OLYMPICS /
Spotlight
Are we ready for Beijing?
By Xie Jingwei
Chinadaily.com.cn Staff Writer
Updated: 2008-08-02 13:29
Do you think the Chinese media should also take some responsibility for the misconceptions?
I really do. I do think the Western media should take responsibility and they should do more detailed research and write more well-rounded reports. But the problem is, they won't.
So China cannot just sit and wait for them to change the way of acting. I think China needs to be more active in responding to the negative Western perceptions and also in producing more high-quality information about China that is useful for Western journalists. The problem is that the information isn't always shaped to suit the tastes of the West. So the information is not always that appealing to the reporters. Maybe they won't use it.
While preparing for the Games, the Chinese government has been working hard to improve the country from the inside and promote exchanges between China and the world. Did all the efforts change your American friends' impression on China?
Unfortunately I don't think those efforts are appreciated. I do think that the outside world do not really understand how China want the world to understand China. The stereotype of reporting on the Beijing Olympic Games is that the communist party is using the Games as propaganda. I had argued with journalists because I study Olympic education. If you study the Olympic education you can see it's not politicized. The purpose is to teach Chinese students about the outside world. It's to prepare them to be citizens of the world. It's a sincere effort. I think BOCOG and the government leaders want to use the Olympics Game to promote links between China and the outside world. But I think there is hope as the Olympic Games approach people actually come to China that they'll see more accurately the real situation.
How do you think the misunderstandings could be better addressed?
I do think there are small steps that can be taken. Journalists right now really need basic information about Chinese sports system and history and lives of top Chinese athletes. They are hungry for such basic information, but it's very hard to get this information. I think the problem is if more English language materials like website and guide books could be produced. If the government could create an expert information database that journalists could find, it could be possible to take some proactive measures to help the outside world to understand China better.
What legacies will be left to China by holding the Olympic Games? For China, what are the things to be expected after the Games？
I really do think in the end it will help to link China with the outside world better and increase mutual understandings between China and the outside world. But there will be misunderstandings along the way too. It's not going to solve all the problems immediately. It does take time but the Games is pushing things forward.
China has been looking forward to this event for so long, you know, a one-hundred-year dream. China is making the Games so important and cities are often depressed after the Games are over. I visited Barcelona and people can still remember how depressed they were when the Games were over. I think right after the Game there may be a period of depression. Chinese people need to decide "What do we work for now?" Hopefully they will take this Games as an inspiration and a starting point and set goals for the future.
