships and supplier partnerships, Campbell said. jefflee@vancouversun.com
Premier surprised by China Daily's question on Sea-to-Sky
By BOB MACKIN, 24 HOURS
BEIJING: Premier Gordon Campbell wasn’t expecting this curveball.
The first reporter to stand during the question period of a Tuesday news conference in the Beijing International Media Centre was well-versed in Vancouver 2010’s weaknesses.
China Daily reporter Andy Yinan Hu asked Campbell how people would get between Vancouver and Whistler if another rockslide hits the Sea-to-Sky Highway and what would happen if Games opponents like the Anti-Poverty Committee try to block the road.
Campbell said every Olympics needs contingencies and Vancouver’s won’t be different. “The rockslide on the Sea to Sky was something that wasn’t expected, it was a 200-year event,” he said.
As for protesters? “In Canada there will be open opportunities for people to express whatever views they have,” Campbell said. “There will not be opportunities for them to break the law.”
Campbell’s news conference was to announce plans for the $2.5 million, non-accredited media centre for Vancouver 2010 at Robson Square. Like the BIMC, it will be the alternative media centre for 3,000 reporters who don’t have International Olympic Committee issued passes to the Games. Reporters in attendance, however, didn’t seem interested in further details about the Robson Square facility.
Canadian journalists peppered Campbell with questions about the security budget and the troubled Downtown Eastside. Campbell’s handlers eventually panicked and turned him toward Chinese journalists. They asked about B.C.’s water supply, use of alternative energy and the inability of most Chinese to visit B.C. because there is no approved destination status tourism treaty between Canada and China.
Beijinger Hu, who started it all out, spent seven years in Canada and studied communication at Simon Fraser University.
More on the BIMC
The Beijing International Media Centre is in the heavily secured Ge Hua Kai Yuan Grand Hotel in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. Workrooms offer free Internet and live feeds of Games events. There are constant news conferences. Tourism brochures and government-issued propaganda are aplenty. Unlike the Main Press Centre, one can actually get a cup of green Chinese tea. Not authentic Jasmine or Oolong, but the bagged Lipton type. Beggars can’t be choosers.
We’re Not the Best?
At Campbell's news conference, reporters were given a goodie bag containing a souvenir lapel pin, 2 GB thumb drive containing an electronic press kit and a First Nations talking stick in a wooden box.
Neither the talking stick’s box, the card attached to the pin nor the press release and folder contained the trademark “Best Place on Earth” slogan fed to B.C. residents in government advertising. Instead, the usual sunburst-and-mountains logo is accompanied by “Canada’s Pacific Gateway” with a cute, red maple leaf apostrophe.
Tank for the memories
Security was further tightened around both the BIMC and the official MPC on Tuesday. A column of People’s Liberation Army soldiers marched around the Ge Hua Kai Yuan Grand Hotel. Meanwhile, back at the Olympic Green, a PLA armed personnel carrier appeared in the morning next to the security checkpoint at the north entrance of the MPC. Reporters asked why it was there during the morning news conference, but BOCOG officials claimed they didn’t know it was there. August 09 从奥林匹亚到鸟巢:圣火将军黄启均(下)作为境外传递负担最重的圣火护卫:最具挑战的是圣火的安全
挑战一:劳心更胜于劳累
黄启均在火炬境外传递团队中属圣火护卫编制,食宿均和圣火护卫在一起。但他的日程跟包括圣火护卫们在内的绝大多数团队成员都不同。奥运圣火号专机每到全新的一站,这位堂堂企业老总的第一反应,就是赶快下飞机去装火炬。往往在这个工作完成后,就是清晨五六点钟了。黄启均永远只有打个盹的时间,因为天一亮,他就必须赶去庆典现场装圣火盆。
33天下来,同行的记者都知道护跑队里有个专门护火使者,终日难寻影踪。境外火炬传递,“其实我是真正的‘火炬手’,只要我在的站,火炬都一根一根地过我的手”,黄启均肯定地说:“我负责每天装火炬,一下飞机就找保证火种灯的油,然后装火炬、圣火盆,再在圣火盆点燃的那一刻负责圣火盆的开关,庆典仪式结束后再把它装好箱,送上车,转场。这就是我和雷涛(北京奥组委火炬接力中心综合保障处处长)每天一起干的活儿。”
在境外传递开始前,黄启均及其团队为确保万无一失,对祥云做了7000多次试验。最终,祥云火炬在传递全程的灭火率创造了0.5%的记录,小于黄启均与奥组委签约保证的1%,也远小于历届奥运会传递期间火炬的灭火率。
北京奥运圣火的境外传递艰苦卓绝:33天21个城市,没有四季,没有时差,没有休息。一路走完,每一名团队成员都很疲惫不堪。但对于黄启均来讲,累心才是最大的难题。专机抵达圣彼得堡后,他发现团队向俄方提供的技术要求图文并茂,十分详细,但由于双方对一些技术指标的理解不一样,致使俄方提供的气瓶和配件材料都不能适用于圣火盆。时间紧迫,亟需解决。因为不会俄语,黄启均抓来一名志愿者翻译,又遍地找司机,找齐人马之后,一行人立即赶赴郊区,找减压阀、气瓶和各种材料,虽然最终按时完成了火炬的安装测试,但黄启均还是直冒冷汗:万一没有找到……
幸而吉人天相,2008年8月8日后,所有的“万一”都将成为永久的回忆。
挑战二:靠人不如靠己
说到此,黄启均也是一肚子的故事。
“我们提前两天到达希腊,准备3月24日的取火仪式。抵达当晚,我们就到奥林匹亚学院去教希腊方安装火炬,用幻灯片、配英文翻译跟他们讲解,他们都说可以,也试装了。谁知希方可能因为是每4年就主持一次奥运火炬传递,对装火炬这样的事情不太重视,一个劲地“OK,OK”,“没问题,没问题”。我们很放不下心来,于是就在次日晚上,自己重新调试了第一棒火炬手的火炬。
“到点火仪式当天早晨,我给了希方一根我们调好的火炬,并和他们约定,在现场必须就用我们这一根火炬,绝对不能用他们自己装的,因为我不能完全保证他们装的火炬没有问题。同时,我自己又用报纸包了一根备用火炬,夹在腋下。谁知还没等我进场,这根备用的就被当地的便衣没收了。这时距点火还有一段时间。我就影子一样跟住他,不离左右地缠他把火炬还给我。可惜我们在场的没人懂希腊语,讲英语那些便衣也听不懂。后来,终于见到一个懂希腊语的华人,他帮我跟那位便衣理论了半天,对方还是说‘我不管’,就是不允许我带着它进去,还说我们不需要备用的,你就放在我这里,点完火后你到我这里拿回去。我说,那你写个收条给我啊?!那人依旧死活不给,最后还是点完火后,我才从他那里把火炬取回。”
“点火仪式结束后,我又一路狂追圣火运行团队,追了好几个小时。不追不行呀,因为希腊方没有给火炬加锡箔。锡箔为什么重要呢?火炬燃料本身气化速度很快,容易结冰,堵塞燃气管道。因为燃料是液态的燃气,气化的时候会迅速吸热。越燃烧,就越吸热。为了让燃烧速度和气化速度同步,我们设计了一条回热管,再用锡箔把气罐缠住,让它不断气化,然后再加温,这样来保证出气速度的均匀。”
“追上以后,我发现希方就用一辆货车拉着所有的装备,包括600根他们都装好了的火炬。我一看,一根都没有包上锡箔,根本就少了这道程序。没办法,这时候已经晚上了,必须要保证天亮以后的传递。我当时就一个人。我说你们就把车交给我吧,钥匙给我,车门打开。”
“我一个人爬进尾箱,翻箱倒柜地一根一根把火炬拆开,加锡箔,再重新装起来,弄了一个通宵。”
挑战三:遭遇暗算和伏击
一提起在美国的遭遇,黄启均的气就不打一处来。
“这是从开始就令人手足无措的一站。传递日当天,我们出发就晚了,传递路程又短,所以我必须马上赶到现场,把圣火盆装好。因为提前一天去装圣火盆,美方不让我装,说那东西装好以后,不保证第二天还能正常。而传递当天我提前去装的时候,又赶上封路,不让我们去,所以我们只能跟着大团队走,到了十二点去装圣火盆。”
目标——庆典仪式举办地,旧金山的赫尔曼广场。
在境外传递经过的全部21个城市,这是唯一未达成目标的一站。
“前面带路的小车,离我们大概30米远,已经快到目的地了。谁知道它拐过一个弯,一下子拐大了,我们的车又是大车,一下子被拉开了距离。车队速度一慢,一个藏独分子突然冲出警戒线,对着车猛吼。吼完后,这人看到车的速度不会对他自己的生命有威胁,就大字形地躺到地上。”
“随后,冲出的人越来越多,都躺在地上,上千藏独分子把我们的车围了个遍。我想完啦,圣火盆怎么装?我不是担心被人打的问题。我想,相信美国警方会来解困。结果,大家都来看热闹了。有人爬车,有人打车,砸车,扔水袋,混乱了。当时我就觉得惨了,因为过了三四分钟,警方都没来,这压力就大了。你说圣火盆装不了,庆典仪式怎么点啊?……离我们100米左右就是一排二三十辆摩托车,旁边都有警察,我就不明白他们为什么不过来。”
车窗的玻璃被迅速砸碎,黄启均频频拍照留证,但最终被车上的美方安保人员以勿激怒暴力分子的理由制止。于是,他和雷涛等几人被困车上,度过了毕生难忘的一个小时。其间,圣火团队一名叫亚当的澳大利亚专家对黄启均和雷涛建议说,你们两个是中国人,我们三个是外国面孔的,他们可能会先找你们砸。我们三个在前面,你们两个在后面,先在厕所里避一避吧。
雷涛回答道:我死也不会死在厕所里面。就是为奥运献身,我也要光明磊落一点。
一个小时后,美国警方的救援车辆终于冲开示威人群,将车上诸人抢出。赫尔曼广场的仪式取消了,庆典被临时转往机场,但圣火盆没有被点燃。黄启均回忆道:“在美国就是觉得很不可思议,很愤怒,也很担心,因为不能完成任务。”
作为最辛苦的护火人:最艰难但也最让他有成就感的是火炬本身
九运会以来,黄启均和他的华帝团队接连制造了城运会、农运会、大运会和十运会的火炬。他说,这和他从九运后就形成的火炬情结是分不开的。“因为华帝是做燃气具的,火炬是我们跟体育最巧妙的结合。而火炬又是一种图腾,一种象征。这是非常振奋人心的合作。”
于是到2003年非典时,黄启均就开始接触北京奥组委,表达了参与奥运会火炬制作的愿望。今日,他的火炬梦圆,他自己也于5月7日在广州作为火炬手参与了传递。但汶川地震后,这个爱火炬的人坐不住了。黄启均和他公司的另两名火炬手拍卖了心爱的火炬,捐给了灾区人民。华帝也在5月14日就出动200人,拉了200台灶具,和一车面、大米、鸡蛋,赶赴灾区,搭建了40个帐篷,烧水、煮粥供灾民吃喝。
“奥运是参与,更是奉献,”黄启均平静地说。随着奥运会的开幕,他的任务也将告一段落。“火将军”也有休息的时候,但休息是为了更好的工作。“残奥会的火炬也是我的活,但现在还有几天,我总算可以放松放松,看看比赛了。” 从奥林匹亚到鸟巢:圣火将军黄启均(上)2008年8月8日晚,当李宁在全球40亿电视观众面前天人合一地点燃北京奥运会主火炬塔的时候,在现场的黄启均长长地出了一口气,绷了4个月的神经倏然松弛。这个持多重身份的神秘人物对这一刻期盼已久。他是北京奥组委圣火传递技术保障部门的负责人,从春末的希腊到盛夏的北京,如履薄冰地伺候祥云火炬穿越了境外21个城市,行程9.7万多公里;他是2万多名北京奥运火炬手中的一员,不过跑了一棒,却被公认为是负担最重的火炬手;他又是一名年纪最长的圣火护卫,和最头牌的火炬专家。
多种身份的神秘人物:最熟悉圣火三种载体的人
黄启均以两个截然不同的身份出现在北京奥运火炬接力的内部手册上:北京奥组委技术顾问和圣火护卫。
北京奥运圣火征程万里,从3月底在希腊上路,到今晚圣火点燃一刻,一直伴随着它的人屈指可数。黄启均可能是他们中最低调的人。也难怪,他不仅极少在观众如潮的传递日被看到与团队其他成员同时出现,而且像所有圣火护卫一样,直至今日,外界对他几乎一无所知。
与一些已成为“全民偶像”的护卫相比,黄启均过于瘦小精干的外表,也使他的工作内容显得更加神秘。
但当圣火在鸟巢主火炬塔点燃的那一刻,一切神秘都在这个中年人的泪水中烟消云散。“我一下子就放松下来了,累,但是又激动,”他在接受中国日报的独家专访时说:“我的任务完成了。”
没有人比他更熟悉北京奥运圣火的三种载体——祥云火炬、圣火盆和火种灯。没有人对这些载体肩负着比他更大的责任,没有人更有权利在点火仪式结束后喜极而泣,尽情宣泄成功的兴奋。
请记住黄启均,北京奥运祥云火炬的制造者,圣火盆、火种灯的设计者、制造者,和直到主火炬塔被点燃前,圣火安全的重要负责人。
作为头号火炬专家:最揪心的是开幕式的点火
最初领命时,黄启均最不担心的就是开幕式上的点火仪式。但直到上月末开始亲身参与开幕式点火方案的验证工作时,他才意识到问题的严重性。
北京奥运开幕式,几十亿双眼睛共同关注,点火的方案必须万无一失。作为火炬保障的技术负责人,黄启均必须对点火方案了然于胸,了解其每一步的详细设计,进而评估火炬能否满足该方案的要求。
但当看到点火仪式方案时,黄启均大吃一惊。最后一棒火炬手的点火方法相当特殊,技术难度非常之大。他意识到,主创人员在设计点火方式的时候,似乎没有怎么考虑到鸟巢上空复杂的作业环境。当然,方案是不能变了。黄和他的团队迎难而上,细查北京的天气,根据场馆的不同风向,模拟这么大一个建筑在不同气候条件下的最大风速。根据几百次的试验分析,黄的技术组对火炬又再次进行了技术改造。
直到本月初的某晚,黄启均还在做试验。在又一次改进过火炬燃烧系统后,团队的3个人跑到院子里,拿着火炬打赌谁能用随便什么方式搞灭它。结果谁都搞不灭。轮到黄启均的时候,他用打棒球的方式以最快的速度把火炬自下而上地一甩。由于用力过大,惯性使整个火炬的芯脱离而去,“呜”地在空中画了一条火的弧线,跃过一条马路,跨过一个院子,划过一台车,砸在另一条路中间,就像一团火球蹦出来,重重落在地上。
火还是没有灭。
尽管彩排了多次,火炬都没在空中灭过,黄启均还是心有余悸,毕竟这场仪式太重要了,也太隆重了,而且按他的话讲,点火方法也“太恐怖了一点”:7棒火炬手在场馆里面传递结束之后,一条悬吊把主火炬手吊起来,升到场馆的顶部,绕着鸟巢飞转一圈,然后点燃长十米左右的鸟巢主火引线。
对观众来说,开幕式的点火仪式是一场难以忘怀的视觉盛宴。但只有黄启均知道,这背后的风险有多大。“你想,几十米的高空风有多大?!下面三级风,上面就有六级风,况且鸟巢的风很复杂。而且它没有预案,就只有一个人吊着,必须保证万无一失!”他在开幕式前夜忧心忡忡地告诉中国日报记者。
黄启均为最后一棒火炬手的火炬特别多灌了7克燃料。据他估算,主火炬手在鸟巢上空转一圈要4分50秒左右。虽然祥云火炬在一般情况下可以燃烧15分钟,但由于开幕式的需要,火苗被调高到了40厘米。用他的话说就是:“多一点燃料,保险系数就高一点。”
除此之外,这个45岁的男人能做的,就只剩下拭目以待了。 August 06 姚周年 |
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