Updated Thursday, August 7, 2008 0:00 am TWN, The China Post news staff

Missed Olympic opportunities?

CNN reports that guests attending the opening ceremony have been told to arrive five hours early in order to make it through checkpoints, while the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium has been ringed with anti-aircraft weapons. While it is certainly possible that terrorist groups could be planning some action during the games — as a recent attack on a police station in Xinjiang demonstrates — the exceptionally heavy security has not helped Beijing overcome the perception of China as a police state.

Speaking to the UK’s Guardian newspaper, the man who co-designed the iconic “Bird’s Nest” Olympic stadium, Ai Wei-wei, in an unusually strong condemnation, says he think China is missing an opportunity. “I think it is a shame,” Ai was quoted as saying. “The original idea was to invite the international community to China, share the same values, celebrate humanity and good will, to speak about peace and social harmony. But today, you can see police everywhere; in every neighborhood there is tight security. People really are living in a police state.” Wei continued, “Is this an Olympics or some kind of warfare?”

Last week’s decision by China to rescind an earlier guarantee of press freedom came as a rude shock for those who were inclined to give the communist nation the benefit of the doubt. After a massive outcry, the International Olympic Committee met with Beijing Games organizers late last week to hammer out a deal that saw China remove restrictions on some websites.

China now says it has given journalists “sufficient” Internet access for their reporting needs, but it’s become abundantly clear that — despite repeated promises —- true press freedom will not be implemented at this year’s Games.

The Beijing Olympics will undoubtedly leave some positive legacies including cleaner air and greater international awareness, but it seems a shame that authorities in Beijing are not making more of their Olympic opportunity.

After the May 12th earthquake in Sichuan, the world seemed to give China a pass on its crackdown of dissent in Tibet and Xinjiang. But hopes that such goodwill would move China to re-examine its totalitarian practices seem to have been misplaced.

When China was awarded the Summer Olympics after an exhaustive ballot in 2001, some commentators held out hope that the games could be a catalyst for change, much like the way the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul helped move South Korea away from a military-led dictatorship. While it’s much too early to see if the Olympics will spur China towards greater reform, unfortunately, it looks as though China is again missing a great opportunity to move closer to the commonwealth of democratic nations.

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