The 2008 Beijing Olympics have completed all their events. The closing ceremony has been televised to the world. The athletes have gone home. TV and sports commentators have called the games a success for China. The facilities, the presentations, and its # 1 placement in gold medals have shown that the Celestial Kingdom has recovered from the invasion of the West.
China is China once again and the little emperors are heirs to the fortune of the world's most dynamic economy. Foreign politicians are concerned that the progress comes at the expense of freedom, however feed the stomachs and the mind will follow the Politburo's brainwashing.
China is great.
12 years ago I was in Dali, Yunnan. Three ex-Red Guards were extolling the power of China.
"You westerners fear the power of China."
"No, we fear your chaos." Chinese love order more than anything, knowing even 50 million crazy Chinese can cause havoc and the Chinese leaders countenanced no displays of dissent during the Games. The NBC TV commentators never mentioned Tibet. No one said anything about the imprisoned victims of the 2008 earthquake or the legions of Falun Gong supporters in the state-run gulags. They wouldn't segue with SUV commercials.
I watched very little of the Olympics.
Synchronized swimming and little else.
I love those girls' frozen smiles.
Now Beijing can go back to normal.
Bring on the smog.
TOP FIVE MEDAL WINNERS
China 51 21 28 100
United States 36 38 36 110
Russia 23 21 28 72
Britain 19 13 15 47
Germany 16 10 15 41
No comments:
Post a Comment