China May Be Biggest Winner In Olympic Games Winner, Games, Biggest, Olympic, May

chrislau2001

THE BEIJING OLYMPICS saw 38 world records broken and one athlete earn more gold medals than any other in history. In the end, though, the biggest winner may have been China.

Hosting the most controversial Olympics in a generation, China disarmed the world with a firm but polite pageant, one that in the end was dominated by athletic achievement instead of politics.

It was clear from the beginning that China was in control. Organizers were harshly criticized for detaining dissidents, including eight Americans who were deported Sunday, but no spectacular protests shook the games. Beijing's polluted air became largely a nonissue as factory closures and traffic restrictions led to blue skies for much of the 16-day event. China's vast state-run sports system helped it leap ahead of the U.S. to dominate the gold-medal tables.

'China has become one of the world's true superpowers,' says Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising conglomerate WPP PLC. 'Perception has caught up with reality.'

China's gold-medal haul and the nearly flawless opening and closing extravaganzas laid to rest any residual images of drones in Mao suits or of a country that has gotten rich only by knocking off others' products. The Games were widely seen as one of the best-organized ever, from the events that ran like clockwork to the generous crowds who, with few exceptions, cheered Chinese athletes and other countries too.

But how these events are read vary dramatically. For some foreigners, the Games' chilly perfection signaled the arrival of a new Soviet-style sporting and political colossus. For Chinese, the message was very different: China has finally rejoined the ranks of leading nations after a 200-year hiatus.

Olympic organizers called the Games 'exceptional' at a ceremony to close the Games. Like the much-admired opening, the closing ceremony featured fireworks and thousands of colorfully clad performers whose sheer numbers seemed almost to celebrate China's status as the world's most populous nation.

'Through these Games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world,' Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, said in a speech at the closing ceremony.

'The Chinese people, teeming with enthusiasm, have honored the commitments they solemnly made,' said Liu Qi, head of the Beijing Olympic organizing committee.

But the near-perfect spectacle came at a cost: control that squeezed any spontaneity out of the events. Unlike some of the most popular recent Olympics, such as 1992 Barcelona or 2000 Sydney, the Beijing Games took place in a seeming vacuum -- a vast sporting and media complex on the city's northern edge. Public viewing areas were virtually nonexistent and for the majority of the city there were only superficial signs of the Games' presence -- banners and closed-off traffic lanes. Hours before the closing ceremony, police cleared Tiananmen Square, the massive space at the heart of the city, entirely.

For some, that only reinforced a wariness about China's rise.

'I know from visits to China that the Chinese are funny, interesting people, but this didn't come through,' says Gunter Gebauer, a professor of sports philosophy at the Freie Universitat Berlin. 'The perfection and control was not impressive, at least not to us; we had that 70 years ago in Berlin.'

With little public polling of sensitive issues, it was impossible to gauge scientifically Chinese people's opinions of the Games. Anecdotally, however, ordinary people seemed thrilled at how the Games had turned out. World leaders had come to China by the dozen; the Games had gone off without any of the catastrophes some had predicted; and China could strike another item off its to-do list of securing international recognition.

'These have been a good Games, very good for China,' said Pei Yuekai, the owner of a corner grocer in downtown Beijing. Mr. Pei had been watching the Games throughout the day on a small television in his store and had thrilled at the Games -- not just the Chinese victories but the sheer excitement of hosting people from so many countries. His son has kept a diary and has plastered his rooms with flags from around the world. 'He now realizes how big the world is.'

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Geoffrey A. Fowler contributed to this article.

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chrislau2001

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北京奥运会上共有38项世界纪录被打破，美国游泳健将菲尔普斯(Michael Phelps)也成了历史上在一届奥运会上赢得最多金牌的运动员。不过最终看来，中国可能是此次盛会最大的赢家。

通过举办二、三十年来最具争议性的一届奥运会，中国用一场坚定而又不失礼貌的盛典令整个世界“缴械投降”。在本次奥运会中，体育成就最终盖过了政治非议。

很明显，中国从一开始就掌握着控制权。虽然组织者由于拘留异见人士（有八名美国人在周日被驱逐出境）而遭受猛烈抨击，但此间并没有大型抗议示威活动影响比赛进程。随着工厂关门、交通限行，北京的空气污染状况基本得到了控制，在为期16天的比赛过程中大多可见蓝天白云。中国的国家体育机制也使其在金牌榜上超过了美国、坐上了头把交椅。

广告业巨头WPP PLC的首席执行长马丁•索拉尔(Martin Sorrell)爵士表示，中国已成为真正的超级大国之一。我们的看法终于和现实合拍了。

对于中国，即使人们在脑海中还残留有身着中山装的沉闷的领导人、以及靠模仿别国商品致富的印象，本届奥运会上中国的揽金狂潮以及几乎完美的开、闭幕盛典也已将这种残痕一扫而空。眼见赛事安排精准守时，耳闻观众对中外运动员毫不吝啬的喝彩助威（当然也有极少例外），大家都普遍认为此次奥运会的组织工作是历史上最好的之一。

不过，对此次奥运会的解读却大相径庭。在一些外国人看来，北京奥运会冷冰冰的“完美”预示着一种新型苏联式的体育及政治巨人的诞生。而中国人的看法完全不同，他们认为奥运会预示着中国在经过了200年的沉沦后终于重归大国行列。


奥运会组织者在闭幕式上称北京奥运会取得了无与伦比的成功。就象深受推崇的开幕式一样，闭幕式也燃放了大量烟花，并有几千名身着五彩盛装的演员进行表演。单从参演人数上看几乎象是在庆祝中国是世界人口最多的国家。

国际奥委会主席罗格(Jacques Rogge)在闭幕式上发表讲话称，通过本届奥运会，世界更多地了解了中国，中国也更多地了解了世界。

北京奥组委主席刘淇则在闭幕式上致辞称中国人民用满腔热情兑现了庄严的承诺。

但是这种几近完美的表象是有代价的：那就是将一切自发的言行排除于奥运之外的控制。和1992年巴塞罗纳以及2000年悉尼奥运会等近年来成功的奥运会不一样的地方是，北京奥运会彷佛是在真空环境下召开的──在一个由体育场馆和媒体机构在北京城北部组成的巨大真空地带。公共观赛点几乎不存在，在北京的大部分地区都只有体现奥运会存在的标识──挂旗或交通禁行标记。在闭幕式举行前几个小时，警方就清空了诺大的天安门广场。

在一些人看来，这不过加深了他们对中国崛起的担忧。

Freie Universitat Berlin的运动哲学教授冈特•格鲍尔(Gunter Gebauer)表示，我在对中国的多次访问中了解到，中国人是个有趣又有意思的民族，但这些没有体现出来；至少对我们柏林人来说，这种完美和控制并不能给人留下深刻印象，因为70年前的柏林就是这样。

由于中国很少对敏感问题进行民意调查，因此不可能用科学的方法来了解中国人对奥运会的看法。不过，个别例子表明，普通中国人似乎对奥运会感到颇为振奋。几十位国际政要前来观赛、期间没有像有些人预料的那样发生特大事件；中国在寻求国际承认的道路上也算是完成了一桩大事。

北京市中心一家杂货铺的老板裴月凯（音）表示，这是一场很好的奥运会，对中国来说非常好。他整天都在自家的小店里通过一台小小的电视机观看比赛，他不单为中国运动员的成功感到欢欣鼓舞，而且为中国招待了来自那么多国家的参赛运动员感到兴奋。他的儿子保留了一本日记，并在自己的房间里贴满了各国国旗。裴月凯说，我儿子现在知道这个世界有多大了。

Ian Johnson / Rebecca Blumenstein