The excitement of the just-ended Tokyo Summer Olympic Games does not cease to enthrall the entire city. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has not held back the global passion for this sports spectacle that happens only once every four years. Nonetheless, the outstanding performance of all athletes, which was supposed to be the highlight of the event, was, as usual, eclipsed by certain political disputes. Before we demand the separation of the Olympics and politics yet again, it helps to find out why in reality the two are extremely difficult if not impossible to separate to begin with.
Ever since Pierre de Coubertin, the French baron, founded the modern Olympic Games at the end of the 19th century, this mega sport event has been regarded as an arena where nations vie for supremacy in athleticism, which inevitably leads to competition in all sports-related affairs, including finance, management, scientific training and numerous research projects. On top of all the competitions is the ultimate prize of a superior governance model, such as China's nationwide system.
The international nature of the Olympic movement comes with political genes that make politicization fairly easy. A ready example can be found in “nationalism”. For instance, when China won the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics in Beijing, the whole nation celebrated with an unprecedented sense of pride and unity. At that time, Hong Kong, which was chosen to host equestrian sports, also experienced an upsurge in the sense of national identity among local residents, as shown in multiple public opinion surveys. Such positive sentiment is conducive to unity and political consensus as long as it does not get out of control. And as long as nationalism is expressed in a rational and restrainedmanner, it is an intended effect that aligns with the Olympic spirit. However, the situation has changed rapidly in recent years with the emergence of the “localism” movement, which has thrived on exploiting regional differences to widen social divisions and stir up political confrontation. For instance, Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China is allowed to participate in international competitions under the name of “Hong Kong, China”. While it is a vivid demonstration of “one country, two systems”, people with ulterior motives have exploited the arrangement to play up rivalry between Hong Kong and the mainland at the Olympic Games. There is no doubt such misguided hyping-fueled separatist sentiment comes at the expense of the public interest and the Olympic spirit.
Whenever we encounter opportunistic politicization of the Olympics, we should refer to the Olympic Charter, which will remind all of us of the meaning of “Olympism” —“The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promote a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity”. Obviously, initiating confrontation to advance one’s political agenda is in violation of the Olympic spirit, and persons or activities with that objective should be strongly condemned.
The Olympic Games, with the vision of transcending national boundaries, aims toturn the sports field into a communal platform shared by the entire humanity. Sports, like art, have been serving as a communication medium bridging the gap of different languages and cultural backgrounds. Training methods and competition tactics may differ from nation to nation;all athletes are winners in their own right in the common pursuit of human excellence and sportsmanship. The official Games motto of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, “United by Emotion”, is meant to bring together people from diverse backgrounds to connect and celebrate unity in diversity. Not surprisingly, the Japanese organizers used anime in graphical designs of Olympic sports to highlight the host country’s culture. Regardless of personal taste, this kind of practice should never be used to divide humanity.
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The original aspiration of Olympism is to connect and unite peoples of the world through competitive sports. Throughout human history, we can learn countless lessons from the mistakes we made, so that they will not be repeated. It is called common sense and applies to all matters affecting humankind as a whole, such as combating pandemics, environmental protection, and peacekeeping. In our quest for a “community with ashared future for mankind”, as envisioned by President Xi Jinping, all differences big and small should make way for cooperation in constructive global governance. Although the Olympic Games cannot end political conflicts forever, we must keep our faith in the Olympic spirit while striving to be “Faster, Higher, Stronger”.