Beijing exalts Olympians, Chinese criticise costs and waste
The Paris Games ended yesterday, with China coming second behind the United States (129 to 91, but 40 golds each) in the medal table. For the government, it was a question of image and the usual competition with the United States. But many Chinese snubbed the official celebrations, with online posts criticising the large delegation and public money spent.
Beijing (AsiaNews) – The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, Paris 2024, ended yesterday, with the last day of competitions and the closing ceremony, extensively covered by China’s media, narrating the exploits of its more than 400 athletes seeking medals and records.
For Beijing, the Games mattered as a race to the last triumph with the United States which, once again, saw the Stars and Stripes triumph. The United States won 40 golds, 44 silvers and 42 bronzes for a total of 126 medals. China had to “settle” for second place with 40 golds, 27 silvers and 24 bronzes for a total of 91 athletes on the podium.
All this hype was met with a lack of enthusiasm at home, where people seem to have followed the Olympic Games with indifference and even a bit of resentment.
The reasons for this lack of interest can be gauged from the thousands of comments left during the weeks of competitions by netizens on Toutiao and Weibo, popular Chinese social platforms. Many of those who posted their comments expressed concern over the cost of the huge Olympic delegation sent to Paris at a time of economic woes at home.
“Seven hundred people. How much does that cost? It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money,” complained one netizen. “What the hell does winning gold medals have to do with us ordinary people?” another responded: “All that money would be better spent improving people’s lives!”
“Leisure activities are for the rich. Nobody here’s got any money, so nobody here cares,” someone wrote. “Where’s a job for my son? That’s what I care about,” noted another.
These statements clearly suggest that attitudes towards the Olympics have changed in China over time. If in the past, winning medals was considered a necessary form of national redemption and a source of pride, today the priority is undoubtedly to make ends meet. In fact, patriotic pride is of little use if it “can't fill your belly", said a Weibo aficionado laconically.
It is not hard to understand the outrage of some Chinese netizens at the news that the Chinese delegation brought air conditioners to the Olympic Village, rebuffing Games organisers who, for environmental reasons, chose alternative solutions.
The impact of Paris heat on athlete performances is of little interest to those who are forced to endure high temperatures every day to save on bills or to work outdoors.
“At Paris’ current temperature, your parents would curse you out for turning on the AC if it was China,” one commentator wrote.
Others, referring to Xi Jinping’s call for Chinese youth to “eat bitterness,” (chi ku) sarcastically asked, “Where’s all the rhetoric about the virtues of hard work and enduring hardship now?”
Even before the start of the Games, the head of the Chinese Olympic tennis table team caused a stir, when he revealed that Chinese athletes only eat pork flown in from special state farms that do not use clenbuterol.
Although banned in China, this drug continues to be used to improve pig production but can have doping effects on humans, damaging their health in the long run.
Unfortunately, not all Chinese can afford to eat food uncontaminated by harmful substances, noted a blogger on WeChat, mindful of the recent food scandal that hit China.
The state broadcaster CCTV itself was mocked for the high number of journalists, more than 2,000, sent to Paris to cover the Olympics.
"Why is CCTV sending so many reporters?” asked one Weibo user. “Are they trying to scare the French silly?” “There will be more journalists than athletes,” said another.
To give the event even greater resonance, this year for the first time, the Olympic competitions most loved by the Chinese were screened live in the country’s cinemas, thanks to joint efforts by CCTV and China Film, the country’s main film distribution company.
The initiative, however, does not seem to have met with the desired success. A survey by the China Daily newspaper found that 70 per cent of respondents would not cheer their favourites in front of the big screen, opting instead for the comforts of their own home.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games already was met with apathy; in Shanghai, only two of the 20 cinemas slated to screen the event actually did so because of poor bookings. While in Tianjin it was cancelled after only six tickets were sold, partly due to the time zone difference.
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20/10/2021 14:50
