With Olympics, China earns medals, respect

Curtain to fall on 'once-in-a-lifetime' spectacle

By Chris O'Brien | Sunday, August 24, 2008

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BEIJING | A spectacular closing ceremony at nightfall Sunday will culminate in the extinguishing of the Olympic flame that for the last two weeks has burned above the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.

Then the tough questions can be asked - starting with whether the Beijing Games justified the incredible $44 billion that were lavished upon them.

Except that most Chinese, like 21-year-old Wu Bo, a university student from eastern Anhui province on his first trip to the capital, see no need for even the most cursory of postmortems. They made up their minds two weeks ago.

"These Olympics have been the most successful in history, and coming to see them has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Mr. Wu, as he took a picture of a leafy replica of the Great Wall that has been erected in the downtown area.

"Cost just isn't an issue, because hosting the Olympics is a long-term plan for the whole of China. The stadiums will be used again. The economy will be boosted, and the Olympics will have consolidated China's international status."

Similar exhortations of pride flow from the crowds that gather outside the perimeter fence that surrounds the Olympic Green. They have no tickets to the athletics, but are lapping up the triumphal atmosphere before it fades away.

"China's national image has been changed for the better by these Olympics. We have won a lot of gold medals, which symbolizes the strength of the people and the country," said Morrison Zhang, 24, a public relations executive for Sony China.

Even Liu Wenming, who is livid with the authorities for trying to evict her from her home in one of Beijing's oldest residential areas, has tapped into the celebratory spirit.

"Although I have been treated unfairly by the government, I am still Chinese. I am passionate about this country. The Chinese people have stuck together and shown foreigners coming to the Olympics what China is," she said, sporting a red-and-white polo shirt worn by Olympic public security volunteers.

For the Chinese government, the outpouring of positivity from the people is proof that the Beijing Olympics have been a resounding success.

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