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Truth Competes for the Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
By Jack R.Huang
A popular photo being passed around online in China shows a banner posted near Taoran Ting, Beijing on which is written (loosely translated from Chinese) - "Reduce the number of your trips, to make room for foreigner friends."
But long before this banner appeared on city streets, Beijing promulgated a rule that people could only drive their cars on certain days of the week so that traffic and air pollution would be reduced in time for the summer Olympics, August 8th.
This rule however, did not apply to specific cars - those driven by government and military officials. Henceforth, any vehicle entering Beijing must have a special Beijing license and also hold a special environmental certificate. This temporary ordinance has, as you can imagine, greatly inconvenienced the public since Beijing is one of the few highly trafficked centers in North China. Additionally, millions of workers have been told to stay home, given unpaid vacation time because many factories have been forced to close until the Games are over.
"It has become clear to us in China that these Olympic Games will not be played in the spirit in which they were intended. There are instead too many mistruths being circulated and played out instead." -Jack Huang
But this is not the only sacrifice the Chinese people have felt. As the host of the Olympics, international media has focused a critical eye on China. The government has faced a tough uphill public relations battle - a recipient of roller coaster headlines. First there were the riots in Tibet (March) which stirred up threats from heads of State, like French President Sarkozy, who threatened to boycott the opening ceremony - then the Olympic torch relay gave human rights advocates around the world opportunity to voice an attack against Chinese policies in Darfur.
These headlines have fed anti-Chinese sentiment. They have significantly diminished the world respect China was counting on the Olympic Games delivering and the Chinese people are upset that the global community is using the Olympics as a political venue to widen the gap between China and other Western countries rather than as an opportunity to enhance communication between countries through sports.
Beijing's intense public relations campaign to make the 2008 Olympic Games - at which there will be more heads of State than any other Olympics - "a stage to show the peaceful emerging power of China - a stage for the national recovery of China" has lost considerable ground. Clearly many people around the world didn't find the government's confident declaration of purpose to be realistic in light of such nagging issues such as Darfur and Tibet.
Still, as if things couldn't get any harder for China to pull off a successful Olympics for visitors and TV viewers around the world, natural disaster struck. A 5.12 earthquake hit the Sichuan province of China killing approximately 69,000 people.
Yet, in what seemed like seconds, Western media appeared to change their attitude towards China. Attack headlines were exchanged for compassionate human interest stories that produced a net result of world sympathy and an outpouring of concern and aid for the Chinese people. Now, recent statistics indicate that more than 80 state heads will attend the open ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Beijing is not wasting any time in taking advantage of the improved climate in global public relations. But at what cost? What is favorable for Beijing comes with a heavy sacrifice from the Chinese people who are beginning to realize that they are being used for the government's political ends.
While people like me will always remember the long and painful days after the earthquake struck, feeling deep regret for the parents who wailed and howled for the loss of their children, 24 hours after the tragedy, there wasn't any news about the parents' demands that the government investigate whether the construction of the school buildings could have contributed to the massive loss of lives.
On the contrary, famous reporters like Yu Qiuyu wrote persuasive pieces on his blog - one that ranks among one the hottest in China - that seemed to support an official position. People, he wrote, needed to place the State's interests ahead of their personal sadness. He argued that an investigation into the buildings' construction would only feed into over-seas anti-Chinese sentiment.
In fact, a friend of mine who writes for a prominent publication in Guangdong, told me that Beijing forced all journalists from Guangdong to leave Sichuan 24 hours after their arrival. No reason was provided.
Nonetheless, journalists from Guangdong are famous for not being very obedient. Sensing a government cover-up, these journalists are following up on leads found on Internet sites and exposing what government corruption they have investigated.
Such government cover-ups intended to stifle bad news before the Olympics begin were a focus in Weng'an recently. When news about a 15 year old female student having been raped and killed, her body thrown into the Simen River was assumed to be manipulated by government officials who reported that the girl had committed suicide to protect an official's son who had perpetrated the crime, riots broke out.
Even after the riots, the government took prompt action to close the case quickly to avert a third-party investigation into the death of the young girl. People were shocked. The good news is that people are starting to wake up to the fact that this is just another example of Beijing controlling events in order to make the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games a favorable experience.
Perhaps the Chinese people are right when they complain that foreigners are using the Games to meet specific political ends but we should also keep in mind that Beijing is doing the very same thing.
It has become clear to us in China that these Olympic Games will not be played in the spirit in which they were intended. There are instead too many mistruths being circulated and played out instead. What is sad is that our opportunity to celebrate Beijing's Olympics with pride because the Games improve understanding and respect between China and the rest of the world may not happen even after the last lap is run.
