The Olympics in Beijing: Triumph or Travesty?
Now that the curtain has fallen on the 29th Olympiad, let’s take a look at this historic Olympic Games and the effect it has had on China.
No Olympics since the Moscow Games of 1980 have aroused such controversy (that was also the last Olympics hosted by a totalitarian state). Demonstrations by pro-Tibet groups, the Falun Gong, and promoters of human rights marked the lead-up to the Games. There was, however, little show of dissent during the actual course of the Olympics, largely because most opposition groups were placed safely behind bars or in labor camps and away from the public eye. China managed to minimize the pollution issue, although the first few days of the Olympics in particular made obvious the serious air quality problems in the capital. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were huge, phenomenally expensive extravaganzas, showcasing China’s wealth and somewhat eerie lock-step unity. So what to make of IOC President Jacques Rogge’s comment that these Olympics allowed the world to learn about China and vice versa?
Despite the overall success of the Games, the world was exposed to many new facets of China’s growth. News stories before and during the Olympics dealt as much with human rights and pollution in the country as with China’s economic success. Those paying attention to the saga came to realize how little China has changed; stories abounded of journalists being hassled, completely empty protest zones, and tales of those sent to prison camps for applying for protest permits. Taken together, all of the press about China’s human rights abuses, pollution, and other problems should have a somewhat sobering effect on the West. China will be slow to change unless it is forced to do so; experiments with capitalism came about largely due to the necessity of fixing the country’s widespread poverty. Overall, the confidence that these Olympics bring to China may prove a double-edged sword: China may now enhance its cooperation and trust in the international system, but may also be persuaded against the need for reform in the face of such success.
