Aug
27
2008
This will be my final post as I will be returning to Yale later today. I would like to acknowledge and to thank my editors Catherine Cheney and Katharine Kendrick of The Yale Globalist for giving me this opportunity and for helping me get through it. They did a great job editing my ideas and my grammar—except for in the last few posts, in which any mistakes are solely my own because in the interest of time I published without their editorial input. Some of my Olympic pictures follow at the end of this post.
A reporter once asked former-Communist Premier of China Zhou Enlai what he thought was the impact of the 1789 French Revolution, to which he replied: “It is too soon to tell.”
We are all in a similar boat vis-à-vis the impact of the Olympic Games on China. The Games, which were incredible to attend and which the Chinese hosted almost flawlessly, ended four days ago. The city has slowly drained of festivity and tourists. The Coca-Cola pavilion in the mall The Place has been dismantled to its metal skeleton and the red and blue BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games) volunteers have evaporated by the hundreds of thousands. Never mind that the Paralympic Games are about to begin, there is a clear sense that the Olympic Spirit has come and gone. But absent perspective, we can still ask: what might be China’s post-Olympic prospects?
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Aug
25
2008
The Chinese team did it—they won the gold medal count. The final count has China with 51 golds out of a possible 302, USA 36, Russia 23, Great Britain 19 and Germany 16 (click here for a table of the medal results). Not only did China win the most gold medals in the 2008 Games, they won the most golds of any country since the Soviet Union won 55 in the 1988. The last time the USA won more than 51 golds, it was at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, which the Soviets boycotted. During the Olympics, the medal-count obsession became pervasive in Beijing and was a constant cause for speculation.
American women's soccer team on the top of the podium in Worker's Stadium
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Aug
24
2008
Although the Olympic Games officially ended today, there is more to say. I have a couple more posts in me, especially one addressing the possibility, in my opinion, of systemic or long-term changes in China brought about by the Games. Just because the Games are over does not mean their impact on China has ended. Far from it. The real impact of the Olympics has yet to come.
Please continue to visit the blog over the next few days.
Aug
23
2008
A specter is haunting Beijing—air pollution. Beijing’s air pollution, some of the worst in the world, was a concern from the beginning for Olympic organizers. The Chinese government enacted initiatives in preparation for the Games, but skeptical media outlets were quick to disparage China’s efforts. In the days on either side of August 8, the New York Times and the South China Morning Post published articles about China’s failure to reduce pollution. The decision of Ethiopian marathoner Haile Gebrselassie to not run in the Games was held up as proof of the China’s shortcomings. But Beijing saw more clean days these last two weeks than anyone can remember, and no one is reporting this success.
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Aug
21
2008
The Australian basketball team is beating Russia by 20 points at the start of the 4th quarter. In the upper reaches of the stands, the crowd is unified in the Chinese chant: “Eluosi, jiayou!” (Literally, “Russia, add gas!”) The call to “add gas” is the most standard of cheers here. The cheering Chinese are lead by a diminutive man who is turning red in the face as he madly waves his Russian flag. The pockets of Russians in the stands have their own cheer (chanting the Russian word for the motherland: “Ro-see-ya! Ro-see-ya!”), but evidently the Chinese cheerleaders feel the Russian fans need a helping hand. Jiayou, Russia, add gas!
American fans with Chinese backup at the US-Japan women's soccer game.
In keeping with the Olympic spirit, Chinese organizers are guaranteeing that every venue is electric and every team has fans. You can be guaranteed that when a Chinese team or athlete is involved, the stands are alive with red flags, stickers, face paint and noisemakers. The presence of a Chinese star, like diver Guo Jingjing or gymnast Yang Wei, makes domestic fans positively apoplectic with joy. But even at China’s weaker events, such as water polo, spectators show up in throngs and if they cannot cheer for their own team, they are more than happy to cheer for someone else’s.
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Aug
18
2008
The International Olympic Committee awarded the Summer Games to Beijing in 2001 under the conditions that the government reduce pollution and increase protections of human rights. Beijing “promised” the International Olympic Committee (IOC) blue skies and press freedom. Many critics accuse Beijing of breaking their Olympic promises. But as the Beijing Games continue in spite of criticism, a future host country is committing violence far worse than censorship. Olympic promises are easy to break—is the IOC going to learn this lesson before the 2014 Games in Russia?
The 2014 Winter Olympics are going to be in the Crimean resort town of Sochi. Sochi is Putin’s favorite ski resort. He became personally invested in the bid, traveling to Guatemala City in July 2007 to pressure the IOCinto voting for Sochi over Pyeongchang, Korea, 51 to 47. This is the first time Russia will host the Winter Games.
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Aug
08
2008
August 8, 2008 has finally come. This auspicious date (eight is a lucky number in China) was chosen seven years ago to be the official opening day for the Beijing Olympic Games. In fact, to maximize the good fortune, the opening ceremony began at 8:00pm.
Interior of the new embassy
“8-8-08” is also marked by the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Beijing. At $434 million, it is the second most expensive building US State Department has constructed overseas, behind only the Baghdad embassy compound, in which all embassy personnel live. In order to “out-Chinese” the Chinese, the ceremony began promptly at 8:08am.
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Aug
07
2008
A group of "community volunteers"
Beijing has unleashed her volunteers. At every street corner, pairs of old men and women wearing red-and-white collared shirts fan themselves to pass the time, dying for a stranger to approach them with a question. Also lining the streets are blue-and-white kiosks replete with bilingual signage and matching youths, eager to use their English. These Olympic volunteers are eager for visitors to put their service to the test—and to display their patriotism.
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Aug
03
2008
The expatriate community in Beijing thrives on gossip. Even at a local level, China’s decision-making processes remain closed to the public, and especially to foreigners, or laowai (“old outsiders”). As a result, the rumor mill is often the best source of information about things both extraordinary and mundane. In preparation for the Olympic Games and international scrutiny, Beijing has undergone many major and minor changes in infrastructure, security, appearance, and regulations. The gossip has increased proportionally in volume and drama, so some of the best rumors come after the jump.
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Jul
31
2008
A lot of fuss has been made over which heads-of-state are attending the Beijing Olympic Games and which are not. Many people are equating their attendance with an endorsement of the Chinese government. In light of the March conflict in Tibet and reports of activists being jailed in the run-up to the Games, there have been calls for state leaders to boycott. Others feel that Olympic boycotts will not effect political change. So, in the final count, who will be in the stands?
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