Olympics could be 'greener'

In 2001, two weeks before Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, I came to China on behalf of Scandinavian television.

I interviewed Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice-president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), and Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee.

Since then, I have traveled to China sixteen times. I have witnessed the gradual process by which China has transformed itself for the Olympic Games.

Headlines around the world hailed the opening ceremony of the Olympics Games a tremendous success. The international press still rejoiced in China's achievement in putting on a spectacular show.

I was one of the fortunate attendees at the opening ceremony at the National Stadium on August 8 night. In terms of the quality of the ceremony, its performances and entertainment value, I had nothing but to praise.

As an avid sports fan, I attended several Olympics events and was impressed by the venues and the enthusiastic, helpful volunteers at the events.

My issues with the opening ceremony had less to do with what they showed than with what they did not show. Zhang Yimou is a superb film director, but his spectacular opening ceremony felt too much like a movie: orchestrated, seamless, fictional.

The things that the Western media praised China for are things that they should be doing well. China is now a country with significant capital. However, with its increased national power on the global stage, China should be held up to a higher standard. This ought to be a chance for China to show to the rest of the world that it is a new type of global power, one that is socially responsible and important beyond the surface level.

In the process of painting a perfect image to the world, China relinquished the chance to address some very crucial global issues. During its bid to host the Olympics, BOCOG devised three themes: the "harmonious" Olympics, the "green" Olympics, and the "high-tech" Olympics. The opening ceremony successfully portrayed the theme of "harmony", but did very little to address pressing issues of the environment embodied by the "green" theme.

The ubiquitous motto, "One World, One Dream," had a prominent role in reiterating the "harmonious" theme of the opening ceremony. The motto remains vague and insubstantial. Much of the world, including much of China, lives in poverty and does not have electricity, let alone televisions, to watch the televised event.

The ceremony chose to represent the concept of "One World" through smiling children's faces from around the world and through Chinese minorities dancing across the stadium.

While this symbolic gesture of global cohesion is admirable and easily understandable, it is a temporary gesture. What really unites people around the world on a daily basis is the sky above their heads, the air they breathe, and the water they drink.

China bid three times for the right to host the Olympic Games. Preparation for each bid starts seven years before the proposed hosting year. This means China had prepared to host the Olympics for fifteen years. Much more could have been done in this time for China for take responsibility for global issues.

Jorgen Lindgren Hansen, a media consultant of UNESCO, currently living in Paris

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(China Daily 08/29/2008 page9)