My view on the Olympics

[ajva]

This is in response to webcowgirl's take on the Olympics. I thought I'd balance things out a bit. :o)

I'm a fan, so it's a positive view. I love the spectacle of the ultimate games meeting, and have huge respect for all the athletes involved. I find the whole thing extremely exciting: amazing feats of human skill and endurance, the huge party, the romance of the highs and the lows. Smashing stuff.

I also take a different view to many over China having been awarded them: I think it is an excellent thing, because it has forced the authorities to deal with an international light shining on their domestic affairs. While I don't expect much political change in the short term, there are today millions of people throughout China who now realise that their country is often unpopular internationally, when they were totally unaware of it before due to domestic reporting restrictions. In the long term, this will be a political seed that germinates in interesting fashion. This kind of thing represents the Olympics at its best.

Does it even need saying that I am bursting with enthusiasm about 2012? :o)

Comments

Thanks for the reasoned response

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

I've actually been amazed about how strident Chinese people's responses in defense of Chinese policies have been - at least those I've seen in the editorial pages of the paper. It very much seems to be MYOB - they seem completely indifferent to being unpopular, but rather more concerned wtih being seen as backwards, at least on the manners and culture front. I remember one of my political theory professors telling me how the spread of capitalism through China was going to do so much to improve people's freedoms, that the government would have to give them more as they had more choice in the markets, but I haven't seen this being the case over the last 15 years.

Truth be told I was expecting Hu Jin Tao to tell Bush to mind his own house when it comes to being critical about human rights abuses.

This story about the demolition of a mosque that wouldn't display Olympics ads kind of captures my feelings about the whole thing, but I can't even tell if it's true or not ...

If only the IOC would jut die then I could enjoy this stuff more freely but they've just contaminated everything as far as I'm concerned!

Re: Thanks for the reasoned response

[ajva.livejournal.com]

I've actually been amazed about how strident Chinese people's responses in defense of Chinese policies have been Don't be - it's part of the culture, just as complaining loudly about our government is part of ours. Can you imagine how odd that must seem to many Chinese?

There are obviously problems in the country, but if you will forgive me for saying so, I think your understanding of Chinese culture probably lacks subtlety. If you scratch the surface of what the Chinese say and do, you will almost always find something more sophisticated underneath. I don't claim to be an expert, but I did read Chinese Studies at Cambridge for a couple of years and lived in Taiwan for a few months, so I do think I have a small handle on it at least.

There is no doubt that there are human rights abuses in China and culture is no excuse for that, but I do believe that the holding of the Olympics in Beijing has been a very significant step forward. China is starting to face up to the fact that it cannot be a superpower in the modern world without certain things coming along with that. It doesn't mean that it's suddenly going to become a Western-style democracy but it does mean that, over time, it will continue to open up, continuing along the path it has been treading over the past 30 years. If the Olympics had not been awarded to Beijing, they would not have been forced to start addressing these issues now.

Re: Thanks for the reasoned response

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

Well, er, re: subtlety, I do disagree. I lived in China (1988, though only for a summer), I studied Chinese culture and politics for 3 years at Uni (86-89, BA in Chinese and BA in Political Science with Asian Studies certificate, basically a China emphasis), have kept track of changes in China ever since ... I think I am actually on top of the game! I just don't have much hope for radical change in even another 20 years, almost 20 years more than when I started studying the country. My thought here is that we have similar levels of understanding of Chinese culture, but we have drawn different conclusions.

I think the Olympics are a big deal for the Chinese. I don't think it marks a step forwards in the way you do. I don't really think they have been addressing the issues, really!

Oddly I think the biggest hope comes from the decentralized spread of information and communication made possible by the internet.

Re: Thanks for the reasoned response

[ajva.livejournal.com]

Well, er, re: subtlety, I do disagree. I lived in China (1988, though only for a summer), I studied Chinese culture and politics for 3 years at Uni (86-89, BA in Chinese and BA in Political Science with Asian Studies certificate, basically a China emphasis), have kept track of changes in China ever since ... I think I am actually on top of the game!

OK, fair dos. :o)