Opinion 08:26, 18-Feb-2022

Beijing 2022: The political story that was once again ignored

Keith Lamb

In 2007, I moved to Beijing from Nanjing with the motivation of improving my Mandarin. The Nanjing dialect was tough and I hoped being immersed in the Beijing accent would speed up my learning. Being in the capital also allowed me to observe the preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games.

I saw Beijing's underground lines double to four (today there are 25); China's first high-speed rail was laid; slums were rejuvenated, and I witnessed the construction of numerous sporting mega structures, such as the Bird's Nest stadium, still well used today.

One common criticism of the Olympics is that they are a waste of money. Sporting infrastructure becomes white elephants and money that could be spent on developing the common people is diverted for an Olympic vanity project.

Looking at previous Olympics there is some truth in this but China's 2008 Olympic Games were different. Rather than being window dressing that obscured the misery of living conditions they represented merely a small cherry of celebration on top of a massive cake representing the enormous development of China and the real improvement of the common man.

【词语解释和扩展】

be immersed in 沉浸在某种环境中

slum  n. 贫民窟，棚屋区

white elephant 是指没有价值的东西，这里指的是一种普遍的言论就是举办奥运会劳民伤财，很多奥运场馆将会变成鸡肋，并且将本可以用在发展全民运动的钱花在了装点奥运门面上（Olympic vanity project）。

（Rather than being window dressing that obscured the misery of living conditions） they represented merely a small cherry of celebration on top of a massive cake （representing the enormous development of China and the real improvement of the common man）.

这是一个很长的句子，对于长句子要提炼出中心词。这一句描述的非常形象。北京冬奥会作为一个窗口，展现的跟以往奥运会不同的是，中国反映出的是一个巨大蛋糕上点缀的小樱桃，而不是window dress，就是只装点窗户而不装点整体。

Considering the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was only the second time they were held in the developing Global South and considering the backdrop of the megatrend, which was development and poverty alleviation, if anything, the political story of the 2008 games should have been a celebration of optimism for the collective future of humanity.

However, the Western media used the 2008 games as a political exercise in undermining any solidarity or respect for China's achievements. Rejuvenation of slums became cultural destruction; China's efficiency, when it came to building infrastructure, was sold as trampling on human rights, and when it came to sporting commentary the political bashing of China's system was incessant and unsportsmanlike. Even China's sporting success, built on developing youth talent was spun into "child abuse."

【词语解释和扩展】

megatrend 巨大潮流 mega就是极其大的前缀，巨大潮流就是发展和减贫

collective future  共同的未来，本届冬奥会的主题就是together to the future

trample  v. 踩，践踏；伤害，侵犯；脚步沉重地走  trampling on human rights践踏人权

incessant adj. （令人不快的事物）不停的，连续的

unsportsmanlike adj. 不光明正大的；没有运动道德的，按照现在的流行词汇就叫不讲武德

spun v. （使）旋转；（使）急转身；

For 2022, considering China's poverty alleviation success is now irrefutable, our minds should have been focused on the aforementioned megatrend which makes up the political backdrop that also furnishes the 2022 Olympic Games. Instead, every opportunity was made by the Western media to disparage China.

For example, considering certain forces in the liberal West seek to push identity politics to the absurd by undermining even basic agreed upon nouns the same tolerance wasn't afforded to basic "objective" notions of Chinese identity. Eileen Gu (Gu Ailing)'s decision to identify as Chinese and represent China was met with much "pearl grabbing" by those who were outraged she didn't pick the U.S. When it came to Uygur athlete, Dinigeer Yilamujiang, it was reported that her family cheering her on was "staged" which was used to prop up the false narrative that Uygurs are not Chinese and would never identify so.

In addition to the use of identity politics to disparage China, there were ridiculous attempts by certain Western reporters who sought to portray their own breaking of the rules as an expression of authoritarian repression. The most ridiculous attempt I saw was a journalist filming in a restricted area near the Bird's Nest being told to "clear off" by the security guard which would, of course, happen anywhere in the world.

【词语解释和扩展】

irrefutable adj. 无可辩驳的  refute 反驳

disparage v. <正式>贬低，诋毁

prop up v. 支撑；支持

Many have said that Beijing holding the Summer and Winter Olympics is an unprecedented achievement. However, the greater achievement is that the games took place, near Beijing, in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province which was once considered a poverty-stricken backwater. Before 2022 many Chinese and most foreigners would never have heard of this city.

Today, its high-speed rail turns the over 3-hour train journey from Beijing into a commute of 47 minutes which will forever boost the economic opportunities of those residing in Zhangjiakou. Furthermore, heightened infrastructure connection combined with the promotion of winter sports will only bring more leisure-seeking tourists to Zhangjiakou. Thus, the trajectory of the once mountainous poverty-stricken city will be changed forever.

For me, there is greater serendipity at play because I visited Zhangjiakou in 2004 and stayed in the surrounding countryside as winter was approaching. Had anyone told me that an Olympic Games would be held here, or indeed any city in Hebei province, I would have said: "only with a miracle."

【词语解释和扩展】

unprecedented achievement 史无前例的成就

poverty-stricken backwater 贫困落后的地方

serendipity n. 意外发现美好事物的运气，机缘巧合

The conditions I witnessed in the countryside of Zhangjiakou were primitive. There were mud roads; the toilet was the field; I shared a space in a kang (a coal heated stone bed) while my hosts slept in the stable; some houses had mud floors and no electricity; there was no Wi-Fi; farming was done by hand; even the very elderly were engaged in backbreaking manual labor, and their diet consisted largely of turnips.

Today, with the political will and tenacity of Beijing's poverty alleviation, the countryside of Zhangjiakou has improved dramatically. Concrete roads connect the villages; there are indoor toilets; appliances like washing machines, heating, and 5G as well as electricity are ubiquitous. Furthermore, mechanization has freed the majority of old and young from the servitude of peasant farming and they now enjoy a varied diet.

Importantly, this phenomenon, around Zhangjiakou, isn't a "show" for Western visitors. It is a process that has swept across China. Consequently, the achievement of the 2022 Winter Olympics, even more than 2008, represents a drop in the ocean compared to China's developmental achievements. Unfortunately, this is the political story that was once again ignored in the Western media.

【词语解释和扩展】

kang (a coal heated stone bed) 学会了如何用英文解释炕

backbreaking adj. 非常辛劳的；费力的

turnips 红萝卜

will and tenacity 意志和毅力