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How Xi Jinping is staging the Olympics on his terms
Ahead of next month’s Winter Games, a look at how the idea took root in the 1990s with a Malaysian looking for a decent ski resort and is now a showcase of Chinese tenacity and a reflection of Xi’s leadership style.
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Paramilitary police officers walking past statues of the mascots of the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Steven Lee Myers, Keith Bradsher and Tariq Panja
(NYTIMES) - When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) met seven years ago to choose a host for the 2022 Winter Games, Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent a short video message that helped tip the scale in a close, controversial vote.
China had limited experience with winter sports. Little snow falls in the distant hills where outdoor events would take place. Pollution was so dense at times that it was known as the "Airpocalypse". Mr Xi pledged to resolve all of this, putting his personal prestige on what seemed then like an audacious bid.
