China courts west but suspicions run deep

From: The Australian
By Kevin Eason

ONLY 30metres from the gate through which generations of Chinese emperors passed on their way into the Forbidden City stands a basketball court. The stanchions, nets and white lines that mark it out seem an ugly and bizarre intrusion on a monument that stands as a memorial to centuries of history.

But the court may be a signal that the future is pushing its way into the foundations of Chinese culture. Soldiers who guard the entrance to the precious Forbidden City throw off their smart, green uniforms for a game as soon as the doors are closed to the millions of tourists who seek out Beijing's most famous landmark. No one seems to mind that such an ancient site has had a makeshift piece of modern sports furniture thrust upon it. In fact, no one seems to notice.

Pundits are predicting that the 2008 Olympics will be the most spectacular in the history of the Games as it brings together the cultures of East and West under one banner in a city eager to reach out to the world.

The IOC almost falls over itself with praise for the Chinese authorities, pointing out that China's zeal has forced it to advise putting a brake on the construction program. Those of the 37 venues not yet completed will be by next year -- in contrast to the 2004 Games in Athens, where concrete was being poured almost as the athletes arrived.

But it is not the stadiums, as exciting as they are, that impress. It is everything around the fabulous Olympic Park that takes the breath away, as well as the straightforward, uninterrupted march to completion.

For Beijing is in the middle of a transformation that is affecting every one of its 15million citizens. Roads have been built, houses demolished and families moved into new, high-rise apartments, hundreds of polluting smokestack factories have been moved to the provinces and the city greened like no other.

One simple example: just along the unglamorously titled Second Ring Road -- one of five highways that circle the city -- there was a small shanty town where some of Beijing's poorest families lived, known as the Village in the City because it was in such stark contrast to the skyscrapers of the financial district opposite.

Almost overnight it disappeared and four months later it had been replaced by a beautiful 2km long park, about 25 metres wide. Now children play there, old men play chess and gardeners plant trees and tend flowerbeds.

"Everything is changing for the Olympics," said Jin, a Beijing university student. "But the people are with the authorities. We have our history in Beijing, but we want to be part of the modern world. The Olympics will help us to understand the world and people from other countries to understand us."

The Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games called almost 300 journalists to China last month for the first time. It was anxious to show off the progress of its building work, but it seemed even more anxious to assure everyone that there would be no restrictions on their work during the Olympics. Yet, just having to issue such a reassurance speaks volumes.

China -- where the internet is censored and even mobile phone ringtones are regulated -- will be deluged by 5600 members of the press with about triple that number from international broadcasters during the month of the Olympic competition.

So the press will be free for a month, but what about before and afterwards? Beijing-based foreign correspondents have expressed their concerns, while, little over a month before they held their Olympics briefing, the authorities somewhat back-handedly announced that reports from foreign agencies would be censored inside China.

"It is a cultural difference," one IOC official said. "They see things differently and sometimes do not understand why the West gets so upset."