Games proves validity of the China model

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By Ye Hailin (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-23 07:42

It is very interesting to make comparisons between some Western media coverage of China before and since the Beijing Olympics. We still remember that ahead of Aug 8, the opening date of the Games, quite a few renowned media commentators in the West still made a fuss over either China's "human rights issue" or Beijing's air quality.

They had been looking forward to some changes at the Games that could usher in signs of the country's changes as the West expected.

A Western TV commentator, during the Beijing Games' opening ceremony, said downheartedly that nothing had happened to the East Asian nation.

But he was wrong, something did happen. A truly exceptional international sporting event took place for 16 days in the Chinese capital.

Very soon, the Western commentators in the studio dug out new topics to express their opinions.

From their words, we can feel a sense of jealousy. Some of them even claimed the world should get used to China's "manipulation" after the Beijing Games.

The Beijing Olympics was not the first time the Games had been hosted outside the West. But unlike the Tokyo and Seoul Olympics, the Beijing Games was an exception for Westerners obsessed with the world's focus on all things Western.

To Westerners, the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and the Seoul Olympics in 1988 still bore heavy Western characteristics although they were hosted in East Asian cities.

The two host cities, together with their nations, were trying to Westernize in various aspects at that time and doing their utmost to host the Games according to Western standards. But at the Beijing Olympics, distinct values and a distinct development model were fully exhibited, such as thousands of dancers gracefully dancing in harmony at the opening ceremony, as well as the host country's capability in mobilizing its resources to host the event.

It had been some people's view that the Olympics, both closely related with Western countries in terms of its ancient origins and its modern revival, would possibly carry Western cultural values to China. However, to their surprise, the Western formula was not copied during the Games.

In the ancient city, we saw wonderful collective and individual performances and a harmonious coexistence between peace and the competitive athletic spirit that pursues individual transcendence amid rivalry.

In order to host such an outstanding Games, China paid a high economic price. But most of the Chinese people, whether or not they were participating in the Games, chose to take on a smiling face.

The Eastern philosophy, which stresses that an individual realizes self-value in a collective atmosphere, was shining during the Olympics, instead of being overshadowed. At the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, athletes, volunteers, the audience and even local residents all sent one clear message that the Chinese people act according to their own mode of conduct and will not succumb to any allegedly superior Western values.

As a matter of fact, the Beijing Olympics was by no means an offensive aimed at promoting Eastern values. The Olympics is not only a sport festival of the Eastern, but one for people from all over the world.

This is exactly what surprised some Westerners. They thought the Beijing Olympics would bring some changes to this East Asian nation, but to their disappointment it did not. The Games proved not only the existence of the China model, but also its success.

However, we should also realize that the temporary impact of the Games will not bring about a recognition in the Western world that the East can stand alongside the West.

To realize equality with the West in sports, politics and life, Beijing, China, and the East will face bigger difficulties than those encountered hosting the Olympics.

The author is a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

(China Daily 09/23/2008 page8)