The Beijing Olympic Games are Open!

Fireworks above the Bird's Nest

I just watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games – visually it was spectacular, and I have always been a big fan of the Olympics, summer and winter. Although you could argue it’s just another tournament like so many others and that it’s being tainted by doping like so many others, I somehow get a better ‘feel’ from it. People talk about the ‘Olympic spirit’, and I like to think that it really does exist and that the athletes who compete, even those who are the best at their sport, are competing with that spirit; with no monetary prize, there doesn’t seem to be much else to compete for. But I feel like I have a more sentimental connection to these Games, because Beijing was essentially my first expatriation.

Seeing the performances brought back some great memories. The kite flying (I once mentioned in a previous post), the martial arts everyone performs in the mornings in parks (especially on weekends), the calligraphy, the scenery, the puppets, the opera/ballet… I could go on, but this post is probably going to be long enough as it is! Basically, the ceremony made me want to go back, although I don’t know how much of Beijing I would actually recognise 11 years on.

Performers with boats painted on oars

In the run-up to the Games there has been a lot of talk about pollution and human rights (in particular on the BBC News website, which in my opinion isn’t giving a very balanced view of the Games as they seem to have a very negative attitude towards China in general). I’m not convinced about the pollution – no, it’s not the cleanest city in the world, but a lot of that comes from sand blown in from the desert, plus the heat and humidity at this time of year (extremely humid and 30-35°C = haze). Plus I have questions with regards to the accuracy of the BBC measurements… As for the human rights issue, personally I don’t think politics and sports should mix, although unfortunately, almost by definition, the fact that a country hosts the Olympic Games makes this almost unavoidable to a certain extent. It’s true that China hasn’t exactly been a role model for human rights, in particular during the cultural revolution. But people must remember that a) there are reasons for China claiming Tibet and Taiwan and b) China has never been a ‘free’ country, and reforms and changes like that require time. It’s like trying to force democracy on a country – you can’t expect it to change overnight.

A dragon dance during the pre-opening ceremony performance

What IS important is that China has changed drastically in the last 30 years. It is far more open than before and far more willing to try to satisfy human rights demands and make amends for its past. As I said, too many people seem to forget that the leaders of today aren’t the leaders of the past. What I think China is trying to show by hosting these Games is that they are willing to be exposed to the world. They want people to come and see for themselves what the real China is like. Even 11 years ago, when I was living there and visiting places like Beijing, Harbin, Guilin, Hong Kong, Kashgar and Urumqi, it was obvious that, like in any country that allegedly represses human rights (and when it comes down to it, what country doesn’t?), is communist or simply on the bad side of reporters, when you are inside the country and can see the people for who they are and the conditions inside the country, the foreign perspective is rarely balanced. This is still the case today for so many places – people rely on the media to form an opinion, without getting first-hand experience. Hopefully what these Games will show the world is that they need to go and visit the country, they need to go and see, with their own eyes, what it’s like.

A dancer performing during the opening ceremony

On top of that, some people may not like the Chinese methods of getting things done (by this I’m not referring to human rights, more to the military-esque way of repeating actions until they are perfect the way they devote resources entirely to one end), but there’s no denying that they’re effective. You just have to look at their past achievements; all of their inventions, the monuments they built like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, the phenomenal exploration they carried out (arguably they discovered Australia and North America well before anyone else). A number of other ancient civilizations rivalled this, but very few have managed to keep that work ethic. The Chinese work hard and they get things done, and I have no doubt that these Games will be smooth and efficient, and I’m looking forward to the next 16 days of sports.

(Pictures are all from the official Beijing Olympic Games website)