Another four gold metals for China and I am stuck explaining the story for each again. It’s not that I don’t get all the hard work behind each gold metal. But I am not an athlete, so it’s understandable that I don’t cry with them. And it gets a little boring after a few days of the same headline. Desperately need some Red Bull right now.

Front Page Story

The biggest news or the most important gold was women’s team gold in gymnastics. It is the first time the Chinese women's team has won the title of the best gymnastic team in the world. It was actually a competition of mistakes. With a Chinese girl falling off the balance beam, the United States was in a hurry to catch up. In the end, the United States won that competition and lost the gold. I guess home court advantage does matter in the highest level of competition.

Other Headlines Today

• Another home court advantage happened in the women’s 25 meters pistol that pocketed gold for the Chinese. The Chinese shooter, Chen Ying, lagged behind by 5 points to the Mongolian champion in the 2006 world cup by the end of the first around. 5 points is like the distance from China to the States in a competition at this level, but she managed to catch up and win the gold by breaking the world record. Despite Mongolian shooter’s gun failure, Chen Ying accredited her win to the cheering group which gave her energy and excitement.

• After some good news, it is time to go to the bad. In the 77kg men’s weightlifting, Li Hongli, the Chinese participant had the same score as the Korean winner. However, he still lost the gold due to the fact his body weight is half a kilogram heavier. Too much hot pot and barbecue judging by the picture on the front page.

• Another moving story of an Olympic champion. Guo Wenjun won the gold metal in the women’s 10 meter’s air pistol. Now, she is on another task that's equally important. This 24-year-old world champion is looking for her dad. Guo started training when she was 14. When she moved to the training facilitate, her dad disappeared on the same night. Right now, she is looking for her dad as a gold medalist in the Olympics but still no news. Let's hope she finds him.

• The Chinese government will enact a new car sales tax on September 1. The new tax is aimed to promote the use of smaller cars and conserve energy. If you want a car over 4 liters, you are looking at 40 percent sales tax. To be honest, I don’t know if this will work. Anything that’s symbol of status and money will sell like crazy in China. Maybe the bigger cars will have a bright future with the right marketing campaigns.

• People are already able to purchase tickets for the 2010 Shanghai Expo. The price is set at RMB160. In a country of 13 billion people, it’s never too early to get a ticket.

• The truth behind the ‘magic cup’. A cup that supposes to produce alkali water and help you with digestive function has been found to be a fraud. Another classic example of Chinese entrepreneurial spirit with no regard for the benefits of the end customer. In China, there is never a win-win situation, it’s usually: I win, you die.
  
  Zaobao! Zabao! is a daily article by Li Yizhong that translates and puts into brief perspective the headlines of the Shanghai Morning Post's daily newspaper. Read more of his work on the Zaobao! Zaobao! blog.