From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

China and the legacy of the Olympic Games.

Hello again, I'm Armin Alony, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

Starting Friday,

the world may start focusing on Olympic athletics, but the host country will never be out of the

spotlight. China has blocked the internet, cracked down on dissidents, and after three days of

blue skies, Beijing is under another blanket of smog. On to the point, China's accused of breaking

promises and tarnishing the legacy of the games. But to the point, China's accused of breaking promises and tarnishing the legacy

of the Games. But are the Olympics a sure path from despotism to democracy? We'll look at what China

does not want us to see, as well as what's on display, including architecture that rivals the

forbidden city and the Great Wall. On reporter's notebook later on, should the case of the anthrax letters be closed.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica

and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation

and the John D. and Catherine

T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren. I'm only back with To the Point. The promise of the

Beijing Olympics was a healthier, freer, more open society. But with the games about to get

underway, the world is seeing smog, the roundup of dissidents at a crackdown on the internet. On To

the Point, has China broken its promises,

or was it subject to unrealistic expectations? On reporter's notebook, the FBI reportedly wants

...