China Daily
While NATO and the Western countries send more troops to the borders of Russia and rumors of war proliferate in the Western media, reminding one of the gladiatorial nature of the ancient Roman Empire, in Beijing the humanist spirit of the ancient Greeks is being revived, in the Beijing Winter Olympics, that successor to the noble Greek pastime in which athletes from all city-states and provinces would come together to demonstrate their peaceful skills in an attempt to win a wreath of victory based on the highest achievements. The difference in these two distinct paradigms, that of the warlike Romans and that of the peace-loving Greeks, could not be clearer to the world at this moment. While the US administration has done its best to force a boycott by Western governments and other officials from attending the traditional opening ceremony of the Beijing games based on their claims of human rights abuses in China, few countries actually participated in a formal boycott. Others, not willing to become targets of US wrath, decided not to attend, but are no doubt following the developments with great interest. At the same time, 21 world leaders defied the wrath of the United States and attend the opening ceremony.
And given the importance of the games for all the countries, whose athletes were committed to participate, there was wide coverage of the beautiful opening ceremony even in the US media. The ceremony, which was imbued with the characteristics of Chinese culture, could give the athletes from all over the world, as well as the home viewers, a sense of China, which was totally opposite to that spread almost universally by the Western media. And the theme of the Beijing Olympics, “Together for a Shared Future” also clearly reflects the notion that has been a hallmark of President Xi’s vision for the world in his call for a Community of Shared Interest for Mankind. Even the speech by IOC President Thomas Bach, at the beginning of the ceremonies, went further than the realm of sports in calling for the Olympic spirit to become the basis for a more peaceful world. “In this Olympic spirit of peace, I appeal to all political authorities across the world: observe your commitment to this Olympic truce. Give peace a chance.” The presence of both the UN secretary general and the director of WHO also underlines the important support China is getting from the international community.
As President Xi said in his welcoming comments to the Olympic Committee on Feb 3: “The world is turning its eyes to China and China is ready” – ready to deliver a safe and successful Winter Olympics in this age of Covid, and ready to take on its responsibility of maintaining peace and stability in the world. And the way the Western media is grumbling over the success of the opening ceremony and the laudatory remarks coming from around the world, shows the folly of the short-sighted attempt by the US administration to utilize such a hallowed institution like the Olympics for their political carping.
