Global Issues

Grand spectacle closes Beijing's Olympics: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/08/24/olympics.close/#cnnSTCText

With the closure of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, international publications, including our local newspapers, sought to reflect upon the impact the Olympics has had on China. One of these articles written by CNN, “Grand spectacle closes Beijing's Olympics” seemed to praise Beijing’s achievements, albeit with reservations.

The Games started off with a bang with the extravagant Opening Ceremony that made our own National Day Celebrations held the day after pale greatly in comparison. With all the dancers and musicians performing in near-perfect synchronisation, it impressed the international community, despite certain scandals which included the lip-synching of the national anthem by a better-looking girl in order for China to literally put their best face forward. Needless to say, the world was captivated by the dazzling pyrotechnics and “grand spectacle” the hosts had put up. Yet, there were other factors that were blasted by the international media and local reporters alike, about “China’s stance on free speech and political protest”, pollution and human rights as suggested by the article, which were not in the Olympic spirit.

The Chinese government designated 3 protest parks, and despite being far away from the event venues, activists viewed this as a positive sign toward a gradual development of free speech and political protest. These were eventually revealed to be for ceremonious purposes only, as all 77 applications to protest in the parks were disapproved.

China’s emergency pollution controls which shuttered many factories and traffic restrictions such as banned vehicles on the roads during the Olympics, coupled with the rain, brought down the smog, and reduced air pollution to an acceptable state for long distance running events. Algal formation and chemical discharge has also greatly decreased as chemical pollutants were disallowed to be discharged into rivers during the Olympic season. Fishermen were also hired to catch algae near the sailing locations. These, by and large, are largely unsustainable and are costly short-term measures that will not be effective in reducing pollution in the long run while maintaining economic opportunity. In fact, it may have adverse effects, as the factories that have been temporarily shut down may operate for longer working hours in the future to recuperate the losses.

Throughout the torch relay, Tibetan protesters fought for human rights for Tibetan exiles such as the Dalai Lama, for independence, and against government repression. The Chinese government reacted in force, and it resulted in the death of several police officers and Tibetan protesters. Many countries disapprove of China’s treatment of Tibet and the dealing of the Tibetan protesters by using authoritarian methods. The children dressed in 56 ethnic Chinese costumes depicting the various races of China were also seen as a misrepresentation of the political and social state of the country, as all the children were Han Chinese.

Despite all this criticism, China has done a good job in hosting the Olympics, which was generally free of doping and cheating scandals. Despite the Szechuan earthquake, the Chinese people showed their resilience to bounce back and contribute to the Olympics, with a staggering number of Chinese volunteers stepping forward to make their country more hospitable for athletes and officials. China has also proved that they are able to handle the logistics of such a large-scale event despite earlier doubts that the proposed venues would not be completed before the Olympics, allowing for a record number of records to be broken. China has also done well under pressure of being the host country to come up tops in the gold medal standings.

Perhaps the other countries should put aside their ideals of liberalism and judgments aboupolitical system of China in honour of China's greatest efforts and in celebration of sporting excellence. Besides, a true judgment must be postponed and can only be made after the Paralympics have been completed, when normal life resumes for the Chinese. Till then, I rest my case.