After glow of Games, what next for China? - International Herald Tribune
To continue my anti-Olympic theme, I just don't understand why anyone would think these Olympics ever had any hope of encouraging political change in China. Everyone already knew China could build modern looking stuff; you just have to see pictures of Shanghai's skyline to know that.
Instead, the staging of these Olympics has just confirmed to most Western eyes the repressive and heavy-handed nature of the Chinese form of government, but to many Chinese eyes it probably has encouraged a degree of pride that would hardly be an inducement to be more politically open.
Some disaster may have lead to hope of political reform, but games deemed to be even a moderate success were never going to have that result.
They don't seem to have a great record. I took a quick browse through this list of Olympic hosts. Not only did the 1936 Olympics fail to stop the second world war, but the Olympics after that were scheduled to take place in Japan, of all places.
ReplyDeleteWell, we all know how well that turned out.
Oh yes, the Olympic Games were also apparently scheduled to take place in Berlin during 1916. Another top choice!
And I wonder if anyone really thinks the Moscow games in the 1980s REALLY had any causative effect on the break up of the Soviet Union? You know, when compared to the policies of Thatcher, Reagan, and Gorbachev, economic collapse, etc, etc?
At that rate, Italy must have been in with a good chance for the 1944 Olympics!
ReplyDelete