J-10
08-28-2008, 10:32 PM
http://old.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20080828.E02&irec=1
Post-Olympic China
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Editorial August 29, 2008
There can be no doubt that plaudits are fitting for the Chinese people, its government and the Beijing Olympic Games Committee for a thoroughly spectacular Olympics.
Their efforts were not in vain as many in the world were provided front row seats to some of the best that China had to offer.
The "sacrifices" which residents of Beijing had to endure for the staging of the Games were not in vain.
We in Asia should be especially proud that a fellow Asian nation can so gracefully host and succeed in such a monumental endeavor.
It was no casual undertaking, as it took a concentrated, national effort to overcome natural, urban, organizational, technological and other societal challenges.
The recently concluded games were a high point -- parallel in triumph to the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea -- in showing the world what Asia can do.
As International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge said, "The world has learnt about China, and China has learnt about the world."
But what has the world truly learnt about China and vice versa?
The games may serve to educate a disconnected few who retain a backward perception of China as some exotic curio. However for most, China's economic prowess has been an inescapable fact for over a decade.
China is the global power to watch -- economically, politically and militarily.
The Beijing Olympic games underline the fact that China is not a rising power -- but one that has already risen.
The exposure which began months earlier, even before the Olympic flame reached Chinese soil, is evidence that international pressure and media scrutiny cannot bend China's political elite.
A successful Olympics reinforces the confidence of China's leadership on the course of action which it has pursued.
Yes, the world has learnt about China's national strength and resoluteness of political will.
In turn, China has learnt there is nothing the censure of the world can effectively do to change it.
It must be said that many times the political scrutiny of China is unfair.
Much of the pervasive fear mongering originates from ignorance toward an economically booming China and suspicions emanating from a hegemony apprehensive it may lose its dominance.
Nevertheless as an influential regional and global power that is "reclaiming" what it perceives as its rightful role in the international fora, Beijing must accept the kind of examination that others are endlessly subjected to who assume such a privilege.
That is part and parcel of taking on the mantel of a responsible regional power.
China has shown significant goodwill in developing a paradigm of economic cooperation with its neighbors to the south.
Such has been China's enthusiasm that we in southeast Asia have hardly been able to match their eagerness in developing cooperative projects.
In addition, it was careful to not aggravate the economic collapse when much of Asia faced the 1997 financial meltdown.
Indonesia should welcome China's ascendance as a major player in the region, irrespective of the contradictions which persist between our two political systems.
Consequently China should also respond accordingly to the various social concerns and criticisms raised, especially by its closest neighbors.
Beijing cannot continue responding with grim disregard to criticisms on what it considers domestic issues beyond those concerning the Games as it has this past year.
Before the Games the IOC said they believed that by selecting Beijing as host, it would serve as "a force for good".
Let China now show that it can truly be a force of good in the Olympics of life.
Post-Olympic China
http://old.thejakartapost.com/images/jp1234.gif
Editorial August 29, 2008
There can be no doubt that plaudits are fitting for the Chinese people, its government and the Beijing Olympic Games Committee for a thoroughly spectacular Olympics.
Their efforts were not in vain as many in the world were provided front row seats to some of the best that China had to offer.
The "sacrifices" which residents of Beijing had to endure for the staging of the Games were not in vain.
We in Asia should be especially proud that a fellow Asian nation can so gracefully host and succeed in such a monumental endeavor.
It was no casual undertaking, as it took a concentrated, national effort to overcome natural, urban, organizational, technological and other societal challenges.
The recently concluded games were a high point -- parallel in triumph to the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea -- in showing the world what Asia can do.
As International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge said, "The world has learnt about China, and China has learnt about the world."
But what has the world truly learnt about China and vice versa?
The games may serve to educate a disconnected few who retain a backward perception of China as some exotic curio. However for most, China's economic prowess has been an inescapable fact for over a decade.
China is the global power to watch -- economically, politically and militarily.
The Beijing Olympic games underline the fact that China is not a rising power -- but one that has already risen.
The exposure which began months earlier, even before the Olympic flame reached Chinese soil, is evidence that international pressure and media scrutiny cannot bend China's political elite.
A successful Olympics reinforces the confidence of China's leadership on the course of action which it has pursued.
Yes, the world has learnt about China's national strength and resoluteness of political will.
In turn, China has learnt there is nothing the censure of the world can effectively do to change it.
It must be said that many times the political scrutiny of China is unfair.
Much of the pervasive fear mongering originates from ignorance toward an economically booming China and suspicions emanating from a hegemony apprehensive it may lose its dominance.
Nevertheless as an influential regional and global power that is "reclaiming" what it perceives as its rightful role in the international fora, Beijing must accept the kind of examination that others are endlessly subjected to who assume such a privilege.
That is part and parcel of taking on the mantel of a responsible regional power.
China has shown significant goodwill in developing a paradigm of economic cooperation with its neighbors to the south.
Such has been China's enthusiasm that we in southeast Asia have hardly been able to match their eagerness in developing cooperative projects.
In addition, it was careful to not aggravate the economic collapse when much of Asia faced the 1997 financial meltdown.
Indonesia should welcome China's ascendance as a major player in the region, irrespective of the contradictions which persist between our two political systems.
Consequently China should also respond accordingly to the various social concerns and criticisms raised, especially by its closest neighbors.
Beijing cannot continue responding with grim disregard to criticisms on what it considers domestic issues beyond those concerning the Games as it has this past year.
Before the Games the IOC said they believed that by selecting Beijing as host, it would serve as "a force for good".
Let China now show that it can truly be a force of good in the Olympics of life.