Was China redeemed in hosting the Olympic Games?

The just ended Olympics Games had one point to prove that China trudged through the quagmire of controversy to command the hosting of a successful event. After decades of looking for an opportunity to expose the injustices of the Chinese governing system, Tibet seized the moment. Knowing that all eyes were on China which had won the bid to host an internationally recognized event; it sounded the human rights abuse gong. Consequently, the rest of the world was ablaze with protests that menacingly permeated her borders evading a tightly secured China. With the media revealing overwhelming back-up from the outside world, revolting Chinese felt firm enough to push on. This resulted in a series of blockades to the Olympic torch relay. The relay that precedes the major event was on its course around the world. A human rights-sensitive Europe persistently outlined the reasons for full backup to China’s purportedly muzzled populace. The torch’s course was consequently engulfed in protestations. In some places it had to be either air-lifted or extinguished after protestors became more aggressive. But China maintained its initial stand choosing to look the other side of the coin of which was the hosting of the Games and the benefits to be accrued thereafter. Despite flaring international protests, China looked at the opportunity in hand. With her public relations attempts futile,she launched a spy network, to tactically extinguish internal protests and revolts. But this was detected by a vigilant international media, thus defending Chinese outcries that continued pouring onto the global stage. Adding more pressure to an already struggling China was the earth-quake in the south-west, that led to the collapse of a complex with thousands of school children said to have died; with some being buried alive under the rubble. China seemingly feeble continued using its legal arm despite consistent pounding from International media reports that suggested its reduced capability to host the Olympics. Determined more than ever, not to miss the making of history, China tightened its security grip, though the deployment of a special force while censoring blogs of protesting repressed Chinese. But China’s weakness was noticed then, as it desperately tryed to rescue an already fragile international image. A situation compounded by senator Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama’s calls for American President George Bush to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing. Before his trip to China Bush did castigate the Chinese government for human-rights abuses; before warming up to their exquisite hosting upon arrival. Terrorism took its toll. With a bomb blast in the outskirts of Beijing and an immediate message from a terrorist group owning the detonation, the threats increased. At first were Tibetans long known for fighting a relentless liberation struggle. Then, Xinjiang, the western part of China, largely of the Muslim community suspected to be in collaboration with the al-Qaeda were reportedly plotting another terrorist attack during the vital session of the Olympics. This stirred panic both on the local and international scene. China needed a quick remedy to resuscitate its international image. China’s reputation in tatters and seemingly loosing its grip it had to reassure the world of a secure atmosphere, including its ability to host the important Games. China knew that to succeed meant closing its ears to the world and ultimately concentrating on indisputably hosting the Olympics to perfection With billions already sunk in the event, she embarked on behavior training for her nationals. The intention was to present a different image to tourists during the Olympics. These were endeavors to dilute the image painted on the international scene. This was followed by deployment of thousands of police and intelligence officers. A strategy partly devised to gain confidence from those traveling into China to view the Olympics. The world was then captivated by the glamour and awe during the games. Fire-works blasted the skies for the longest period of time. Dancers impeccably trained provided the exact representation that the Chinese had craved for an exquisite beginning. Everything was going as planned – to perfection. The opening ceremony could also be called redemptive. The long sounding global protests for a moment died down and internal disharmony was out of focus as the media turned its attention to the eye catching start of the Olympics. Gradually, worldwide focus returned to the meaning of the Olympics as each country watched out for gold. An international stage previously rife with protests instead gasped with excitement as the competitors desperately began flexing muscles to make history. But yet to be known is whether China’s exquisite Olympic preparations have incinerated the previous international wrath. barigyetony@yahoo.com