China gets gold for marketing at Beijing Olympics
THE Beijing Olympic Games ended yesterday with the world applauding a fantastic sporting achievement.
The organisation, the facilities and the crowds combined to make this one of the greatest Games of all time.
Standing as monuments to this achievement are the spectacular “Birds Nest” — the main Olympic stadium — and the equally impressive aquatics centre, with its bubble-skinned outer layer.
Adding to the lustre of the Games was the incredible eight-medal haul by US swimmer Michael Phelps and the sprinting of Usain Bolt, who broke the 100m and 200m records in sensational fashion.
But these Games were much more than a showcase of sporting brilliance.
They were a statement by China that it is no longer emerging — it has arrived.
China has taken home the most gold medals, but it also transformed its global image from that of industrial communist autocracy to one of a modern superpower.
The only substantial political threat it faced was during the torch relay when pro-Tibetan protesters attempted to steal the show with disruptions.
But, with no credible human rights watchdog among the superpowers George W Bush’s criticism is hard to take seriously and Russia and France remain silent and calculating China has escaped serious scrutiny.
It could be said that the Games, instead of finally driving the Tibet issue onto the global agenda, have sent China a signal that the world doesn’t particularly care about this issue.
Perhaps, on the other hand, China might now want to consolidate its position as a new global superpower by settling these disputes.
What is certain is that the Beijing Olympics was a massive feat of international marketing that has forever changed the way the world views China.
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