Searching for the Olympic Spirit in China

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Searching for the Olympic Spirit in China

Written by Robert Vance on July 15, 2008 – 9:00 am

Robert Vance here. With under a month remaining before Beijing basks in the glorious light of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, I am in search of something that has gone missing in China. I have been faithfully searching for it but it continues to elude me. It was here just a few short months ago. I know it was; I experienced it. What am I looking for? I am searching for any sign of the Olympic Spirit that once swept through this land like a strong wind. At the beginning of the year, the Spirit could be found in people’s eyes here. It was evident whenever I had dinner with my friends or taught an English class. There was an excitement that could hardly be contained. But now what? Where did it go?

“The Sichuan earthquake changed our feeling a bit,” a friend explained to me recently. “We are excited about August but not so much as before.” While other friends and students have agreed with this somber statement, I sense that there is more than just the tragedy in Sichuan that has dampened people’s Olympic enthusiasm here in China.

From the moment that the IOC bestowed the Olympic Game upon Beijing there was never any doubt that there would be controversy. However, I do not think that the Chinese people were really prepared for the protests and other backlash that followed the Torch on its ill-fated journey around the world. Even without the international backlash surrounding the Olympics, the first half of 2008 has been full of confusion, disappointment, and heartache for the Chinese people. The harsh and deadly winter, the tragic train crash in Shandong, the earthquake in Sichuan, and numerous floods in the South of China are alone enough to sober anyone’s happy mood. When you add the violence in Tibet, the Carrefour protests, the CNN controversy and the Torch’s less than friendly welcome worldwide you have the makings of a very troubling period of time for the Chinese people. Thus, I am not surprised that many of my friends and students are not as excited as they were before about the August festivities in Beijing. I think many are simply emotionally exhausted.

On one hand, I feel sorry for the Chinese people. I believe that their government (the CCP) has politicized the Olympics to a degree that the people have taken the worldwide protests very personally. Instead of understanding that protests and controversy in general often accompany the Olympic Games, they are told by their government that their feelings should be hurt. As a result, there seems to be some disillusionment here as the Olympic Games draw closer.

On the other hand, the rude awakening that the Chinese people have recently experienced may be just what they need to realize that not all is well here. Through its tight grip on the media, the Chinese government has attempted to convince its people that human rights violations in China are a relic of the past. While most Chinese people will unquestioningly support their government, there must be some people here who have had their confidence shaken in recent months. After all, the outcry against China has not just come from one country or one media outlet. There truly has been an international protest which should cause some here to at least question the government’s current policies in China.

Change will not happen overnight in China. The Olympics will begin and 18 days later they will finish and the world spotlight on China will shine somewhere else. But when change does occur in China it will come from within the PRC as people question more and more the true state of affairs in their developing country. As I wrote in an article entitled Why Bush Should Attend the 2008 Olympics in China, the change that has thus far occurred in China is remarkable. Hopefully, the international spotlight that has been focused on China this year will further promote positive and lasting change in China that will far outlast the memory of the 2008 Olympic Games

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