CHINA:A glittering Games has so far delivered only the promise of real change, writes Clifford Coonanin Beijing
A GLITTERING Olympics beneath clear blue skies in a dynamic new city, accompanied by the applause of a global audience. Tales of glory and heartbreak, and a fantastic haul of gold medals to boot. The Communist Party will be very happy this weekend when the closing festivities of the Beijing Olympic Games mark, as predicted, China's re-emergence as a global superpower.
But China is a country where very often you can say one thing and the opposite is also true and, in line with this dictum, it's been an Olympics of opposites.
On the one hand you had the spectacular opening ceremony; the fabulous organisation of events; the warmth and optimism of the Beijing people and the wonderful atmosphere in the city.
You had president Hu Jintao promising further reforms, even political ones, post-Olympic.
"While constantly deepening economic reform and achieving sound and fast economic and social development, we will continue to pursue comprehensive reforms, including reforms of the political system," he said.
Even the air was clean, most of the time. After months of fretting, it proved possible to clear the smog, although it cost a fortune in lost production with the closure of the factories and the coal-fired power plants responsible for much of the bad air.
For sure, there is a lot for the Beijing leadership, and the people of the capital, to cheer about. But the shiny image of the Olympics masks some unpleasant realities.
A fierce security crackdown did mean no bomb attacks such as the explosion at the Atlanta Games. But a similarly draconian clampdown on dissent, which defied promises about freedom of expression, has left foreign and domestic human rights protesters waving banners at the fringes of the world's biggest sporting event, far from the consciousness of billions of viewers.
You have the worried husband whose dissident wife's trial on trumped-up charges has been delayed until the Olympic bandwagon leaves town. Or the little girl singer who did not fit the Politburo's image of China and was forced to give way to another girl with a better look. Or the little old ladies threatened with a labour camp sentence for demanding the right to protest about their forced eviction. In the run-up to the games, thousands of Beijing residents were removed for the Olympic makeover; dissidents were rounded up, and 400,000 security officials patrolled the streets.
The Foreign Correspondents Club in Beijing says that, since the beginning of the Olympic period on July 25th, it has been notified of over 30 confirmed cases of reporting interference, including 10 cases of violence against journalists, more than the total number confirmed in 2007.
The contradictions go even deeper. TV audiences did not see a poor country when they tuned into the Games. China hired architects Herzog de Meuron to design its Olympic stadium and yet there are still 300 million people living on roughly a euro a day here.
For many groups lobbying for more freedoms in China, the Olympics have been a disaster.
"The 2008 Beijing Games have put an end - once and for all - to the notion that these Olympics are a 'force for good'," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "The reality is that the Chinese government's hosting of the games has been a catalyst for abuses, leading to massive forced evictions, a surge in the arrest, detention and harassment of critics, repeated violations of media freedom, and increased political repression."
Among the Chinese, there is hope the goodwill generated by the games will combine with the generosity of spirit China witnessed following the Sichuan earthquake in May to produce a gentler but more confident China.
"The leadership will be happy with the Olympics, and not just the gold medals, but the performance of the people. I'm optimistic that the values and tolerance learned during the Olympics and the earthquake in Sichuan will continue," said Prof Mei Renyi, director of American Studies at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
One of the most potent examples of the warmer, happier China was the reaction to 110-metre hurdles hopeful Liu Xiang hobbling out of contention, despite expectations of a triumph having been built up beyond belief. People were deeply disappointed, but they did not call for his head on a spike. This can be read as a sign of a more tolerant society emerging in China. That China will come out with around 50 gold medals probably helps.
"The fact we are first in the gold medal table makes the world pay attention to China. Every Chinese is very happy and proud. The Olympics forces China to be on the international stage," said Liu Hongyun (29), an English teacher from Beijing.
"The Olympics has been a great opportunity for China to learn some international things. For example, that audiences should not cheer tennis players as they're about to serve!" said Ms Liu.
Zhang Guodong (39), a mechanical engineer from Beijing, said the Olympics has given an opportunity for Chinese people to think about the country and where it's going. He said attitudes have changed.
"People who won bronze or silver or even no medals, such as Liu Xiang, or some athletes who could not compete because of their injuries or other reasons, are all heroes," said Mr Zhang.
The very air itself poses a major challenge for the government. When people taste a good thing for two months, it's hard to go back to the way it was, particularly in a country where pollution is becoming a political issue as farmers and urban residents alike take to the streets to protest at the building of poisonous chemical plants and are unhappy that their legacy to their children - and in most cases that's a single child - will be yellow air and black rivers.
For the rest of the year, the government's attention will turn to the economy and to celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the launch of the "reform and opening" policies that have swept away state controls over much of economic and cultural life. Inflation was running at over 6 per cent in July and while the economy is growing by double-digit percentage points, the global outlook is less than rosy and that will affect China at some point.
With these headaches to contend with, it remains to be seen whether the Olympic spirit is enough to teach China to accept criticism and keep on a path of reform.