Olympics hangover

So the Olympics ended last Sunday with the closing ceremonies. The funny thing is that if you turn on the TV here in Shanghai, you can still watch the Opening Ceremonies, the Closing Ceremonies, selected events such as the USA-Spain basketball gold medal game and the USA-China basketball match.

After being inundated with wall to wall Olympic coverage on 5 CCTV channels and the Shanghai sports channel, you can say that I am pretty much Olympicked-out (if there is such a word). But its been a week after the Olympics and its almost as if the country cannot put this event behind them. I guess it is no wonder since this is the first large scale international event that China has hosted where it gave the country so much "face" (面子）, and we all know how important that is to the Chinese people.

Fall of an Icon

Today, the Chinese 110 meter hurdler Liu Xiang withdrew from his first race thereby ending his dream of repeating as Olympic champion in his event. I think it is fair to say that this sent shock-waves through the collective Chinese psyche. This is the last athlete that anyone in China would want this to happen to.

To understand the magnitude of this development, one has to consider the place that China sits in the world today. China is an country whose people believe that they are on the threshold of being a superpower, even though in reality it probably already is. There is a deep seated inferiority complex in the Chinese psyche. The times of chaos, upheaval and poverty was only a generation ago. There are deep scars from those times. The education system very much emphasizes how tough life has been for the Chinese in the past 100 years. From being occupied by the western powers in the earlier part of the century to the atrocities committed by the Japanese during WW2. Even though the madness of Mao is not taught in the schools, they are very much fresh in the memories of the middle aged to the elderly in the Chinese population. The Chinese very much recognize their shortcomings.

The other factor is the obvious fact that the Chinese do not excel in track and field events. The rare events that the Chinese had previous success are in the endurance events, not the short distance track event that are normally dominated by the black athlete. The Chinese excel at events where skill, quickness and hand-eye coordination are important. The 110 meter hurdle and other sprint events represents power and speed and machismo. Liu Xiang represents the rarest of the Chinese athlete.

This confluence of factors has stirred up very strong feelings for Liu Xiang. He symbolizes the image of a new China, one that is constantly improving and ready to show the world what they are capable of.

I personally believe that the Chinese would trade all of the ping pong and badminton gold medals that they have won in these Olympics for Liu Xiang to get his gold. It may take another 30 years for the next Liu Xiang to come along.

Olympic controversy

What would a world event be without a controversy? The Spanish Olympic basketball team apparently posed for an advertisement for a Spanish courier service where they used their fingers to push the side of their eyes upward to mimic a "slit-eyed Chinese". I think the image speaks for itself. There will be prejudices among us no matter what because of our differences. It is just part of our nature.

For me personally, I found the pose offensive since I grew up in America in the 1980's, a period of time where a place like New York was not as diverse as it is now. During my childhood these kind of insults were commonplace. It speaks to the deep-seated prejudice that exists in all of us that emerge from ignorance. Children are the most honest, so it is in that environment where you see the true image of society. In that environment, there wasn't a day that went by where I was unaware of how I stand out among the crowd. I think my surroundings let me know all of the time. So for me, I recognize the gesture by the Spanish Olympic basketball team immediately.

The more interesting thing is that when I showed the picture to my colleagues who are native Chinese, they couldn't figure out what the pose stood for. I suspected that the reaction would be as such. The Chinese people who grew up in China live in a more homogeneous society where they were the majority. They have never been exposed to the type of racism that those of us who were raised overseas experienced. If anything, they were the ones perpetrating the stereotyping of the ethnic minorities in China such as the Tibetans and the Uighers.

I have learned over time, that every once in a while you are reminded of some the ugliness of human nature that exists in all of us.

Olympics thoughts 2

I just had a chance to see the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. I must admit that even though I grew up in America, there was a definite sense of pride that I had for the country being able to host these games.

The opening ceremonies started with a 75 minute tribute to the 5000 year history of China. For those with some knowledge about Chinese history, there was some meaning to these performances. However, I am sure for most people in the States, about the only thing that they could specifically understand is probably during the Tai-Chi performance.

The parade of the athletes was a drawn out, near 2.5 hour affair. Honestly it was interesting to watch in the beginning but after about a hour of seeing countries being introduced and circumnavigating the stadium mostly from nondescript countries it became a bit mundane. The most anticipated event was the lighting of the Olympic torch. It certainly did not disappoint as the former 3 time gold medalist (and 6 time medalist) Li Ning from the 1984 Olympics circumnavigated the top rim of stadium hanging from thin cables to light the torch.

Overall, it was a celebration of China and its willingness to engage the rest of the world. I was struck by the spirit of the volunteers who performed in the ceremony, as there was a definite sense of excitement and enthusiasm one typically does not see in Chinese people. It was almost as if they knew everyone was watching and they just wanted to connect with them through the television screen. I think I underestimated how important the Olympics is to a country like China who have been secluded and shrouded in mystery to most outsiders. I think now I understand, and I hope this marks the beginning of a true understanding of the culture and the people of China. I hope it changes the perception of China from the rest of the world.