via WikipediaIf organizing mishaps would be an Olympic game, China would already have strikken gold. The WSJ identifies new problems as people who bought tickets for Olympic events could not get their tickets if the name on their application form was not exactly the same as the one on their passport.Problems occurred at the Bank of China in Beijing, in charge of handing over the tickets.
Eventually, the bank agreed to collect the forms and write authorization letters to Bocog on behalf of the ticket buyers, and the tickets were distributed. The whole process took around 2 hours for our source, though it seems not to be over yet. Later, he got a call from the BOC informing him that the bank actually wasn’t authorized to send the correction forms, so he’ll have to go back, collect his form and mail it to Bocog.When living in China, you might get used to this Chinese way of making regulations, causing havoc, correcting the regulations, but for relative outsiders it might be less funny. None of these barriers might be too high to take, but they certainly do not add to the international atmosphere Olympics should have.
I got meanwhile also a first complaint (so we need a few more before we get really worried) of visa problems for official visitors. One invidted official from Europe got actually a 15-day visa, while he needed a 30-day; issued by BOCOG and the IOC in Lausanne. We keep you informed.
5 comments:
I had no problem getting my tickets, but, of course, I have lived in China many years, so I know the "rules". In the post-911 era, similar problems can be encountered in America, so make sure every document says the same thing. Steven in Sichuan
My earthquake pictures at
http://www.mianyang-sichuan.com
This is hilarious, wow, the foreign media is going to be critical about EVERYTHING. What idiots, the application form says specifically, your name exactly as it appears in your passport, those people couldn't follow the directions and now they blame BOCOG for it? Please!
Actually, this problem dates back to mid-May, and the beginning of the Phase 3 ticekting process. It's amazing to me that it hasn't been fixed yet. For a first-person account of what it's like to go through this process, go here:
http://shanghaiscrap.com/?p=822
b.cheng - be careful who you call an idiot. The problem is not that people were unable to fill in their names exactly as they appear in their passport. That's not what the ticket application required.
Instead, the problem is this: the ticket application had separate input boxes for the ticket buyer's first and last names, respectively. It did not request a middle name, and there was/is no way for an applicant to include a middle name on the online application. As a result, applicants who have middle names were denied ticekts at the Bank of China outlets - through no fault of their own. That is to say: it was/is impossible to provide a middle name on the online ticket application.
And that's the fault of BOCOG and Ticketmaster, not the ticket buyer.
Another bad news! You waiting for their correction will be endless. One of my friend sent the correction application form by email a month ago but got no answer yet. I live in Beijing and sent my application a week ago, and the ticketmaster told me they didn't receive my application form. Can you image within the same city, a twenty minutes's ride to Ticketmaster would cost, more than a week ( God knows,maybe more ) for a letter?
After two hour's negotiation, I faxed my application and the copy of the passport, but they refused to gurantee when the corrction can be finished.Their is no such a word as efficiency in their dictionary.
Olympics will be in four weeks, I hope I can get my ticket before the game. God bless you and me !
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