Nationalism in the year of the Olympics

For those interested in how some Chinese view the intense nationalism recently exhibited in their country, this article by a Chinese, in Chinese, addressed to other Chinese may be interesting.

Nationalism in the year of the Olympics

Source: Nan Feng Chuang, translated by Ryan Martinson and CC Huang | 07-25-2008

Since July 13, 2001 when China was awarded the 2008 Games, the Olympics has been much more than a mere sporting event to many Chinese people. The Games are emblematic of the country's rise--a billboard to display the results of thirty years of reform and opening-up, an unparalleled chance to get foreigners to understand and accept China. They are also an opportunity for China to better acquaint itself with the world.

From Marco Polo to Norman Bethune, from Agnes Smedley of the revolutionary period to the current Australian president Kevin Rudd, the Chinese people have been immersed in and guided by a kind of na?ve internationalism. They have forgotten about past troubles, believing instead that the world is one big happy family, and that all can be droll and harmonious. However, beginning this year, a string of disturbances has dogged the run up to the Olympics. Western criticism of China's position on Darfur, Steven Spielberg resigning from his position as art advisor for the Games, the riots in Tibet and the subsequent protests surrounding the Olympic torch relay (along with China's counter protests) have once again undermined the idealized image of the "international community" that many citizens still cling to.

At the same time, what foreigners see is not a rational, open, and tolerant China that is embracing the world, but a cloistered, imposing, and indignant China barging its way into it. Chinese nationalism during this year of the Olympics has once again shaken the West. Though the international media has indeed committed errors, and some of the torch relay protests were clearly not rational, the strident nationalism China has displayed in the year of the Olympics has puzzled countless people, including China herself. Other than flags, battle songs and slogans, does China really not have a better way to show the world a more civilized spirit and conduct? In the last analysis, what's the essence of the "great power on the rise" that China wishes to reveal to the rest of the world?

POLITICIZATION OF THE OLYMPICS IS UNAVOIDABLE

In March of this year, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge pointedly said, "We do not support the politicization of the Olympics, because that means the demise of the Olympic spirit." For a long time, "Sports are sports, and politics are politics" has been the guiding objective of the Games and the great hope of the people, but in reality the concept of separating the Olympics from politics is wishful thinking.

Due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Western world and China boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. And in 1984, in an act of retaliation, the Soviet-led Eastern Block boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics. This is the best known example of political intrusion into the Olympic Games. In today's world where the Olympics are growing in importance with each passing day, to try to separate the Olympics from politics is an exercise in futility.

Moreover, the very makeup of the Olympic Games renders them valuable in promoting national pride. Athletes are divided by region or country, causing nationalism to permeate every aspect of the Olympics. The Olympic Village flies each country's flag, all athletes must display the symbols of their respective countries on their chests, award recipients line up according to country or region, statistics of medal winners are organized by country, and whoever receives a gold medal becomes a national hero. Even though the athletic ranking of a country does not have a direct bearing on state politics, the people are quite amenable to letting the Olympics increase national prestige, compensating for the weaker aspects of the country. The accomplishments of the athletes and the country's prestige are inextricably linked.

In China, the intertwining of sports and politics has taken on even greater proportions. Ever since the clash between East and West in 1840, China has been seen by the West as the "sick man of Asia." After the establishment of the PRC, in order to wash away this humiliation, athletic contests have been seen as politically symbolic encounters between nations, with outcomes directly impacting the fate of China's "dream of becoming a strong country."

In the era of Mao Zedong, nationalism was condensed into a single slogan: "the Chinese people have stood up." During the 1960's, the rise of China's ping-pong prowess, especially the defeat of the ping-pong powerhouse Japan, formed the collective memories of an entire generation. At that time, the victory of Chinese ping-pong athletes could even make the front page of People's Daily. As a result, ping-pong became the national sport. Not only was it charged with the mission of bringing honor to China, it also played an integral part in "ping pong diplomacy."

Nationalism in the era of Deng Xiaoping was confined to the battle cry to "rejuvenate China." As it happens, this saying came from the realm of athletics. The rise of the Chinese women's volleyball team and its consecutive championships garnered high praise from the Party and warm appreciation from the people. Students from Beijing University and other colleges popularized the slogan "Learn from women's volleyball, rejuvenate China." Soon, the "women's volleyball spirit" was disseminated throughout the country as material for ideological indoctrination, a model to be emulated by all trades and professions.

After 1990, Chinese nationalism was encapsulated in the phrase "the great revitalization of the Chinese nation." In the peculiar political environment of that time, athletics took on a new political mission. After Beijing held the Asian Games, the city's bid to host the Olympics became an important goal. The failure of Beijing to get the bid in 1993 brought back the specter of the "hundred years of humiliation" and thus there emerged the first explosion of Chinese nationalism in the reform era.

In 2001, Beijing made a second bid for the Olympics, and was prepared to pull out all the stops to achieve victory. Not only did it play the economic card in response to political pressure tactics, for the first time it employed a world-famous public relations firm to handle planning and "packaging." China also made a promise to the international community that it would improve human rights and respect freedom of speech. The night that the Olympic bid was awarded, over a million people celebrated in the Beijing streets, and all the major cities passed a sleepless night of revelry. Not only did the country's highest ranked policy makers participate in festivities at the China Millennium Monument, they also climbed to the top of the Tiananmen City Gate Tower to celebrate with the people. Suddenly slogans like "realizing the dream of a hundred years" and "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" took center stage.

China's vision of holding the Olympics is different from that of other countries. For the past seven years the entire nation has been preparing for these Games. From the simple fact that 35 million yuan was spent just on an Olympic promotional video, it's clear that Beijing's expenses for the Olympics will far surpass the predicted budget of 1.625 billion US dollars, not to mention the incalculable costs to ordinary citizens. In the early propaganda efforts, the authorities also consciously tried to link the Olympics with other "strong country" patriotic propaganda.

Hosting the Olympics in China can indeed raise China's international status. But it can also result in a climactic surge of Chinese nationalist sentiment. However, these effects are all psychological. In reality, we can add another perspective from history: seldom has any country experienced fundamental changes in its political system, economic development, or diplomatic relations as a result of hosting the Olympic Games. Host countries have engaged in wars of aggression -- Nazi Germany, for instance. Nor did the former Soviet Union grow mellower after hosting the Olympics: it still dispatched its troops whenever it saw fit. South Korea's change from a military dictatorship to a democratic country was not due solely to its hosting the Olympic Games; the 1980 Moscow games did not cause Russia to break up and move towards democracy.

China has indeed made great efforts to keep its promises to improve human rights and increase freedom of the press, but there still exist some less than ideal situations in related fields. In foreign affairs, for example, in order to create a harmonious atmosphere surrounding the Olympics games China has made some obvious concessions to certain countries, but the conflicts surrounding the Olympic Torch relay have to some degree negated these efforts. Economically, the much anticipated "Olympic effect" has not panned out. There have been repeated fluctuations in the stock market, and visa limitations have caused the tourist industry to contract. As things stand now, aside from inspiring China's national spirit, the positive impact of hosting the Olympic Games has been far weaker than expected.

The Olympics and Nationalism

To a certain extent, Chinese nationalism associated with the Olympic Games has been a blow to the West's information hegemony. At the same time it has also encouraged some independent-minded Western scholars to reexamine their fixed views. Obviously, a nation needs some degree of nationalism to foster cohesiveness, but in the end it's very easy for extreme nationalism to lead to separation from and even opposition to the rest of the world.

In his work "Liu Hou Lun," the renowned Song dynasty thinker Su Shi wrote: "When one encounters humiliation, to reach for one's sword and prepare for a battle is not real heroism. Rather, to maintain sobriety in the face of attack is true valor." That's to say, a person of true courage will handle problems with composure and wisdom. When confronting the expansion of libelous attacks and the distortion of facts, one has neither the capacity nor the right to control what others say. What we can do is use a temperate and objective attitude to face problems with aplomb.

From this perspective, the Chinese people's response to this year's series of events surrounding the Olympic Games can be generally described as "reaching for one's sword and preparing for battle." On the basis of a rumor that a stockholder supported Tibetan independence, multitudes of indignant Chinese called for a boycott of Carrefour, but nobody cared to ask what the evidence was, or where it was gotten from. These events undoubtedly find retribution, but they cannot influence the Western world -- and they cannot help foster China's Great Power image.

After 1840 an unprecedented crisis of national survival caused anti-imperialism to become the great theme of the subsequent century. Hatred of foreign aggression and memories of past greatness caused the Chinese people to have a hard time maintaining equanimity in the face of unfriendly foreign postures.

The reason why the most recent bout of Chinese nationalism emerged after the early 1990s is because in that special environment ideology enlisted the aid of nationalism. Many years of political inculcation and ideological education have resulted in the common people speaking in government platitudes and being filled with a sense of righteous mission �C it has been very difficult for them to maintain independent thinking and judgment.

In the film Devil Wears Prada there's a brilliant scene in which Meryl Streep's character holds up a blue skirt and explains to her assistant the dirty truth of the fashion industry: "This year's fashions have already been decided; first they are shown on the catwalk, next they are hung in fashion boutiques, and finally they end up on the bargain racks. You presume that your skirt was selected by you, but in fact it was decided by others a long time ago." Although many claim that their "patriotism" is spontaneous, to a large degree their thoughts are the intellectual equivalent of a "blue skirt." And, in truth, a lot of people know this in their hearts.

It is interesting to note that many Chinese usually have strong analytical abilities and critical spirits. When speaking about injustice in their everyday lives their judgments are frequently right on point. But once there's an international dispute, once they have to make a judgment on something that happened in a remote foreign country, once an alien society or culture is involved, their judgment fails and they become blind conformists. Wild venting of nationalist sentiments is principally a problem of incomplete and distorted information.

There is a psychological dimension. Under the banner of "patriotism," little people can in a heartbeat become strong and powerful. Patriotism can help people temporarily forget their smallness and pain, and from the act of yelling ultra-nationalistic slogans they discover the illusory feeling of "greatness" and "heroism." For this sense of greatness, the nation will unavoidably be forced to pay a price, for after all there are no free lunches. "Resist America," "Catch up with America," "Surpass England," "Leap into communism" -- these have all helped us achieve "greatness." But I'm afraid we have paid a heavy price - we have not moved closer and closer to "greatness," but further and further away. The tragic lesson of history is that while on the one hand ultra-nationalism is the doctrine of the weak, on the other hand it often impedes the weak from casting off their lowly status -- it's the doctrine that makes it hard for the weak to get strong.

There are boycotts at every Olympic Games, and we should allow others to hold different views. After all, we all represent different interest groups. Any rising great power will inevitably encounter resistance. This resistance will come in all forms and all sizes. This is the reality that a great power must necessarily face. How much has being the top power in the world cost the United States? While travelling abroad American citizens are sometimes made the target of attacks; wherever they go, protests are sure to follow. Isn't America still America?

By some material standards, in the past few years China has reached world power status. But has it spiritually prepared itself to be a world power? If we are only ready to enjoy the advantages of being a great power and are unwilling to accept the misunderstandings and censure that inevitably accompany this esteemed status, then we don't have what it takes to be one. In the international contest to win hearts and minds, simply showing indignation is of little avail. In the face of bias and even ignorance, we need more valuable, creative, humanistic, sophisticated ways of communicating to foreigners a truer China. This is the mission that China must carry out in the age of economic globalization.

The future of nationalism

In the modern era, Chinese people's pursuit of national independence began simultaneously with their pursuit of individual autonomy: nationalism and democracy are two peas in a pod. The concept of democracy or democratic rights came to China at the end of the 19th century. The earliest people to publicize these values had received Confucian education but also called for reform. People like Guo Songtao and Que Fucheng who travelled to Europe and encountered first hand Western democratic systems in action almost all likened what they saw to proto-democratic arrangements from pre-dynastic Chinese history.

But the reality of saving the nation overpowered the call for democracy, causing Chinese nationalism to both lack respect for individual rights and fail to restrain the power of individual leaders. It frequently fell under the sway of political groups. Because nationalism involves deep sentiments, every political entrepreneur sought to exploit its power.

There are scholars who think that in modern China nationalism has a lot of negative effects. These chiefly manifest in the following ways. First, at the same time that nationalism provides impetus and cohesion for national liberation movements, it frequently rejects and inhibits democratic thinking. Second, while it opposes imperialist oppression and aggression, it may breed xenophobia. Third, it often results in an erroneous recognition of what's at stake: "culturalism" replaces political principles, which means that protecting the country becomes conflated with protecting traditional culture.

Chinese nationalism exploits the idea of paying a price for the completion of a great national endeavor, which in turn excuses and rationalizes the people's suffering. Given that the national interest is the "people's" highest interest, and that the national endeavor is so momentous, the price and sacrifice to be exacted will be great. All of us as members of the nation have the obligation to pay a price. We all have the responsibility to bear some pain -- no matter if it means being laid off from a factory job or giving up your home to make room for road construction. And people are still told that all of this is temporary. Think for a moment; isn't the temporary harm to one's personal interests for the grand rejuvenation of the entire nation a reasonable proposition?

Nationalism has the tendency to create grand national goals that demand that everybody make efforts on behalf of the struggle, sometimes even to the point of unimaginable self-sacrifice. For example, "mobilizing to put down domestic insurrection," economic construction, national stability, national rejuvenation, etc, the list goes on. Whenever needed, there is always a great goal to be found that can be deemed worthy of individual sacrifice, and claims can be made that it is in the basic interest of the nation. And whenever there is someone bold enough to stand up and demand individual rights and liberties, he is accused of harming the basic interests of the nation, putting himself at odds with the "people."

There's also the use of labels like "national traitor" to strike down dissidents. Because nationalism has already established a united front among the populace, anyone who expresses dissatisfaction with and desire to change the status quo will be labeled an enemy of the people, and will be dealt with harshly. If people of this type have any contact with a foreign organization, then they're even more deserving of condemnation. This will cause people dissatisfied with the current state of affairs to feel compelled to deny having the slightest contact with any foreign organization, not to mention accepting foreign assistance -- because the "people" will never support any person or any organization that sells out the interests of the nation.

Thus, Chinese nationalism must answer the following question: after great sacrifices are made to this collective called the nation, what's the value of being one small unit among countless others? In any envisioned new nation-state, what's the position of the individual? If this problem is not solved, when the people are worked into a frenzy of ultra-nationalism, they may be deceived and manipulated by those who rule them.

Some have noticed that countries with a strong liberal tradition like the England and the United States have seldom suffered from rabidly nationalistic movements. Israel, a country surrounded by enemies and in a near constant state of war, has never experienced a morbid victimization complex or xenophobic tendencies. This is profoundly thought provoking.

Obviously, if we want to avoid the dangers and threats of nationalism, then at the same time that we accept its objective existence, we should implement a system of democratic rule of law guided by values such as liberty, rights, and justice. To constrain and tame nationalism, to neutralize and confine it to reasonable proportions, we need to safeguard complete openness towards the outside world. This is the best and only way to prevent nationalism from spinning out of control. Thus, for the love of the nation and the country, it is vital to first forge liberal democracy.

Returning to the Olympic Games, at present there are a lot of people who are worried: when the French and the Japanese teams take part in events, will the Chinese audience hiss and boo? When CNN conducts interviews in Beijing, will people on the street use uncivilized language and behavior? When Western tourists wear clothes printed with heterodox views, will those nearby react with violence? Right now what we do know is that the authorities will take measures to prevent these things from happening. Who knows if they will succeed, but if nothing unfortunate does happen, we can't say that it's because ultra-nationalism has already been tamed. Those in power have only temporarily forced it into a cage.