China’s coming out party

The 8-person Vincentian contingent to the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, China, will be among the smallest delegations at the world’s biggest sporting event. Our two athletes will almost be unrecognizable among the swarm of over 16,000 athletes expected from all over the globe. At a cost of more than EC$100 billion, the Beijing Olympics are estimated to be the most costly in history, costing about three times those of the previous Games, in Athens, 2004.{{more}} The opening ceremony alone is estimated to cost about EC$750 million. It is expected to be a spectacular celebration, bringing together the huge tide of athletes, before a live audience of over 90,000 with billions more watching via television worldwide. Ten thousand performers, backed up by 70,000 Chinese volunteers, will display their talents in front of over 80 Heads of State and 20,000 journalists, completing the magnificence of the occasion.

The choice of China to host the 25th Olympiad, is no mere accident. Rather, it reflects the shift in the balance of power in the world today. China, long plundered by foreign invaders and colonialists, its people subjected to oppression and racial discrimination, has managed to preserve its rich historical and cultural heritage, maintain the unity of its people, and building on a socialist foundation, emerged as one of the most dynamic nations on the world stage. It has become only the third Asian country to host the Olympic (Japan, 1964 and South Korea, 1988, being the others). Only Australia (1956 and 2000) and Mexico, 1968, outside the dominant Europe/North America bloc, have had this privilege.

For the Chinese people, it is the opportunity to showcase their country to the world. They have wasted no time in doing so. The fantastic architectural skills of the Chinese people are manifested in modern wonders of the world such as the main stadium, called the “Bird’s Nest”, and the swimming venue, the “Water Cube”. Significantly, unlike Athens and previous venues, the Chinese completed these well in time. The blend of a modern, technologically advanced China, in the context of its 4000-year history, is surely a model of how to advance without losing one’s roots. Much is being made in the western media about China’s problems, ranging from human rights to air quality, but not enough on China’s efficiency in preparing for the Games-the discipline, the infrastructure, the orderliness, the cleanliness and emphasis on manners and appropriate dress. The Chinese have even trained 90,000 taxi-drivers to speak “Olympic English” to accomodate their guests.

So the stage is set for this vast cultural and sporting exchange. Traditional rivalry will also have its place with nations vying for top places in the medal table, even as individual athletes seek gold. In the Cold War era, there was bitter rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy. China is today the main rival of the USA for dominance. Twenty years ago, in Seoul, China won only 5 gold medals compared with America’s 36. It has rapidly improved ever since. In 1992, Chinese athletes took home 6 gold medals (the USA 37). They won an equal number 1n 1996, reaching 4th place in the medal table, China’s best-ever.

Not content to sit on these laurels, China has spared no effort and expense in developing a wide range of sporting disciplines and training their young athletes for excellence. Significantly, patriotism plays a major role as a motivating factor. As the Chinese economy grew, as society developed, so too did sporting prowess to reflect those developments. Thus in the year 2000, the Chinese gold medal tally reached 28 (compared with 40 for the USA), giving China third place in the medal table. Four years ago they went one better, just being edged out of first place by the USA, 32 golds to 35. Can China go all the way on home soil?

Even as we wish every success for the 2008 Games, as Caribbean people we will be rooting for our own. The air is pregnant with hope with the fantastic Jamaicans leading the way, but with Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and Bahamas among the hopeful. Good luck to all!

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.