2008 Ad

National Review, June 2, 2008 by Jay Nordlinger

THE Beijing Olympics are approaching: They will begin on August 8. They were scheduled to begin earlier, on July 25--but the government's meteorologists counseled that the start be delayed, increasing the chances of fair weather. Everything must be perfect for the Beijing Olympics: They are China's "coming-out party," as everyone says.

The Olympics are, indeed, a pivotal moment for China, and its Communist government (if the two can be separated). Other countries are facing an important moment too, where their China policies are concerned. These Olympics have raised the question, What is China? and a correlative question: How is the world to regard and treat it?

Beijing tried very, very hard to secure the 2000 Olympics, losing out to Sydney by a hair. They poured billions of dollars into "Olympic construction." They launched a campaign for public hygiene, using the slogan "Mobilize the Masses for a Fly-Free City!" They offered members of the International Olympic Committee an array of inducements. As a Beijing official put it, "We look upon the International Olympic Committee as God. Their wish is our command."

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They even relaxed their chokehold on people in their domain. They stopped monitoring foreign journalists so closely. And they released a political prisoner or two. In other words, they allowed for an "Olympic Pause"--the name given to the Nazis' temporary loosening in the 1930s, when the Games were held in Berlin.

China lost out for 2000, but they put in another bid for the 2008 Games, and won. Their argument was that this was their due; that they could no longer be denied. As one official lectured, "The Olympic Games belong to the whole world. The fact that the Games have not yet been held in China is a failure of the Olympic movement." Pressed on the issue of human rights, he huffed, "There is no excuse for denying the dreams of 1.3 billion people to hold the Olympics in Beijing."

Understandably, the Chinese Communists hate any comparison of their Games to the Berlin Games. But such comparisons are inevitable, for anyone taking an honest look. When the Olympics are held in police states, similarities occur.

As a rule, Americans are taught that the '36 Games were a failure for the Nazis, given the fabulous performance by Jesse Owens: The black American trackster won four gold medals. And that was supposed to have refuted Nazi race theories. Unfortunately, the Games were a huge success for the Nazis--enhancing their legitimacy, cementing their power. And Leni Riefenstahl made that stirring film, Olympia.

In his book Hitler's Games, Duff Hart-Davis relates that Berlin was turned out nicely and benignly. This created the illusion that Nazi Germany was "a perfectly normal place, in which life went on as pleasantly as in any other European country." Of course, Beijing has been engaged in the same Potemkinization--as was perfectly predictable.

When Beijing was competing for the 2008 Games, Chinese human-rights types--dissidents and their supporters--were split. Most were against the granting of the Games to Beijing; but some were for, arguing that the Games would force China to open up, just a little. There was much talk of the "spotlight": The spotlight would be on China, and would it help or hurt? Those opposed to the Beijing Games said that the spotlight had been on China before--for other sporting events and international conferences--and that this had caused the government to tighten its grip all the more. The government's reasoning (in this view)? Foreigners are coming, and we have to look sharp, so no trouble-making is allowed. All undesirable elements must be swept away. We have to show a happy, wholesome, united front.

One Chinese-American journalist said at the time, "The Communists create an atmosphere, a mood, in which they can do anything."

Back when Beijing was lobbying for the '08 Games, they made all sorts of promises. One official said the Games "are an opportunity to foster democracy, improve human rights, and integrate China with the rest of the world." That was the line, taken by all supporters of Beijing 2008. This same official said, "By allowing Beijing to host the Games, you will help the development of human rights."

And how is China faring? The Communists are cracking heads precisely because of the Olympics--which is a point that the most unflinching observers keep making. Even the minor courtesy of an Olympic Pause has not been implemented. The question is whether Beijing will somehow be held to account.

DARFUR AND TIBET

For years, there was very little protest in the West over the coming of the Beijing Games--just some isolated cries, here and there. But one issue sort of aroused the world at large: Darfur. Beijing was the major backer of Khartoum, and Khartoum was responsible for genocide. The actress Mia Farrow attacked what she called the "Genocide Games" (meaning, Beijing '08). She put particular pressure on Steven Spielberg, the universally beloved director, who was advising Beijing on the theatrical elements of the Olympics. "Does Mr. Spielberg really want to go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games?" Farrow asked.