RICHMOND, B.C. - The first group of B.C. public servants and students who'll staff the B.C.-Canada Olympic pavilion at the Beijing Summer Games boarded flights to the Chinese capital Wednesday, armed with smiles and training to dodge any dicey political questions they may face.
Pavilion director Bette Stirling, part of this first group of 35 people, said the B.C. residents who'll act as hosts and guides in the two-storey building just off Tiananmen Square are well aware of the politics overshadowing the Beijing Games.
"We've gone through media training and we'll be meeting with the Canadian embassy in Beijing and going through training there also,'' said Stirling.
"We'll have communications people full time in the pavilion, along with some security people that the federal government's provided us. We'll pass those incidents or questions over to that group.''
Stirling said she does not believe security will be a problem at the 2,000-square-metre pavilion, located "kitty corner'' to Tiananmen Square, which some have speculated could be the site of protests before or during the Games.
"We have strong security measures in place, a lot of security, a lot of Beijing police that will be at the pavilion,'' she said.
The run-up to the Games this summer has been marked by increasing protests over China's human rights record and especially its policies in Tibet.
The international Olympic torch relay's stops in Europe featured protesters jostling with police as they tried to snatch the torch. In San Francisco it reached the level of farce as runners avoided the announced route, ducking protesters and disappointing Games supporters.
Iris Dube, who works at the provincial Crown counsel office in Cranbrook, B.C., said she's not worried about what she may encounter.
"We have communications staff who will be dealing with that, so we won't have to specifically,'' said Dube, who was among more than 600 B.C. public servants who applied for a handful of hosting jobs at the pavilion.
She said it's a "fabulous opportunity to experience a new culture in a safe setting and a controlled environment, and we're proud of who we are.''
The group is made up of provincial, federal and Vancouver municipal employees, as well as students from the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business.
Groups will work six-week rotations at the pavilion, which will feature exhibits about B.C., Canada and the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics on the first floor and a business-oriented program on the second.
The pavilion is slated for a "soft opening'' May 1, with the official opening May 22, attended by B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and International Trade Minister David Emerson, the Vancouver MP responsible for the 2010 Games.
