 Outside View
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-21 08:29 The lure of the waves The British newspaper Financial Times is amazed at the rapid development of modern China's maritime sports, saying the Chinese are lured back to the waves. The paper said the country has had mixed feelings about the sea ever since China's most famous navigator Zheng He traveled to the west in seven voyages in the Ming Dynasty, yet modern China has never shown much interest in sailing as sport or pastime. However, Yin Jian, the windsurfer from West China's Sichuan Province, became part of the reasons why attitudes in China are beginning to change. According to the reports, Yin is the only person in the national sailing squad to have previous Olympic experience: now 29, she won a windsurfing silver in Athens four years ago. And all that proved how new the sport of sailing is to China. Chinese spectators are still baffled by the notion of yacht and dinghy racing, which is hardly surprising given the novelty of the sport in their country. The paper noted that Shaun Weng, a Beijing-born computer software developer who lived in California and became the first Chinese person to sail single-handed around the world in 2002. It is a pity that experienced sailors are still remarkably rare in a country with such a long coastline and such strong maritime traditions. The positive thing is that people are getting richer, and travels are slowly exposing the Chinese to the world of sail cruising and racing. The central and provincial governments have duly stepped in, using the Olympics as an excuse to build a fully equipped marina in the coastal city of Qingdao and calling on businesses and foreign yacht clubs to help with the training of 1,000 new young sailors a year in Chinese ports. In summary, the paper expresses confidence in Chinese sailing, saying "a full rebirth of Chinese sailing will take many years, but the process is under way. China is already one of the world's biggest shipbuilding and fishing nations, and has recently become a significant yacht manufacturer. Before too long it will also be a producer of competitive sailors and, eventually, of weekend yachting enthusiasts." Cheer for fun Reuters paid its attention to the beautiful and elegant Olympic hostesses, saying they outclass the sexy cheerleaders and earned applause from the audiences. Wearing Chinese silk dresses with their hair pulled back tightly into neat buns, the hostesses' professionalism and beauty have impressed spectators from home and abroad. The reports quoted Debra Sinex, a tourist from Atlanta of the United States, as saying "They are so pretty and precise. They smile continuously." There are six or more hostesses on duty at every medal ceremony and their major job is to hold platters bearing the medals and bouquets of nine red roses. Though the role looks simple, the story noted that in line with China's bid to host the perfect games, those hostesses have been meticulously chosen and trained. When Olympic organizers started a search for the hostesses they issued a list of requirements for appearance and body shape, raising eyebrows in the West because of the sexist and stereotype overtones. Pragmatism works Washington Post's columnist Armstrong William wrote an article entitled "China's growth," saying the country will continue to develop by sticking to its principles. The article said the development mode of modern China has always been perplexing for the West, which paid too much attention to the difference of ideology over the last half year. However, a closer look at China in the post-Cold War years reveals another picture: "It reveals a country facing inward to develop the brains, heart and courage to make the most of the modern world." Though China's rapid economic growth in the past 20 years has made it an important force in the global arena, doubts about its true strength have remained prevalent. The Westerners take it for granted that China's economy would not really thrive "unless it began to adopt Western-style democracy, observe international human-rights conventions and develop the technological proficiency to begin producing specialized, non-commodity goods." However, the writer noted that all these assumptions have proven to be false. "Not only has China built a world-leading economy on the back of steel, paper, textiles and lumber, but it has been able to effectively manage an empire that contains almost one-fifth of the entire world's population. This feat has been largely underappreciated in the West; but its centralized government, draconian regulations on population growth, and State-managed economy were able to impose some degree of order and standardization in a relatively short period of time, on an absolutely astounding scale. It has now become clear that the Chinese Communist Party, despite its many weaknesses, is far from naive." The article pointed out that while China is exploring markets and raw materials worldwide, it has done so under the banner of trade and pragmatism rather than ideology. By largely ignoring international political pressure, China has been able to stay focused on its most important aims. And the result is remarkable as China has established its own trade empire within a relatively short period of time. And the fact that more than 80 world leaders and royals attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games is a strong "testament to China's effectiveness at negotiating agreements without getting bogged down by ideological principles." In the end, the columnist invited readers to wait and see whether China's strategy will continue to bear fruit. "But by all indications, growth in China will continue to increase over the next several decades," he said. Readers' comments are welcome. Please send mail to Letters to the Editor, China Daily, 15 Huixin Dongjie, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029 China. Send faxes to (86-10) 6491-8377. Send e-mail to opinion@chinadaily.com.cn or letters@chinadaily.com.cn or to the individual columnists. China Daily reserves the right to edit all letters. Thank you. (China Daily 08/21/2008 page11) |
