Thoughts on the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

Today is a day that I've been eagerly anticipating for more than 7 years. On July 13th, 2001, not only did I step foot in Beijing for the first time in my life, but I also witnessed firsthand the euphoria that erupted in Beijing the moment it was announced that it had won the bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In the past 7 years, especially in the year I lived in Beijing (2004-2005), I have derived great pleasure in witnessing dramatic transformations in Beijing and China. Unlike many other Westerners, I believe that on the whole, these changes have been positive. In recent years, China has come to inspire a looming sense of discomfort among a growing number of people around the world (a sense of discomfort exceeded only by the fear caused by a small number of terrorists and insurgents from the Middle East and Central Asia, and perhaps the "liberators" who have gone after them). China has been blamed for propping up rogue regimes and arming (and giving diplomatic shelter to) future war criminals; unfair trade practices, job losses, and environmental degradation; heavy-handed enforcement of its ethnic minorities, the forced displacement of its population, and persecution of dissidents and those who question the regime; and threatening rhetoric to separatist and pro-independence movements that challenge China's national sovereignty.

While I am no apologist for the China's top leaders, and while I do acknowledge that there is some truth in the statements above, I also know well enough that things could be far worse than they currently are, and that China's leaders have been doing a superb job, considering the constraints they face and considering the shape the country was in only a brief 32 years ago. Let's put our criticism into context and also give credit where it's due. I feel that that the positive developments in China have been overshadowed by far too much negative reporting. No, China is not perfect. Nobody is.

What about Beijing itself? Has it become a better city? On the one hand, monuments (and projects of monumental scale and spirit) designed by the world's most illustrious architects and state-of-the-art infrastructure have been built in record time; money has been poured into the long-dismal public transportation system, and the subway, which just 5 years ago consisted of 2 lines and 54km of track, has expanded to 6 lines and 180km of track; the factories that scourged Beijing's skies in the 80s and 90s have been dismantled and relocated to the outer suburbs; taxi drivers and other service sector workers have been brushing up on their English and have been taught to be more friendly; and residents of Beijing have been urged to behave better, e.g. to stop spitting on the ground, to stop smoking in restaurants and other public places, and to queue up at subway stations, bus stops, post offices, etc. On the other hand, large numbers of Beijingers have been evicted from their traditional "hutong" (alley) neighbourhoods, which have been demolished to make way for Olympic venues and other new construction; the social campaigns aimed at changing behaviour seem both heavy-handed and insulting; the lives of ordinary Beijingers have been disrupted by strict traffic restrictions and vigilant security checks; and millions of migrant workers have been asked to disappear during the Games, depriving them of their livelihoods in the capital.

Yes, the Beijing and central governments have been a bit drastic in trying to put on a great show this summer. But rather than attacking the government for going to such lengths and for their desire to put on a show, let's try to understand that the Chinese people want the Games to be a success too. Applauding a job well done does not endorse communism, communists, tyranny, totalitarianism, or an oligarchy. Talk to some people in China or from China and ask them whether or not they want the Games to go well. Talk to the hundreds of thousands of volunteers and to the millions of residents in Beijing. They would be most disappointed if their efforts to be gracious hosts are rebuffed. It would a be a slap in the face if people insist on talking about Tibetans, the Falun Gong, Darfur, or Taiwan. It would be a grave insult if everybody's efforts on hosting the Games is overshadowed by the protests of some ill-informed and naive has-been celebrity, second-rate athlete, or blowhard foreign correspondent or news anchor.

I sincerely hope that the world will focus on the positive, that China will be gracious hosts, and that the rest of the world will be grateful guests who will be impressed and pleased by what they see. I hope that instead of constantly nitpicking on niggling issues, world leaders, athletes, reporters, and spectators will give credit where it is due and will appreciate that however slowly, China is headed in the right direction and that we are all on the same page. Rather than pointing to what China has been doing wrong, why not offer constructive criticism on what China has yet to do right? Rather than singling out China's top leaders for abuse, why not recognize what they have accomplished well and to understand the constraints that hinder what yet needs to be done?

For the next 17 days, I will cheer for both Canada and China, and will even cheer for Hong Kong's athletes too. I will cheer for Hong Kong, where I currently live and the place where my parents grew up. I will cheer for Canada, the land of my birth and a country I admire for its values (e.g. multiculturalism, universal health care, etc.) and for its wonderful people. But most of all, I will cheer for China, my ancestral homeland, a once-glorious civilization that is once again becoming glorious after two centuries of suffering, humiliation, and backwardness.