The 29th Olympiad

Neither the Time Nor the Place

In the wake of the Olympic torch, chaos and pandemonium. In London, at least 30 people were arrested. Police tackled activists, including one that was intercepted bearing a fire extinguisher to take out the Olympic torch. In Paris, at least 20 people have been arrested and large parts of the planned torch relay have been canceled. Athletes and celebrities have been harassed by booing crowds waving pro-Tibet banners. One athlete in a wheelchair—a ping-pong champion carrying the Olympic torch—was pelted with bottles and fruit. The number of security personnel surrounding the torch resembles a president’s Secret Service entourage. Ladies and gentlemen, this situation has passed beyond political protest and into the realm of utter farce.

Let us try to recall the Olympic spirit. The second point of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism is “to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.” It goes on to state that “any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.” The Olympics are about celebrating human achievement, not about pelting hapless wheelchair-bound athletes with fruit. The protesters have chosen the wrong targets and the wrong methods to get their message across. Instead of fostering greater cooperation and understanding, they seem determined to use the Olympics as leverage to shame China into changing its behavior; as if stopping the Olympic torch relay would somehow liberate the people in Tibet. It also puts athletes in a difficult situation where their achievement becomes a stigma instead of a source of pride.

These protesters and activists suffer from a fundamental lack of understanding when it comes to Asian cultural values. Embarrassing the Chinese government by staging massive protests will not help Tibet. On the contrary, it will merely stiffen their backs and make it harder for moderates to be heard. The Chinese government cannot afford to be seen as weak and will refuse to back down from confrontation by dissenters. It has always operated that way and there is no reason to believe that it will stop now. All that these protests accomplish is guaranteeing that controls on Tibet will become all the tighter as the Olympics approach. To do otherwise would be an enormous loss of face.

Solving this crisis is not as simple as making the government embarrassed about the Tibet issue. While China is a one-party authoritarian state, its legitimacy rests on the basis of popular cooperation. No one understands better than Chinese leaders that peasant rebellions have brought down most of the dynasties in Chinese history and that it was a peasant rebellion that brought the current government into power in the first place. To give way on Tibet would bring anarchy and chaos to more than just Lhasa; riots would erupt all over China, on a much bigger scale than the disturbances that wracked the country when the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was bombed by the United States.

Boycotting the Olympics is becoming an increasingly popular topic among world leaders and the fashionably PC around the world. The stated reasons are usually one of two: China’s actions (or lack thereof) in Darfur, or, the violence in Tibet. Never mind that China has had a consistent noninterference policy for decades. Never mind that the Tibetans started it, this time around. When Algerian-French immigrants are attacked by French youth seeking to preserve their cultural identity, this is seen as racism on the part of the French. When the Tibetans attack the Han Chinese, it’s seen as a natural, if slightly regrettable, consequence of Tibetans trying to preserve their cultural identity. The belief, it seems, is that boycotting the Olympics will somehow improve the human rights situation in China for the better.

Instead, what they are doing is challenging a nation with a bit of an inferiority complex regarding the West. Putting aside the goals of the Chinese government, the Chinese people view the Olympics as a chance to show off how their country has modernized and improved. Many Chinese take it as a point of immense national pride that the Olympics are being held in their country. Perhaps we in the West, somewhat jaded by the Olympics, think of it primarily in terms of commerce and tourism and politics. For China, that’s only a part of it. They feel about it in much the same way that Americans felt about Neil Armstrong landing on the moon—a historic first of epic proportions that everyone can be proud of. The Olympics are not about human rights—they’re about validation and modernization. By criticizing China and the Olympics, one runs the risk of alienating the Chinese people entirely. Boycotting the Olympics will only rouse popular resentment against the West—a resentment that is already gaining momentum. For the Chinese, Tibet, the Olympics, and Taiwan are all tied up in the broader issue of China’s self-image. You cannot attack one without attacking the others. The Olympic boycotts will merely stiffen resentment among Chinese and inspire them to become even more stubborn.

The Chinese call the 1800s “the century of humiliations”. In it, a weak and corrupt Qing Dynasty was forced by arrogant and strong Western powers into a series of humiliating concessions. Self-righteous condemnation from Western nations, with their own spotty record, is one form of pressure that the Chinese are acutely sensitive towards. Any government that bows to that form of pressure will be seen as weak and corrupt, in much the same way that the Qing dynasty is perceived in modern times.

To effect change, one must come to China. It would do much more for celebrities and protesters around the world to come see the sights, acknowledge China’s long history and rapid modernization, kiss the babies, etc. This would, in the Chinese’s eyes, give them the credibility to criticize China. Only then will they have a chance of being listened to. What they are doing now is simply alienating the moderates and spurring the undecided into moving firmly into the hardliners’ camp. Boycotts and protests are just another weapon in their arsenal to strengthen their faction at the expense of progress and change.

Ultimately, the way Westerners choose to make their protests known are counterproductive. They spend far too much time focusing on China’s weaknesses, without acknowledging China’s strengths. A more balanced approach is needed, by world leaders, protesters, and celebrities alike, to show that they are capable of mature and reasoned approaches. An appeal based on emotion is unlikely to reach the Chinese audience that they are trying to move.

© 2008 The Hypermodern.