The not too recent news of Chinese authorities crackdown on those who applied to "legally" protest at the special venues set up throughout Beijing during the games has finally sunk down deep into my soul. I'm left with a rotten taste in my mouth that no amount of Olympic spirit can wash away.
To be surrounded for a year with the bright slogans, the "One World, One Dreams", the mascots, the new buildings and the excitement that was in the air (or airwaves really, there was a daily countdown towards the Olympic games on every public transport T.V. starting 180 days before) made me develop a passing acceptance of the games that grew stronger and stronger as the calendar counted down to 8.8.8. Now I see that those cheerful messages weren't meant for everyone, just foreigners and middle-upperclass Chinese. The masses, the poor, the migrant workers were meant to stand on the sidelines from the beginning. How else to explain why the government silenced voices that were patient enough to go through all the bureaucracy to apply for permits to peacefully protest a problem that has probably been tormenting them for years?
Everyone around the globe who watched the opening ceremony should also pay just as much attention to these stories. They will see these games for what they truly are. For years during the buildup to these Olympics they were discussed as a symbol of China's might and it's entrance onto the world stage, but that's not what they are. The deeply disappointing actions that the government took show that this years games, all the pomp and circumstance is nothing but an illusion. One that took tens of billions of dollars to pay for and was built on the backs of millions of neglected rural laborers. If these games are supposed to show strength. What strength? The strength of a one party government to order large amounts of funds from its blazing economy to be used to pay for everything? There is no strength in a government that is so afraid of opposition that it deceives its own people into thinking that their voice may finally be heard and then not only snatches that opportunity from them, but also punishes them for even daring to try. This is just weakness.
Every country has its problems. I know several of the ones that America has first hand: racism, overcrowded prisons, apathy, a strong culture of consumerism... but in that country the people are able to talk about it. To question why they may have been wronged and to find new ways to overcome these problems. Perhaps because in that country the government is strong enough to meet these grievances head on and to start a dialogue. The US also does shadier things than punishing protesters; extraodinary rendition and the Iraq war are also unforgiveable and have hurt the country's standing among the world and self-image but the ordinary citizen can take to the street and demand the country to be held accountable, this is what has brought about the issues that define this year's election and will change America for the better.
When the Chinese government has the courage to listen to the country's most disaffected voices, that is the time when the world will see its true strength. If the government continues to just create expensive spectacles and empty promises its power will be worth as much as a Fuwa doll will be a month or two from now.
Next topic: Art in Beijing
