Olympics Go Home
I respectfully request that the Olympics leave China. Please take the Olympic flame back to Athens. Instead of bringing the joy, prosperity, and openness that was promised, the Games have brought us nothing but headache. Our lives have been made more complicated and wearying, so I make this appeal of behalf of foreigners in China, and not a few Chinese as well: Olympics go home.
The Myth of the West: Part 1 – Kaifang
Orientalism is a powerful idea in Western culture. It has associations with being strange, foreign, or representing the Other. It conjures up images of an ancient society, filled with narrow-eyed, inscrutable men; willowy women with painted faces and silk dresses; and benign septuagenarians with fists of steel and a mouth full of riddles. It is a compelling image, one most Westerners treat as phantasmagoria; a myth with little substance in today’s reality. In China, there is an equally compelling myth called xifang, or Western. But unlike Orientalism in the West, this myth is still very much alive and relevant to today’s Chinese.
The Source of Chinese Nationalism
Chinese nationalism is a living fire that burns in the hearts of China’s citizens. And, like any fire, it can be unpredictable. Many in the West feel as if China’s nationalistic pride is state-directed and controlled. Protests and demonstrations are seen as either government directed or fueled by misinformation from state-controlled media. This is, like many monolithic views of “the sleeping giant,” a fundamentally oversimplified view. Chinese nationalistic pride has taken on a life of its own, and it is difficult to predict where it will lead the country.
Free Radicals
Let’s see… right now we’ve got a global food crisis; two wars and a primary race that might never end, not to mention dropping home prices in the U.S.; a farcical election in Zimbabwe; continuing plight in the Congo; and, the media staple: drama surrounding the Beijing Olympics.
Let’s say, hypothetically, we run all these stories in a serious international magazine, what should our lead be? The editors at The Economist, faced with that question, chose a story about Chinese nationalism. But what to put on the cover? I know! What says “Chinese nationalism” better than an angry cartoon dragon? But don’t make him too angry, that would be demeaning.
Chickens Coming Home to Roost
Too much blood—and ink—has been spilled since protests erupted in Lhasa less than a month ago. The Tibet issue has been used as a proxy by the Left and the Right in both China and the West to serve the aims of each disparate faction. Now it seems as though no group is willing to brook a narrative that deviates from its oft-repeated truisms.
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 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 amount of security surrounding the torch resembles an entire pro football team’s worth of brawny bodyguards. Ladies and gentlemen, this situation has passed beyond political protest and into the realm of utter farce.
Racism Where You Can’t See It
Ignorance and facile thinking lead many to believe that we live in a Manichean world. The Axis of Evil and declarations such as “you’re either with us or against us” are inextricably linked to President Bush. Academics, liberals, and the majority of conservatives have quarreled with this simplistic formulation of international affairs. Many of the people who attack the President for his rhetoric or rail against the “War on Terror” may repeat many of the President’s mistakes when talking about China if they are not careful.
Opening Ceremonies
Barring a global cataclysm, 2008, in the minds of Beijingers and Chinese alike, will be synonymous with the word “Olympics.” The next two hundred days are just a formality.
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