Geoffrey York
The Globe and Mail, 29/07/08
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/yorkblog
BEIJING -- It's fascinating to see Beijing telling the world that "the Olympics must not be politicized" -- a message that Chinese officials have repeated endlessly in their public pronouncements over the past year.
Of course the Olympics next month will be one of the most political in
history, and not merely because of the protests against it. The Chinese
government itself has been happy to use the Olympics for political purposes,
including the crucial task of rallying patriotic support from Chinese people
around the world.
Even the Olympic flame, usually described by Beijing as the "sacred" flame,
has been used to fuel nationalism and to promote the government's own
self-interest. In Tibet last month, a Chinese official used the Olympic torch
relay as an excuse for a vitriolic attack on the Dalai Lama. The official,
Zhang Qingli, stood beside the Olympic flame and vowed to "totally smash the
splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique." (The International Olympic
Committee later reprimanded the Chinese government for this outburst, saying
that sports and politics must be kept separate.)
A rising tide of Chinese nationalism has been one of the political results of
the Beijing Olympics. But even within China, this nationalism is now being
debated and questioned.
A popular Chinese magazine, Nan Feng Chuang, this month published a long and
thoughtful commentary on the dangers of nationalism in the Olympic year. I found
it one of the most provocative and interesting essays of the year. Here are some
excerpts:
"Chinese nationalism during this year of the Olympics has once again shaken
the West. Though the international media has indeed committed errors, and some
of the torch relay protests were clearly not rational, the strident nationalism
China has displayed in the year of the Olympics has puzzled countless people,
including China herself. Other than flags, battle songs and slogans, does China
really not have a better way to show the world a more civilized spirit and
conduct?
"Obviously a nation needs some degree of nationalism to foster cohesiveness,
but in the end it's very easy for extreme nationalism to lead to separation from
and even opposition to the rest of the world.... Many years of political
inculcation and ideological education have resulted in the common people
speaking in government platitudes and being filled with a sense of righteous
mission....
"It is interesting to note that many Chinese usually have strong analytical
abilities and critical spirits. When speaking about injustice in their everyday
lives, their judgments are frequently right on the mark. But once there's an
international dispute, once they have to make a judgment on something that
happened in a remote foreign country, once an alien society or culture is
involved, their judgment fails and they become blind conformists. Wild venting
of nationalist sentiments is principally a problem of incomplete and distorted
information.
"There is a psychological dimension. Under the banner of �patriotism,' little
people can in a heartbeat become strong and powerful. Patriotism can help people
temporarily forget their smallness and pain, and from the act of yelling
ultra-nationalistic slogans they discover the illusory feeling of �greatness'
and �heroism'....
"By some material standards, in the past few years China has reached world
power status. But has it spiritually prepared itself to be a world power? If we
are only ready to enjoy the advantages of being a great power and are unwilling
to accept the misunderstandings and censure that inevitably accompany this
esteemed status, then we don't have what it takes to be one....
"Chinese nationalism must answer the following question: after great
sacrifices are made to this collective called the nation, what's the value of
being one small unit among countless others? In any envisioned new nation-state,
what's the position of the individual? If this problem is not solved, when the
people are worked into a frenzy of ultra-nationalism, they may be deceived and
manipulated by those who rule them....
"Returning to the Olympic Games, at present there are a lot of people who are
worried: when the French and the Japanese teams take part in events, will the
Chinese audience hiss and boo? When CNN conducts interviews in Beijing, will
people on the street use uncivilized language and behavior? When Western
tourists wear clothes printed with heterodox views, will those nearby react with
violence?
"Right now what we do know is that the authorities will take measures to
prevent these things from happening. Who knows if they will succeed, but if
nothing unfortunate does happen, we can't say that it's because
ultra-nationalism has already been tamed. Those in power have only temporarily
forced it into a cage."