Eight is an auspicious number in Chinese tradition, and 2008 was supposed to be a joyful year, a time for celebrating at the Beijing Olympics and basking in international recognition of the country’s tremendous progress under the careful leadership of the Communist Party.
It has not turned out that way.
An uprising in Tibet on March 14 focused the world’s attention on the long-festering issue of China’s abuse of human rights. The worldwide Olympic torch relay, conceived as a “journey of harmony,” turned into a magnet for protest, embarrassing Olympic organizers, angering nationalistic Chinese and souring the mood for the Beijing Games.
And now a violent earthquake has devastated a broad patch of central China, particularly here in mountainous Sichuan province, killing up to 50,000 people. The scale of destruction is so vast — and the horizon for a return to normalcy so distant — that it is difficult to imagine a carefree crowd in Beijing when the Games open Aug. 8.
The clouds over 2008 have not only darkened prospects for a celebratory Olympics. They have compromised what was shaping up as a golden opportunity for President Hu Jintao and other leaders to rally support among China’s 1.3 billion people for continuing the party’s monopoly on power indefinitely.
Read it all.
Crises Cloud China's Olympic Mood as Quake Tests Party's Mettle
Eight is an auspicious number in Chinese tradition, and 2008 was supposed to be a joyful year, a time for celebrating at the Beijing Olympics and basking in international recognition of the country’s tremendous progress under the careful leadership of the Communist Party.
It has not turned out that way.
An uprising in Tibet on March 14 focused the world’s attention on the long-festering issue of China’s abuse of human rights. The worldwide Olympic torch relay, conceived as a “journey of harmony,” turned into a magnet for protest, embarrassing Olympic organizers, angering nationalistic Chinese and souring the mood for the Beijing Games.
And now a violent earthquake has devastated a broad patch of central China, particularly here in mountainous Sichuan province, killing up to 50,000 people. The scale of destruction is so vast — and the horizon for a return to normalcy so distant — that it is difficult to imagine a carefree crowd in Beijing when the Games open Aug. 8.
The clouds over 2008 have not only darkened prospects for a celebratory Olympics. They have compromised what was shaping up as a golden opportunity for President Hu Jintao and other leaders to rally support among China’s 1.3 billion people for continuing the party’s monopoly on power indefinitely.
Read it all.