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| China's big party: ironies of Olympic proportions |
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By Tony Le
On opening ceremony night, armed with the necessary supplies for a TV night – beer, beef jerky, imu jerky, and kangaroo jerky – I and three other people planted ourselves in front of the television in the rented flat where we were staying for meetings. Two of the colleagues came from Australia (they brought the jerky) and one from Vietnam. So why didn’t I boycott the opening ceremony? To me, there was no reason to. It was happening whether I liked it or not, and if one were to make any sort of commentary on China and what it does, one needs to know what the country is doing and how it’s doing it. Being disconnected with the events won’t make me any more informed or make my effort to expose Beijing’s hypocrisy any more effective. Truthfully, even though two of my friends fell asleep several times in the middle of the ceremony (partially due to their long trips and meetings), and the third thought that the performances were too complex and overly done, I generally enjoyed it from beginning to end. Certainly, since China’s goal is to make this Olympics, especially the ceremony, demonstrate to the world its new carefully crafted and manicured image, everything would be done on a grand scale from the many rounds of fireworks to the hundreds and hundreds of performers for every act of the performance, of which a third of the total 15,000 performers are said to be from the military . No doubt China made a big impression on the world and its own citizenry with what it pulled off last Friday evening. But as I was watching the spectacle, I couldn’t help but notice some ironies that perhaps only people who come from countries who have been victims of China’s conquests and threats can fully appreciate. First is the depiction of China’s grandeur by an army of performers relating of China’s maritime might, as they sail over the ocean and seas. No doubt, this is an attempt for China to spread some good old Chinese propaganda to the world that China’s conquests are not only limited to the mainland but to the sea as well, justifying its relentless claims on the East China Sea and Vietnam’s Eastern Sea. China says that it began administering the Paracel and Spratly Islands since early dynasties hundreds of years before Vietnam’s historical documents record of activities on the islands, though concrete and credible evidence supporting this claim is virtually non-existent. After the depiction of China’s historical maritime strength, we are enlightened on China’s modern day power as China makes the transition into joining the class of countries leading the world into the future. The highly creative minds behind the Olympic ceremony did not forget to include the Chinese government’s mantra of “peaceful rise” as scenes of China’s modern day strength is impressed against a giant dove that gently outstretches its wings as it takes flight. Unfortunately, the impressions in one’s mind of the giant dove’s graceful wings are superimposed by images of the mechanical and stern gestures of the People Liberation Army's goose-stepping soldiers as they handle the Chinese and Olympic flags, reminding us that the role of China’s military was not only limited to keeping the games safe but also made it into the very way the world should look upon this upstart superpower. Bringing the soldiers into the ceremony once again reinforced the message that in the new world order, China’s peaceful rise was not going to be carried out with only the help of honey-covered words and graceful gestures. But one could expect some coercive gestures as well. The Olympic opening ceremony is an event laden with symbolisms. From the spectacle on display last Friday, China again transmits a message that is filled with deception and contradictions. A careful examination reveals a celebration of cultural and political conquest masked under pretentious aesthetic presentations while modern day military ambitions is deceptively softened by cliched depictions of gentle birds taking flight. All in all, China achieved its purpose as it basked under the glory of the limelight and reveled under the praises poured upon it by the media worldwide. However, in the future, when what many in the world fear about China becomes reality, one certainly cannot say that evidence of it had not been seen in the events before, during, and perhaps right after the Olympics itself.
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I had an internal struggle whether I would watch the Olympic opening ceremony or not, even though I really knew that it was never much of a debate. Although I had to be away for a two-day meeting, I always planned my schedules around the time of the ceremony. Fortunately, Bangkok time is only one hour behind Beijing time so I could watch the ceremony live.
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