So that’s it, the Beijing Olympics are finally behind us, and life can return to normal here in China.
The closing ceremony for me was a bit of a yawn fest. It started out promisingly enough. I thought when the athletes came out, that was the end, but it turned out to be just the beginning, and after a while it seemed like we were watching the annual CCTV lunar new year gala show which is boring as hell and goes on for hours.
I could have done without the stuffy men in suits like Jacques Rogge (is the man capable of smiling?) and Boris Johnson fumbling with the Olympic flag in a suit badly needs its sleeves shortened (I never understand why anyone buys a suit and doesn’t get the sleeves altered to the correct length – it’s not like Mr Johnson can’t afford the price of alteration, even at London prices).
London had 8 minutes to put on a little segment to show the world what it could expect in 4 years time. I’m not sure about the little 2.5 million pound show they put on which featured a lollipop lady, a London bus that turned into a hedge, David Beckham doing absolutely nothing, a dance troop, Leona Lewis and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
But closing ceremony apart, it has been an amazing Olympics. A few stars have been born, namely Usain Bolt, who competed in 3 events, won 3 gold medals and broke 3 world and Olympic records, which is astonishing (and I was there to witness one of them). But what was most surprising was the tally of 19 gold medals won by Britain, 4th only behind the traditional sporting giants, USA, China and Russia. In 2004 we won 9 golds and came 10th in the rankings, BEHIND Australia, Germany, France, Italy, South Korea and Japan, in case anyone forgot how mediocre we normally are. So a big WELL DONE to Team GB.
China of course had the home advantage and won the most medals, but it’s unlikely they’re going to fade away and I imagine they’ll be in the top 2 medal winners in 2012 and probably for the foreseeable future.
USA came second in Beijing despite both the mens and womens 100m relay team dropping the baton and not qualifying for the final which I also find incredible. Luckily, they did better in the 400m relay, winning both mens and womens events. They of course reclaimed the basketball gold (mens). Perhaps I wasn’t paying attention in Athens 2004, but how on earth did they not win in Greece?
Well I’d better stop rambling as I know not everyone’s a sports fan and normal China blogging will resume shortly, although there might still be one or two Olympics-related posts lingering.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:05 am
You forgot to mention Michael Phelps for men’s swimming. He won 8 gold out of the 8 events he was qualified for, breaking 7 world records and 1 olympic. Amazing!
August 25th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Yeah, how come he didn’t manage to break the world record in the 100m butterfly? That’s just not good enough. Usain Bolt : 3 events, 3 golds, 3 world records and he won the 100m with his shoelace undone and ate McDonalds before he raced.
August 25th, 2008 at 6:21 am
China did a terrific job hosting the Olympics. It’s really too bad, though, that the country found it necessary to lie about the gymnasts’ ages. It’s another heinous example of how backward and corrupt the Communist country still is. I also cannot imagine living in a country where a citizen cannot protest his or her government.
August 25th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Mr. John Wood, Have you ever lived in China?? or any country on Earth?
Point out a country in this world that doesn’t have corruption and backwardness. Then maybe I’ll give you a gold star.
August 25th, 2008 at 6:40 am
China is guilty of the most serious human rights abuses imaginable. It is a sick, evil, and immoral government.
August 25th, 2008 at 7:46 am
My Anti-spam word just now was London! Jia you Ying Guo!
John – finally someone leaving a comment I can totally agree with! The whole point of the olympics is to promote good will through sport and represent a coming together of the world, not cheating for the sake of winning! They ruined it!
August 25th, 2008 at 9:07 am
My best moment was when the Australian 10m diver won gold on Saturday night, leading to a huge outpouring of vitriol on Chinese web forums against their diver who had caused national shame by not getting a gold.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/jamesreynolds/2008/08/when_losing_becomes_a_national.html
Some people around here really need to lighten up! (although you should see some of the abuse against the 8 minute London 2012 show on British sites)
August 25th, 2008 at 10:31 am
JIMMY PAGE!@!!!!12@!!!!!
August 25th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Well, as usual, I’m surprised by what people decide to focus on when commenting.
Following John’s logic, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Brazil, Greece and North Korea are all “backward and corrupt”. These are just SOME of the other countries whose athletes have been caught cheating in the Beijing Olympics.
As for the Chinese gymnasts, my understanding is that they have merely been accused by Americans of entering under aged girls, but none of this has been proven and in fact the only “evidence” is comment from an AMERICAN “computer expert” who has found cached web pages that suggest that He Kexin was born in 1994 not 1992. And the American coach agrees with this conclusion because one of the Chinese gymnasts has a tooth missing! All I can say is I am glad the US doesn’t use the same criteria to convict its own criminals or there’d be a lot of innocent people in prison!
August 25th, 2008 at 10:47 am
What do you mean there WOULD be? Guantanamo?
August 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Good point Rich. Good to see the yanks are applying the same ridiculous measure of guilt equally!
August 25th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Woaizhongguo:
Yes, many countries have athletes that have cheated. The difference is that, here, China is actually part of the cheating. How do you address the fact that another Chinese gymnast has admitted that she competed in a previous Olympics while underage. The Chinese government is pathetic. I’m so glad I don’t have to live in that dump of a country.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:10 am
It’s amazing that some of you people can look away from the many instances of severe human rights abuses. It just shows the power of the human mind to accept whatever their government tells them to believe.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:11 am
@ CP, that is only moaning. it is only a game. IT is disturbing and unproven to say Chinese feel shamed for losing a medal in 10m diving.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:21 am
John Wood – I’m all for intelligent debate, but your logic again is bizarre. You’ve obviously got a bee in your bonet about China and it’s clouding your ability to make coherent comments.
A Chinese gymnast admitted to being under age in a previous Olympics, so He Kexin MUST be guilty? Where were you when the OJ jury was being selected? He’d be nice and crispy from the electric chair by now.
“China is actually part of the cheating” – I’m not sure what you mean by “China”. The whole 1.3 billion population?
Just to be clear, I am NOT saying He Kexin is or is not under age, I do not know, and neither do you. There’s no possible way you could know.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:29 am
By “China” I meant the Chinese government. I do not want to disparage the Chinese people at all, so I should have made that clear. The Chinese are a wonderful people with a proud history and live in a beautiful country. They have contributed immensely to civilization over many years. My only problem is with the Chinese authorities. (It is one thing for a citizen of a country to cheat (such as by taking illegal drugs), but another thing for the government in a country to coverup for the athlete. I do not know for certain whether the Chinese gymnasts are underage, but things certainly point in that direction.)
I know that there are many sides to an issue, but I cannot understand how a country like China will not allow its people to speak freely, worship freely, etc. I should have toned down my rhetoric a little before making my points. Thanks.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
John – The way you comment on China sounds very American. I’ve heard many similar comments from Americans who have never been outside of the US, let alone actually spent a reasonable amount of time living in China.
I agree that the government has a lot of things it needs to work on such as the human rights issues you mentioned and being more open and transparent. I personally would not characterise the government as sick and evil. The vast majority of citizens enjoy immense freedoms without interference from the government. And many opponents have suffered being confined to their homes but the days where thousands of people disappear from the streets never to be seen again are long gone.
I expect some Chinese people to have a distorted view of the west because of the way the media is controlled and manipulated, but it’s sad to see the same thing happen in so called “free” countries, where the media is equally distorted to give a very biased view of China and other countries.
I guess what I am getting at is that your assumption that the government is involved in a cover up when you are not even sure there is something to cover up is a little unjustified. I personally doubt the government would get involved in issuing false documents just to help the medal tally. It’s easy enough to get false documents without government help, and not just in China but in the US or the UK.
In short, let’s not put the cart before the horse. Let’s first find out if He Kexin is underage and THEN decide if the government was involved or not is all I am saying.
Have a nice day!
August 25th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Good points, Woaizhongguo. I appreciate your insights.
I do believe, however, that there is ample evidence of human rights abuses by the Chinese government. Tibet is just one orominent example. China’s role in Darfur is also troubling.
There may have been advances in the area of human rights, but many problems persist. It was reported that two Chinese protesters at the Olympics were arrested and sent to prison labor camps. Several Americans were detained for protesting China’s policy on Tibet. These types of arrests and detentions simply cannot go unchallenged. Do you agree?
Nevertheless, I think the Chinese people should be very proud of these Olympics. China is clearly an amazing place with amazing people. My only problem is that the government holds the people back. I hope that the successes of the games can help lead to better understanding and improvements within the country. The Chinese people deserve better.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
@chineselives.info: My point is that SOME Chinese feel shamed for losing a medal. I’m not making generalisations about a country (see points made by others on this thread), but there are definitely a few people out there who take this winning business all a bit too seriously.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Waoi – that is probably what happened, he forgot to have Mickey D that morning.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
John – Tibet, Darfur, all very complex topics and slightly off topic for today’s post. I’m not avoiding the issue, if you search this blog site you’ll find my views on both these topics quite easily so I won’t repeat myself.
Sue – A major blunder on his part.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
John Wood – The Chinese people have already improved their conditions substantially. Over the past 30 years, there have been unprecedented institutional reforms in the area of property rights that have given Chinese citizens more power and freedom than before. For example, in the past, land, housing and enterprises were administered by the Chinese governemnt, while today they are mostly controlled by the market. As for the improvements in human rights, that is a completely different issue that entails a radical cultural change. Since ideologies take longer to change than regulations, we have to wait a bit for that to happen. However, I think it is critical to distinguish among specific issues when talking about China, otherwise we risk to oversimplify the complexity of this country’s transition by making vague generalisations.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
“a beautiful country”
or “a dump of a country”
please exhibit some consistency. okaythanksbye!
August 25th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
What’s the difference between Tibet and, say, Hawaii?
August 25th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Swiss: Hawaii attracts international controversy by combining sweet and savoury items on their pizzas. Don’t know about Tibet.
August 25th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
T – I did notice that too but didn’t want to stir things up. All I can say to our friend is: if you want your arguments to be taken seriously then try to avoid comments like “a dump of a country” which doesn’t help credibility.
Swiss – Again I would have brought that up but I feel it’s a waste of time. But since we’re here – Tibet is a part of China at this moment in history just as Hawaii is part of the US and Scotland is part of Britain and Quebec is part of Canada. In each of those countries, illegal activities aimed at separating those regions from the country will be met with the strong arm of the law. I’m not really sure what people expect – oh you want independence, okay then there you go, good luck?!
Chas – Pineapple on pizza just isn’t right, that’s all I am saying.
John – Is the American government also what you called “sick, evil and immoral” for invading Iraq under the PRETEXT of weapons of mass destruction? Is that worse or better than China trying to keep its country in one piece? China trading with Darfur – is that worse than America supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and then when it suits them, going in and wiping them out? Is America a great nation for being close allies with Saudi Arabia, a country where women are not allowed to drive or be in a car driven by someone who is not their husband? I could go on but I think the point has been made. Before you criticise so viciously, have a look at your own front door.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
No, WoAi, I don’t want to be unreasonable, but I think there is certainly a mountain of justifyable cricitism that could be leveled at China. But on the other hand, what is better – rapprochment and engagment (YES – see Korea and Taiwan) or sanctions and exclusion (NO – See Cuba and North Korea)
Can we say that supporting the Taliban (and not to mention Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Ladin) are bad and supporting the Janjaweed is bad and governments should stop doing it? Like drugs, mmmkay?
There is a “Free Hawaii” movement – I read about it in the LA Times. The difference is that the Hawaiians are no longer getting their heads beat in – that all happened about 150 years ago.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
T – You’re never unreasonable, you make valid points, perhaps because you have spent time in China and comment on things you understand and know about. It’s when people start making comments without knowing anything other than what they read in their extremely biased media (do they not realise this?) that it gets very silly indeed.
This isn’t a political blog and I far from know the full story on any of these topics, but I know enough to know it’s not as simple as some of the western media try to make it.
August 25th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
my ex-girlfriend said I was unreasonable. I suppose that’s why she’s my ex.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I kind of feel that you got very much side-tracked on this one guys. The Olympics is not supposed to be political at all its supposed to be a celebration of the coming together of nations, of sharing culture, ideas and friendship under the guise of sporting competition. I know that sounds like a load of hippy crap but that IS what the Olympics is supposed to be about.
In this respect, if the Chinese government is implicated in helping its athletes cheat then it merely goes to show that the IOC really needs to reconsider who it awards the games to!
WoAi – I understand your reasons for standing up for China against people you think no nothing that happens outside their own country, but I seriously doubt you really think the Chinese wouldn’t cheat if it meant more medals…I mean how many golds did they get out of the Gymnastics? Quite a few I think.
At the end of the day though, the Chinese (sadly) beat the Americans pretty easily and I doubt even if they were to lose the gymnastics golds that they wouldn’t be first anymore.
The thing is that most countries around the world have done bad things at some point in their history – the point is that the Olympics should be clean of this and so lets hope the Chinese didn’t cheat!
August 25th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Wise words Wiseman! In London 2012 I am expecting Great Britain to top the medals tally. Too bad Tony Blair is out office now
August 25th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
T – Unreasonable in what respect?
Wiseman – What’s the point of a blog if there’s no debate and discussion. I guess it just amazes me how people outside China can be as brainwashed or more so than people inside. Inside there’s a reason which is that the media is controlled, but outside where the media is supposedly free it’s pretty shocking how people’s opinions are formed by what they read. So I have to at least try and address some of those common misconceptions. But I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I in no way claim that China is perfect, far from it, and a day rarely goes by when I don’t rant about some idiot how nearly spit on my shoe or pushed my over trying to get on a bus.
But lets be clear specifically on the He Kexin story – basically the Americans have accused her of not being 16 despite multiple documents which have been presented including her current and previous passport and her ID card. The IOC is investigating but as yet there has been no finding and no proof whatsoever that He Kexin is not 16 other than some people claiming she looks younger than that. I’d rather get the facts straight before executing the prisoner.
Wancestyle – Britain’s definitely gonna wipe the floor with China and USA in 2012 (hopefully by then nobody will remember my bold prediction).
August 25th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
She was all like “you have to remember my birthday” or “remember my parents names” or “call me every once in a while” or “don’t eat crackers in bed”
Nuts to that I say.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Why on earth would you remember her birthday? Surely the only birthday worth remembering is your own! Sometimes I don’t understand women. Call once in a while? We talk when we meet, isn’t that the whole point of meeting? She sounds very high maintenance T.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:15 am
T: It is a \”beautiful country,\” but the government is the problem. That is what I was trying to say, however inartfully.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
a beautiful dump of a country, I suppose.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I’m staying out of this one!
August 26th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
To be fair China is both beautiful and a dump at the same time!
WoAi – Have you seen what their gymnasts look like? I know you’re going to say that Chinese people often look young but come on they do not look 16 by any stretch of the imagination. Yes all their ID says they are old enough but their IDs are issued by the Chinese government. If we can’t trust them to up hold people’s basic human rights can we trust them not to falsify documents?
August 26th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Wiseman – IDs are issued by the PSB, passports by the foreign affairs ministry, totally separate authorities. I haven’t seen the documents so I can’t comment but if she has a current AND older passport that both say 1992 then I think there’s not much more you can do unless there are tests that can be done in which case, bring it on!
Maybe I am naive but I doubt these ministries would participate in such a fraud. It would be too embarrassing if it got out. I’m not saying the documents aren’t faked but it doesn’t and rarely does involve the government official departments. You see posters advertising fake IDs on walls all the time and it’s much more likely to be the work of the coaches or someone like that.
And honestly, He Kexin to me could easily be 14 or 16. I’m not an expert on teenage girls though, perhaps get Gary Glitter on the case.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
the london part of closing ceremony was a DISGRACE
August 26th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
‘ping pong is coming home’…
August 27th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I just read this article on London’s part of the Closing Ceremony:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2626544/Chinese-media-mocks-London-2012-Olympic-handover-performance.html
The Titan Sports Daily said: “During the performance, when the London bus pulled over, all the passengers waiting for the bus rushed into the door at the same time, which truly damaged the ‘British image’.”
Personally, I found all the polite queueing at the Olympic events to be exceptionally damaging to China’s image.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
[...] of course mentioned to her that Swedish Chinese blogger Shopgirl described the performance as “a disgrace” and we both laughed at how it was possible for someone to know even less about performing arts than [...]
August 27th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Chas – Very interesting article, thanks. It’s a little sad to see the Chinese media being less than gracious about the London 2012 segment. The idea was to show a representation of modern, multi-cultural London, not the traditional cliche that so many foreigners (non-British) people have in their minds of London in the fog and Sherlock Holmes. In that respect, I think they did a good job, even if it left many of the Chinese audience confused and bemused.
But as I said in my SMS as Boris first appeared, his appearance was very poor and his sleeves were far too long for him.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Why was it a disgrace??
August 27th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
It was a disgrace because her tiny brain can’t process anything more than designer handbags and fur vests. Anything more challenging than that she just labels a disgrace so she doesn’t have to try and explain it. She is in good company though. The British National Party also agreed it was a disgrace.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
‘Personally, I found all the polite queueing at the Olympic events to be exceptionally damaging to China’s image.’
lolololol
to be honest before I didnt really like Boris, but after the closing i dont mind him anymore. his ‘ping pong’ comment was funny and almost very chinese! his presence @ olympic was a nice contrast to the over seriousness of Beijing.
china has done well! but the chinese needs to realise, the bigger the newer the taller is not necessorily always the best, style comes in different ways!
August 27th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
D – I’m gaining more respect for you each day. You’re spot on with your comments. Bigger doesn’t always mean better and 5000 Morris dancers at the London 2012 opening ceremony is probably not the right direction for us.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
A colleague at work asked me about it today-
“What was the meaning of those last 8 minutes James?”
“Weeelll you know, red buses, rock music, umbrellas, Beckham- it’s just sort of British stuff”
“Yes but what was the meaning behind it?”
“There was no hidden symbolism it’s just like, you think of Britain, you think about football then have a bit of a dance around”
“Hmmm, not understand. What was the meaning of the umbrellas?”
etc.
I think the next opening ceremony should just be Boris walking to the middle, cutting a ribbon, 3 fireworks go off, then everyone gets drunk.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
James – I like your idea a lot, except I think everyone should get drunk first. Why try competing with 2008 drummers all drumming in unison. Less is more!
As for your colleague, well, tell him it’s art and therefore open to individuals’ own interpretation, assuming those individuals are capable of you know, thinking for themselves.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
My ideas for the 2012 Opening Ceremony:
- Ant and Dec do lots of in jokes in an incomprehensible Geordie accent and confuse everyone who isn’t British
- A modern dance troupe do an ‘interpretation’ of an English village scene, complete with a multicultural unisex cricket match and an 80 year-old lesbian granny going to Sunday communion on her Segway (apologies to Sir John Major)
- A village hall amateur dramatics group do a short play about the events of a typical saturday night in Croydon town centre
- Boris comes in on his bike to make a speech that is incomprehensible to everyone who isn’t British. And also to everyone who is.
- Prime Minister Cameron comes in on his bike, followed by a 52-car entourage.
- All the athletes and the rest of the 80,000 audience watch the event from a giant TV screen at Bluewater Shopping Centre, as they weren’t allowed into the stadium due to enhanced security following threats from Islamic terrorist groups
- The Olympic Flame is lit by accident, by someone in the crowd messing around with a laser pointer.
- The Health and Safety Executive immediately extinguish the Olympic Flame
- 90% of the Olympic events are then cancelled because risk assessments haven’t been carried out, and they are deemed not sufficiently inclusive because only extremely fit people are eligible to take part
August 28th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Chas – Some really great ideas there. I think the common recurring theme is “incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t British”, and why not!
August 29th, 2008 at 4:09 am
If the costs continue to escalate at the present rates I’d be surprised if it even happens at all. But then even that theme would be so British, so its a win/win situation I guess. I just hope they didn’t give the construction contracts to the same people who built Wembley Stadium
August 29th, 2008 at 5:01 am
May I joy you guys?
… interesting discussions.
I thought China is a conservatief country. I was surprised when I saw what the beach girls were wearing (She in China).
August 29th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Rich – Yeah, if it;s the Wembley people then we should swap with the 2016 people.
Aimmee – You’re most welcome. Conservative? Hmmm. I’ve been to 17 countries so far and never seen girls wear shorter skirts and tiny hotpants more than in China. The beach volleyball girls were overdressed!
August 29th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Bravo CP, bravo.