Time to drop the baggage of history

Having realized the "dream of the century", perhaps it is time to relegate the "century of humiliation" to history where it belongs.

The Beijing Olympics has been universally proclaimed as a success. As such, the Olympics 2008 was not only a "coming out" party of China, but, more significantly, a reassurance to the Chinese people of their nation's prominent place in the world.

Indeed, the Chinese public can justifiably feel proud not so much of the medal count or the monumental sports facilities erected for the occasion, but rather of the spirit of hospitality and comradeship that went beyond national or racial divides. Chinese people shared center stage with the competing athletes in the two weeks, and they put up a spectacular show very much in the spirit of the Olympics.