Just as the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics were starting, Kathleen Parker wrote in The Washington Post that, “Nobody likes to toss a rotten fish into the world’s greatest sporting event”, namely the Winter Olympics. But plucky Ms Parker said she was willing to take on this unwelcome task — by listing a string of alleged Chinese human rights abuses stretching from Hong Kong to Xinjiang. The tone of the article suggests that the writer was, in fact, a rather eager fish-thrower. And just one of many camped out across the US media and beyond, all fond of decomposing fish for similar reasons.
Awkwardly, on the human rights front, just about this time the US reconfirmed how it is losing its already diminished grip on basic political morality — and how bruised and compromised its human rights pulpit looks. On Feb 12, CNN reported that Washington had commandeered $3.5 billion, or about half of all Afghanistan public reserves held in the US, “to potentially fund litigation brought by families of victims of the September 11 terror attacks”. This dumbfounding confiscation was legalized by using a White House executive order at the same time as wretched, mass misery in Afghanistan has reduced families to selling their children (especially daughters) in order to secure food. Coverage by key Western media outlets was muted as was the response from leading human rights groups. The story was soon parked largely out of sight.
We owe a huge vote of thanks to the marvelous athletes, the organizers and operators — and that superb army of volunteers — for staging a stunning, comprehensively entertaining and exceptionally safe Winter Olympics
Meanwhile, for the fish-tossers, the preferred script for the Winter Olympics included a measurable breakdown in China’s remarkable, life and health preserving, dynamic zero-COVID strategy coupled with some serious commotion and disruption at the Olympic venues. All this would help prove how the Chinese model of governance, despite some apparent success, was deeply flawed compared to political systems based on universal liberalism.
Alas, China failed (not for the first time) to adhere to this Western screenplay. The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to be controlled in China in a manner unmatched in any other major jurisdiction. And as the games neared their close, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, said that, “The intensity of this Olympic experience was above and beyond what I have experienced before at other Olympic Games”. Bach has to say nice things but his eyes and body language told you he spoke with unfeigned feeling.
As it happens, Bach’s positive appraisal was firmly confirmed by Simon Smale, writing for ABC News in Australia. In a story headlined, “COVID-affected Beijing Games should not detract from a thrilling Winter Olympics”, he emphasized how thoroughly entertaining the games were.
Like millions around the world, what I saw was what I watched on television. And what a tremendous viewing experience that turned out to be: exceptional indoor venues and outdoor settings plus superb athletes, striving to perform at their peak. Add to this, camera work which took your breath away, day after day. The lighting and shooting coupled with the stop-motion and slow-motion replays set new, extraordinary standards. And the many candid moments with the athletes added further depth to the viewing experience. Both opening and closing ceremonies were deftly crafted and executed. Exceptional organization was evident from start to finish.
Smale, from the ABC, was sorry that, because of the closed-loop, he could not explore Beijing and its people directly — an understandable frustration. He wanted to find out more, he said, about a culture too often demonized by the media. He also noted how many of the athletes said they felt safer inside the Winter Olympics loop than at any other time during the pandemic. Rather a contrast with numerous Western reporters stressing every loop-inconvenience, while averting their gaze from the world-beating advantages of this remarkably effective system.
Another condescending American report cast a disparaging eye over the use of a site with a backdrop of old industrial installations, implying lack of Chinese good taste if not backwardness. Smale’s view of the same venue underlined how Beijing had “created something of a new icon in a brownfield site”.
The New York Times, bless its predictable, fish-throwing soul, managed to include how the games were marked by “scandal” in the headline of one, round-up report from Beijing. The scandal, contrary to the impression conveyed by the headline, was unrelated to the organization or running of the games. Far more tragedy than anything else, as ABC Australia aptly observed, the headlined matter was associated with a drug test taken well before the Olympics. This returned a positive result for the use of an angina medicine (trimetazidine) by the 15-year-old Russian figure skater, Kamila Valieva. She was allowed to compete (pending an appeal) but faltered and succumbed to the inordinate pressure when she did. As ABC News said, “it was a tough, tough watch”.
Picking up a theme borrowed from The Economist — misery loves company — The New York Times also headlined that China had “Celebrated a Joyless Triumph”. What a pair of glum chums. You can imagine the matching headlines if The Times and Economist had been around to see Jesus of Galilee walk on water: “Too Cheap to Pay the Ferry Fare”.
In fact, when you square the ledger, the fog of tilted, fault-finding swiftly lifts. The diplomatic boycott was a fizzer, as they say in Australia — a firework that fails to perform. Meanwhile, we owe a huge vote of thanks to the marvelous athletes, the organizers and operators — and that superb army of volunteers — for staging a stunning, comprehensively entertaining and exceptionally safe Winter Olympics during a continuing, intense pandemic. Who else could have done this?
The author is a visiting professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.