Olympic Torch China: The View from Shaoxing College of Arts and Science

[Better Believe It]

Counterpunch
May 16, 2008
The View from Shaoxing College of Arts and Science
Olympic Torch China
By JAMES L. SECOR
James L. Secor is a writer dramatist and professor of literature at Shaoxing University, Shaoxing China.

Shaoxing, China
On Saturday, 17 May, the Olympic torch will pass through Shaoxing.

Lest all you Westerners think that this entire torch relay is entirely without spontaneity, let me tell you these students are very excited about it. The government, the college can organize the pants off of the torch's passing but they can do nothing about what happens within that frame. So, no matter what the college is trying to impose on the students from outside, they will be cheering on their country, cheering on their Torch Bearers with all they've got. And it will be on TV, as it is every night, every morning, sometimes the same footage with new additions. This is a big thing.

When I lived in the US, I never saw the likes of this enthusiasm as the Olympic torch was run across the country, right along Interstate Route 70--a really boring road, to be kind to it. In the US, the event was greeted as if they, the US populace, deserved it. Privileged people tend to see things in this light. There is no enthusiasm in the US; there is expectation that the US athletes will remain the best in the world--even though they're not. There is virulent couch competition over who wins the most medals, who gets the most gold. USians are fond of shouting "FOUL!" at the judges when their fellows lose. A US judge would never cheat.

I don't care. I'm after good performances by whomever. I want to see a good Games. Alas, my country and her reluctant allies are all for ruining the Games, embarrassing China. And for what? The US government, politics, is ruining a good time, for all athletes but especially for its own athletes. This is the time of their lives, the time to show the world just how good they are. This is their time to shine and shine and shine. . .and the US is tarnishing the medals before they're won.

While the US tries its best to cast a pall over the Beijing Olympics, I will be enjoying myself in all the positive splendor of the moment. Some of my students will be dealing with the press/media, translating and showing them around. So. . .you will see, if any of the torch's transit through the college is shown on Western TV, many of my students and probably a lone blond man in red shirt waving a little red flag and taking pictures with his old Nikkormat and his new Samsung digital.

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