Beijing 2008 Olympics: A two-edged sword

In less than a month from now, the Olympics will begin. It is an opportunity for the Chinese government to expose to the magnificence of its nation to the judgement of world public opinion. However, the event will take place in a context of governance quite different that which is accepted by the West. When combined with the presence of various groups of detractors, an important question arises. Is China up to this monumental challenge?

“It has become a public relations issue and China is struggling to escape it. Senior Western diplomats have been summoned by the Foreign Ministry of China to see bloody videos of atrocities allegedly committed by Tibetan rioters. Selected foreign journalists have been invited to Tibet to see the damage. The authorities are suddenly less certain that the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing are the diplomatic triumph that they had been expecting.” So began one of the feature articles in The Economist published a few months ago on the situation in Tibet, synthesizing step by step the problem that this "set design" represents for Chinese authorities.

The Chinese problem is two-edged. One is directly related to internal politics, based on ancient tradition, which has never allowed external issues to impact its affairs. This political culture began to be stressful a little over a decade ago, when China decided to integrate into the global economy; looking to capitalize on its benefits, yet probably not very aware of some of its effects, such as the constant scrutiny of the international media.

This has meant that is has had to confront activist groups from time to time that are critical of its authoritarian style of government, adopted thousands of years ago as a way of maintaining the unity of a vast empire. However, dealing with the specific demands of small groups scattered throughout the world is extremely simple compared with what the nation is beginning to live at present because of the Olympics: a barrage of criticism from officials and from senior members of the world’s popular culture.

We should keep in mind statements made by the President of the European Union and French President Nicolas Sarkozy about a possible boycott. We should also recall the departure of Steven Spielberg, one of Hollywood’s most respected directors, as artistic adviser to the Olympics. We should also recall the impact that The Sunday Times produced, when columnist Michael Portillo compared the current situation in China, with what he experienced in Berlin: Hitler’s joy in exploiting the Berlin Olympics in 1936 as a showcase for Nazism, which became angry when the Afro-American Jesse Owens won four gold medals.

Then we have this proud nation, which has never been willing to integrate itself into parameters of conduct imposed on it by foreigners. A nation which seeks to focus the world's eyes on itself via the Olympics, offering a show that vindicates the image that the world has of it. Aspirations that, however, also focus on a scenario in which exist values contradictory to those commonly accepted by the international community.

The other side of the sword is separate from the first. The Olympics provide an opportunity for those who, for various moral, ideological or political or economic reasons have something to say against the Chinese government. With the same tenacity that the Chinese authorities are trained to defend their political administrative style, there are Chinese, scattered throughout the world and inside the country, who are absolutely committed to making their problems known throughout the world.

For all these people, the Beijing Olympics are a media opportunity without precedence. B. Raman, director of the Institute for Topical Studies, Chennai, has warned on numerous occasions that several activist groups are developing strategies to make their demands more visible in the Olympic context: young Tibetan highly intelligent and erudite on the Internet, the Uyghur admirers of Bin Laden, Falun Gong, groups of disgruntled young Chinese, pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, and many anti-China groups in the United States ... all of whom have planned their own Year of the Trojan Rat (a computer virus was suspected to be created by Chinese who wished to boycott the Olympics).

The mobilization against Beijing has primarily come from religious and political groups. The spread of the cause of the Dalai Lama is only the best known example, perhaps the one with the longest history. The path of the torch was an opportunity to give visibility to this cause, from its start until it entered Chinese territory.

In the same religious-political vein, one of the groups from whom the Chinese most fear violence is the Uyghurs. A reported eight million activists belong to this Muslim Turkish ethnic group, who live in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, in the west of the country. The group is composed of separatists, who resent the religious repression of Muslims who live in the area. The latter issue has forced the Chinese government to address the various attacks by terrorists who identify with the Islamic Jihad and, according to allegations from the Chinese government, have ties to Osama bin Laden.

A significant number of experts argue that the Communist Party decided to turn China into the focus of international attention too soon. They also feel the country is not yet prepared to face so much criticism from media who also feel their rights have resrticted. "The guarantee of freedom of the press, as well as the improving of human rights conditions have been promises made for more than twenty years by the government in Beijing. Therefore, the implementation of these terms of openness during the Olympics, and their maintenance over time, remain to be seen,” states journalist and political analyst Felipe Venegas.

Obviously the Beijing leadership has not properly counted the PR costs that the preparatory time for the Olympics has incurred. However, this portal believes that the nationalist wave emerging in the interior of China and the Chinese Diaspora, which responded to criticism as though it were an insult to national honor, are factors that strengthen the current Chinese leadership’s position. And internal legitimacy is certainly more important to Beijing that international image.

Despite all these drawbacks, there are experts who are predicting that the Games will be a profitable venture for China. "The bottom line will be positive because, despite receiving criticism for pollution, China will project a generally good image, because they are taking good care of visitors, acting as a cohesive unit. Visitors will be surprised by the level organizational of the Games and events," says Veronica Barrios, coordinator of the area of Congressional Advisory Service’s foreign affairs section. However, she also warned about the obstacles that the Chinese must overcome: "They are going to have some degree of inconvenience in handling the media, because if reporters ask about issues related to human rights, they will not know how to manage these issues. In addition, they are going to have to give more freedom to connect to the Internet and satellites. They will also have to find a balance between reducing the restrictions and maintaining internal order," she explained.

The competitors are on their marks. It only remains to be seen how Chinese leaders will meet the challenges outlined above. There are an infinite numbers of hurdles to jump, and the results are yet to be seen.