For China, It's Showtime

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Olympics '08: Let the Games Begin

The opening ceremonies of the Olympics are finally here, but there are still worries about security and pollution.

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The arrival of more than 80 foreign heads of state to be on hand for Friday evening's opening extravaganza, including President Bush, also has played an important role in shaping Chinese views on the Games. Many Chinese, Kang said, interpret the visits by foreign dignitaries as an endorsement of the party's rule in recent times and a show of faith that more reforms are on the way to soften the Leninist political system.

"They believe this is the international community recognizing China's success over the last 30 years," he said.

Noting the appeal of the large Chinese market, some analysts have slyly compared the visiting leaders to foreigners who traveled to Beijing in ancient times to pay tribute to Chinese emperors. But for most Chinese, interviews show, the meaning is rather that China is no longer an ideological outcast and is regarded by foreigners as a normal, powerful country with which they can do business and must have friendly relations.

The perception on this and other issues has been driven home by relentless propaganda in the controlled press and television news, noted Li Datong, a prominent editor who was once fired for overstepping censorship lines. And for the overwhelming majority of Chinese, these reports are their only contact with the Olympics, Li noted.

Under guidance from the party's Central Propaganda Bureau, the Olympics reports have unfailingly described happy Chinese readying a joyous festival and delighted visitors exulting in their encounters with friendly natives.

"To ensure safety, all village residents have to pass the safety check," began the caption of a photo in last Thursday's People's Daily that showed a Puerto Rican team official arriving at the Olympic Village and being patted down by a smiling young woman. "Seeing the safety workers' conscientious attitude and warm-hearted services, all guests are happy to cooperate."

In fact, foreigners have complained loudly in recent weeks about what they consider heavy-handed security and overly tight visa restrictions. Because of the new visa controls, many foreigners working here have been forced to leave; others who planned to visit for the Olympics have canceled. Beijing hotel managers who began the year expecting a bonanza have reported fewer tourists than usual for this time of year.

With a bombing attack against border police in the far western Xinjiang region Monday, the government has every reason to take precautions, said Shi Yinhong, who runs the Center for American Studies at People's University. But many of the measures have created an impression of going overboard, he added.

Some airports require half a dozen security checks, for instance, and Beijing authorities have banned kites and homing pigeons out of concern they could interfere with aviation.

"I think they have put too much emphasis on security, at the price of taking the fun out of the Olympics," Shi said.

Partly because of the tight security climate, China's hope that the Olympics would also become a showcase for the rest of the world to join in appreciating the party's achievements has largely faded. Instead, the government has been forced to defend its human rights record against foreign criticism and answer charges that it oppresses the Tibetan and Uighur minorities in western China. Foreign Ministry spokesmen repeatedly have accused the foreign critics of "ulterior motives," harking back to an earlier era of hostile relations abroad.

In mounting criticisms, international human rights groups have accused China of reneging on promises made in 2001 when it won the right to hold the Games. But anyone who expected that holding the Olympics would provoke genuine change in China suffered from a fundamental misunderstanding, Li said.

China is so large and burdened by such a long history, and the Communist Party so entrenched at every level of society, that any substantial change will take years, including changes in the way the party approaches human rights, he said. "This is a real Communist Party, not like Cuba or something," he said. "A few days of Olympics, how can that change China? It's not possible. Of course not."

But the seeds of at least one change may have been planted in the emphasis on trying to clean up Beijing's polluted air for the games, Shi suggested.

Nearly half Beijing's 3.3 million cars were taken off the street beginning July 20 by driving restrictions. Although the city remains under a polluted haze, Shi noted, its residents have embraced more than ever before the idea that something should be done to clean up their environment.

"They have never had such a strong sense of the importance of pollution," he said. "Maybe the greatest heritage of the Olympics will be our sense of the importance of a blue sky and traffic conditions that are not so horrible."