China's Olympic Mood


by Ernie Fitzpatrick - Date: 2008-05-17 - Word Count: 298 Share This!

The China Olympics got off to a bad start with people trying to tackle the person carrying the Olympic flame; however, that was nothing compared to what we're seeing now- earthquakes, tremors, after shocks, radioactive leaks, and potential floods from dams breaking, etc. Talk about China's Olympic mood being somber! It's more like some cosmic curse.

Eight is an auspicious number in Chinese tradition, and 2008 was supposed to be a joyful year, a time for celebrating at the Beijing Olympics and basking in international recognition of the country's tremendous progress under the careful leadership of the Communist Party. It has not turned out that way.

The uprising in Tibet on March 14 should have been a sign!

The Tibet crisis focused the world's attention on the long-festering issue of China's abuse of human rights. The worldwide Olympic torch relay, conceived as a "journey of harmony," turned into a magnet for protest, embarrassing Olympic organizers, angering nationalistic Chinese and souring the mood for the Beijing Games.

And now a violent earthquake has devastated a broad patch of central China, particularly here in mountainous Sichuan province, killing up to 50,000 people. The scale of destruction is so vast -- and the horizon for a return to normalcy so distant -- that it is difficult to imagine a carefree crowd in Beijing when the Games open Aug. 8.

Forgedaboutdit!

Across the country, Chinese had joyfully embraced the role of Olympic host. Most also seemed to buy into the idea that -- during the Olympic year, at least -- the world was ready to overlook the party's Leninist ideology and accept its promises of eventual political reform. If other nations were willing to show patience, the party hoped, the Chinese people would be encouraged to follow suit.

Now the attention is internal and the "internals" could get worse before they get better.


Related Tags: earthquake, tremors, floods, chinas olympic mood, after chocks, radioactive leaks, cosmic curse, sichuan province

ernie@lrchouston.com

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