Spencer Jemelka - 2008 Olympics

Beijing Insight: My Last Day in BJ

spencerjemelka — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:58:29 +0000

Talking with two native Beijingers

I’ve been out of Beijing for two days now. I’m staying with a friend in Hong Kong, where the large plasma screens all over the city have the Games on. Looking from the outside now it was quite an experience to be in the epicenter- being able to sit in the Bird’s Nest, witness the breaking of world records, and rub shoulders with the Olympic athletes I now see on TV.

On my last day in BJ I decided we have heard enough foreign commentary. What about the laobaixing? (literally the Old Hundred Names, or the common people.) What do Chinese people think of the Games in Beijing? I dedicated my last day to walking through Hutongs, sitting on subways and starting up conversations with strangers about the 2008 Olympics. And here are a few things that I observed:

Laobaixing Playing Chinese Chess

First, I have taken pains to keep the identity safe of the people I “interviewed.” The opinions I am writing were all revealed during private conversations. I will only give a brief introduction of the background of every person. It is quite possible that the people that criticized the Olympics could be in trouble if the government found out their identities. For example, I tried to interview an owner of a minority restaurant. When I asked if it would be ok to write about his restaurant and opinions in my blog he immediately closed up. It was obvious he was afraid to reveal his identity publicly. “Why post my opinions? It’s of no use.” This is evidence of how difficult it is to get real opinions from the common people. This is relatively new to me, as last year I interviewed over 20 people on politics and online gaming and only one was unwilling to reveal their full identity. My guess is this has to do with how sensitive the Olympics are right now.

The first person I interviewed worked a few years in Holland. She returned to China for the Olympics because, in her words, she has “a Chinese heart” and wanted to return to Beijing, her hometown, to cheer for her country. I was waiting for a friend at a subway stop when we started up a conversation. She thought it was wonderful that so many foreigners could come to China to see what it was really like. (This was a common theme among all interviewees.) She said that while she was living abroad she ran into people that thought the Chinese still went around wearing blue Mao suites and the political environment was more akin to North Korea. She made it very clear that she was bursting with pride at the accomplishments of her country and the development of her hometown. (She said I could write all this on my blog but refused a picture.)

The second person I interviewed is a professional modern dancer. He said the Olympics is great for China as a whole but in the end cost way too much. He wanted his parents to come visit him during August but had to scrap the plans because getting into the city is nearly impossible. When I asked if there was anything “bad” about the Olympics he emphasized that traffic was too congested. Getting around has become too difficult and he couldn’t wait for the Games to be over. He did like that so many foreigners were able to discover the “real Beijing and China.”

The third and fourth person I talked to are the two old women pictured above. As you can see they are wearing Olympic volunteer uniforms and their opinions were all positive towards the Olympics. For this reason I think it is ok to post their photo. These two old women were bursting with pride about the new Beijing. They were really happy that they could share the successes of their hometown with foreign guests. They were particularly proud about how modern Beijing had come- and they were able to talk about this at length considering they had spent their entire lives in Beijing. They were noticeably ecstatic to talk to a foreigner about their hometown and how much it had changed.

The fifth person I ran into was a middle school gym teacher. He was watching the China-Greece basketball game in his office and we struck up a conversation about the Games. He was beaming with pride as he showed me all the tickets he had bought and the events he had watched. He said he was going to keep all the tickets as momentos of the experience of his lifetime. He did reveal, though, that far too much had been spent on the Games. He said to me, “This is my money. My parent’s money that the government is spending. And for what?” Other than that one aspect he said that the Olympics was a great boost for China’s international prestige.

I remember last year, during my interviews about online gaming, an interviewee asked what good the Olympics does for he cities outside of Beijing? The money spent is from all over China but only Beijinger’s receive the benefits. “Is this fair?” he asked.

The last opinion I want to write about is one that of my good friend. He spends a lot of time scouring the internet for the latest underground news. He is far less optimistic about the Olympics. He has a friend that helped design the Bird’s Nest and apparently it is pretty shoddily made. They discovered so many problems during construction that they had to fix and construct at the same time. The same goes for the airport express shuttle (which I rode- no problems). He also is very angry at the cost of the Olympics which was funded primarily by taxes. “This is my parent’s money! They make nearly nothing and it’s being spent on a sporting event. No one ever asked them if this was ok.” In contrast, I met a woman who is intimately involved with the Chicago bid and she said that the Chicago Olympics is funded only through private donations. In this respect, it is impossible to throw a $40 billion dollar Olympics- and only in an authoritarian state would this be possible. My friend also goes on about how “fake” this new Beijing really is. Migrant workers have been shipped off, the homeless swept away. The hygienic, almost sterile Beijing you see on TV is far removed from the real Beijing that will return after the world’s attention has been diverted away from BJ. “It’s all a show,” he says. “A façade for the foreign eye.”

Either way, in my experience the majority of people in Beijing welcome the Olympics. They know the cost is high but believe the benefits of presenting itself to the world as a developed city is worth it. The reports you read online of Chinese being happy to host the Olympics are, for the most part, accurate. And not just due to political propaganda and indoctrination. It is a heartfelt pride for their country and economic success. Just listen to the deafening roar of the crowd for their athletes. This part, at least, is the “real China.”

Here’s my facebook album of the day: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029262&l=dae42&id=14500792

Liu-sing it: Pressure, injury and bad luck

spencerjemelka — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:07:17 +0000

Watching Liu Xiang's race in the subway

I saw the group ahead of me as I walked down the stairs of the subway. They were all huddled around a large flat-screen. I stopped to see what they were looking at, and there was Liu Xiang’s face. He looked strong and determined as he warmed up on the track. This was his first race of the 2008 Games and all of us, although before in a rush, put life on hold to watch his entrance. Liu is more god than man in China. He attained his over-night stardom by being the first Asian to win a Gold in the 110 meter hurdles and breaking the world record in Athens. His face is plastered over every gym in the country. We all stopped dead in our tracks to watch his debut. On TV Liu looked sharp on his first warm-up jumps, passing the hurdles with ease. The second time through it look like he landed a bit wrong. The he began to limp. “Oh, no.” I heard a man next to me say under his breath. The growing crowd around the TV became silent. We watched as the camera-man zoomed in on Liu’s face. You could see Liu’s lips moving, talking to his body- he was in trouble. His head was shaking back and forth, teeth gritted in pain. I could see it in his expression, he seemed to be saying: ”No, not now.” As he shed his warm-ups and tried another limping pass at the hurdles, a woman behind me began saying, “His foot. It’s his foot. He’s hurt.” Like a mantra she chanted this once every fifteen seconds. The gun went off to begin the race. False start. There was a communal intake of breath as Liu peeled his number from his leg and walked back into the stadium. We stared at the screen as he limped into the tunnels of the Bird’s Nest. Then Liu’s race began and ended- without him. I looked at the faces around me. Some wore somber frowns, others had tears welling up in their eyes. The Olympics had been pretty much built around Liu- and he wasn’t able to perform for the show. I walked on- looking at every passenger’s face. Some looked at the ground, others at the ceiling. A couple just stared at the screen teary eyed. We were all in shock. I boarded the subway and watched the replay on the train’s TV. The announcer could barely control herself, and she finally broke down on air. Liu had broken the world record during training just a few days before.

Liu is arguably the fastest 110M hurdle runner on earth. This is quite a feat when you carry over 1.4 billion people’s expectations on your shoulders. Liu, in my opinion, is an incredible individual. He is modest, hard-working and a model Olympian. What happened today was just bad luck and I for one congratulate him for at least trying to race- and calling it when he knew he was injured. As an athlete it takes guts to step onto the track and even more to step off when you know you’re hurt. (Especially when the entire world is watching.) Well done Liu. I wish you the best and we’ll see you in London.

A Long Way from “One World, One Dream”

spencerjemelka — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 05:37:16 +0000

There is a crucial cultural component to Chinese relationships- face. Face is like a form of currency, you can get it, give it and lose it. To receive face is extremely important in establishing a reputation and having a standing in society. In this respect, the Chinese government is a great example of how far the country is willing to go to save face. The government has cleaned up “petitioners” and destroyed hutongs to make the country appear clean and modern. Stadiums are packed with “volunteers”, at least in front of the cameras, to make the stadiums look full. Dog has been removed from Chinese menus to appeal to foreign diners. They have gone so far as handing out a packet of Olympics Rules to Chinese people, like not picking your nose, how to stand in line, and not to wear clothes with more than three colors (what?). This all adds up, in the Chinese officials’ minds, to saving face and looking good to the foreign eye. But in one respect it has gone too far. In a report written on July 18^th the South China Morning Post stated:

“Bar owners near the Workers’ Stadium in central Beijing say they have been forced by Public Security Bureau officials to sign pledges agreeing not to let black people enter their premises.“Uniformed Public Security Bureau officers came into the bar recently and told me not to serve black people or Mongolians,” said the co-owner of a western-style bar, who asked not to be named.’”

(The full report can supposedly be read here: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-p-902799.phtml. Note that due to internet restrictions and censorship I can not access this site and confirm that it is posted there. I tried to access the SCMP and could not find the article. The original article was sent to me via email by a friend.)

Why did China have these bar owners sign this document? Well, according to the report, some out-of-touch Chinese officials consider blacks and Mongolians “socially unacceptable.” In an effort to “clean up Beijing” they figure bars would be more appealing if they didn’t have these types of customers. This is not due just to racist prejudices, but also because, according to the officials, Mongolians and blacks were operating prostitution rings and dealing drugs in Beijing. Therefore, all blacks and Mongolians shouldn’t be let into bars through blanket discrimination. Flawless logic.

Now I don’t want this to be overblown. I have not personally witnessed anyone enforcing this agreement, nor have I heard of anyone experiencing blatant discrimination at bars. At the bars and clubs I have observed a proportional amount (by China standards) of people from many different backgrounds. According to the report, all copies of these agreements have been taken back by the authorities- for fear of criticism and losing face. So, first they don’t want to serve blacks and Mongolians to “save face” then they want to rescind the “saving face” contracts to “save face” again. I don’t know where it begins and ends now. For me it shows how out of touch the authorities can be. So much for One World, One Dream…

(Note: I am still digging further into this SMCP article, which has received a lot of feedback online. Ranging from a translation mistake to being entirely inaccurate, the article is being thoroughly discussed. When I learn more I will post it here. It seems others are looking into it too, like this guy who has his own Beijing blog: http://www.beijingboyce.com/2008/07/18/um-really-scmp-claims-beijing-to-ban-blacks-mongolians-at-bars/ )

After I read this article I decided to do a little investigating myself. Last night I went to Sanlitun (Beijing’s bar district) to ask a guy I know who owns a bar if there was any truth to this story. And yes, according to a second-hand account (I was not able to confirm it with the owner at the time), it is true. –Note this story has changed since my original post.– After talking to more people this is what I have been told happened (and at this point it is all hearsay). One night, a few weeks before the Olympics, some officers walked into the owner’s establishment and gave him the agreement to sign. The bar owner told the officials that he already had a personal policy not to let groups of black people into his bar. One or two is ok with him, but he refuses service if they come in a large group… this seemed to have appeased the officials and they left without making him sign the document. (I didn’t know this about this particular owner until tonight and if it turns out to be true I will refuse to go to his bar. I would first like to talk with him personally to confirm his story and “policy.” I don’t know if this is an isolated case but I do know from experience that there are plenty of places in Beijing that cater to all types of customers.)

What is evident is that there is a deeper trend here. Diversity in China, in my experience, is not often discussed. In a country that is 97% homogenous (95% according to the CCP) it’s easy to ignore diversity as an aspect of society. The racism I have encountered can be appalling (although no more than in some parts of the United States). I know this is a sensitive subject to discuss but one that certainly merits a post. Working for a homestay organization I know first hand that black exchange students are far harder to place with a Chinese host family. It can be, by the accounts of my friends who are black, very hard to get by here. As a white foreigner I know that wherever I go I always stick out. You can’t not be noticed- even in big cities. In rural villages you stick out like, well, a blond-haired blue-eyed guy in a sea of black-haired, black-eyed people. And that can be tough. But, in my experience, the prejudices aren’t nearly as severe against white foreigners as black ones. For example, I have a friend from Occidental whose father is African-American and mother is from southern China. Her skin is pretty dark and Chinese people often refuse to believe that she is even part Chinese. To sum up the lack of sensitivity, there is a “black people” toothpaste. In China, it is generally believed that black people have the whitest teeth, so it’s obvious that a company should sell toothpaste called “Darlie: Black People Tooth Paste.”

"Darlie: Black People Tooth Paste" (literal translation)

(I have taken down a picture I had up earlier of a tube of toothpaste that translated literally as “Little Black Sister.” It turns out this is a nickname for girls in southern China that have darker skin, and means “cute” or “lovely” and does not refer black people.)

Wow, it makes me uncomfortable just writing this. (I have also seen white people toothpaste, but have never heard that particular stereotype.) When I try to explain to Chinese people that this is racist I usually get blank stares or a shrug. I feel the dialogue just isn’t sufficient on these issues here.

This is not to say that there isn’t a spectrum of beliefs about people from all backgrounds: be it sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity etc. The difference is it is not openly talked about and many prejudices that are formed are taken as truth because no other points of view have been offered (I realize this is also true of many places in the US.) After talking to a few taxi drivers and you’ll hear all about how bad X minority group is for one reason or another. And when a person is raised believing that people are gay because “their parents made them wear girl’s clothing” (I have heard this from Chinese before) it is taken as fact. Of course, you can encounter this sort of thinking in the US as well. But, in China, I have noticed a distinct lack of public dialogue on these issues. It’s more pushed to the wayside, which in my opinion, creates rifts and damaging misunderstandings among social groups. Sure, China does make the effort to show the outside world it actively embraces its 56 ethnic groups (the Opening Ceremony is a good example of this, and 56 is the number China officially recognizes). But on the other hand, it intentionally dilutes minority populations by facilitating the migration of Han people into minority areas to make them less politically dangerous and active.

I do think, however, that the Olympics may be helpful in alleviating some of these prejudices. In this regard it is wonderful that people from all over the world have come to China for the Olympics to facilitate cultural diffusion- and people from around the world can understand more about China. After attending the Athletics events tonight I noticed the crowd, which was predominately Chinese, cheered for every athletic accomplishment regardless of the athletes nationality or ethnicity. This sort of exposure to a variety of people is doing wonders in enhancing multi-cultural understanding. And, in this respect at least, the Olympics is a huge success.

(Note that I have seen thriving gay communities in China, unofficial churches and underground mosques (there is one next door to me, they gather for church on Sundays) and I have encountered many open-minded, accepting Chinese. I would hate to categorize an entire country by one post, and hope I have not done so here. These are simply a few of my experiences and observations.)

A Walk on the Walled Side: The US Wrestling Team and I Visit the Great Wall

spencerjemelka — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:39:27 +0000

Rulon Gardner (2000 Gold medal Olympian who beat Alexander Karelin, 2004 Bronze) and Me on the Great Wall

I used to wrestle for Boulder High way back when (2000-2004). When at BHS I also wrestled for Colorado Team Excel, coached by Steve Knight. At the time Steve was also an assistant coach to the US Wrestling Team in Colorado Springs. About a month ago I shot him an email asking how I could help the team in Beijing, and he got back to me with the contact info of Mitch Hull- director of US Wrestling. A few phone calls later and I was doing ground work for Mitch, looking into hotel prices and what not. When the team got here I helped them get a bus (for super cheap) to go to the Great Wall. They invited me along and here is my recollection of the day:

We met at Beijing Normal University’s eastern gate where the entire Greco-Roman wrestling team, staff, and families boarded the 51 person bus. It was filled to capacity after all the reporters (NBC, New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and some Chinese newspaper), camera-men, and interns came aboard- a total of 50 people. It could have held 51 total, but Rulon Gardner counted as two.

We headed off to Mu Tian Yu, a relatively touristy Great Wall destination about 1.5 hours outside of Beijing. The assistant coach, Momir Petkovic (1976 Gold medal Olympian from the former Yugoslavia) kept commenting that there were no birds- anywhere. Indeed, the smist hung heavy that day, seeming to choke the life out of the surrounding countryside. Momir had been in Beijing nearly two decades earlier as a part of a diplomatic visit on behalf of Yugoslavia. He said in the morning he didn’t need an alarm as the cacophony of “dings! dings!” made by the sea of bicycles was enough to wake him up.

After we got to the Great Wall introductions were made to the media. I soon realized I was standing in the midst of some of the greatest contemporary American wrestlers and coaches. A little overwhelmed, I began the hike up the Wall, where I stopped with US head Coach Steve Fraser (1984 US Gold medal Olympian) who took pictures of me astride a camel. Yeah, a camel. I don’t get it either. It was fun, so whatever.

Me on a Camel (?), Photo taken by Head Coach Steve Fraser

Atop the wall the wrestlers gazed out on the rolling hills and kept commenting on the sheer immensity of the Wall and its place in Chinese history. Rulon had sweated through his entire t-shirt by the time I took a picture with him. Every now and then the reporters forced the wrestlers to stop for pictures and comments.

Spenser Mango (awesome name) Getting His Face Time

Wrestlers Posing for Sports Illustrated

I happened to walk next to the New York Times reporter and we struck up a conversation about the Wall. I told him of a Chinese saying I had heard: “不到长城非好汉” (“If you’ve never been to the Great Wall then you’re not a real man (or woman)).” He ended up really liking the quote and used it as the basis of his article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/sports/olympics/08wrestlers.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss# It turns out it was actually Mao Ze Dong that said this, as I regretfully discovered later. I’m not happy to have quoted Mao for the NYT, but oh well, my Chinese friends didn’t know it was Mao that said it either. Honest mistake.

We scaled the remainder of the Wall, peered over the battlements and imagined the Mongols riding straight at us. For the wrestlers, the idea of doing battle seemed to give them a little added energy. They were here, in China, to compete and best their international opponents. Many of them are/were in the military so the idea of waging war in a foreign land isn’t that foreign to them. (Sigh.) I walked next to an NBC (I think) photographer that had been in Beijing for 5 years, and he told me how being a diabetic was hard during the Olympics because the machine that gives him insulin sets of all the alarms and Chinese security don’t know what to do with him. (Side note, my Chinese uncle went to the Opening Ceremony and security made him give them his Buddha necklace for further examination- they are being that strict.) He also said it was hard to shoot any pictures as an official photographer anywhere near Tiananmen, even with the promise of increased media freedom.

At the end of the Wall we all took the alpine slide down to the bottom. I was unlucky to be behind one of the largest wrestlers who took his sweet, slow time on the way down. At the end of the trip the larger wrestlers were dripping with sweat. I would imagine most were happy about this as it made it easier to make weight for their competition. The ride back on the bus was a musty return, but I was content. (Even though I was being smothered by the massive, slumbering wrestler next to me.) The trip I had planned for the team had gone off without a hitch…

At the end of the day the men and women of US wrestling returned from one of the largest monuments to human perseverance and prepared to overcome their next Olympic struggle in the way that wrestlers know best: a solid, grueling practice session.

(PS I’ve now become the go-to-guy for bus arrangements for some of the US Olympic teams. I got the men and women’s freestyle wrestlers a bus last week and am working on getting the men’s volleyball team a bus for tomorrow. Not sure how that happened…)

Here’s my facebook album with all the pictures from the day:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028756&l=f6957&id=14500792

Fencing for Gold- Boulder’s Touché

spencerjemelka — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:30:21 +0000

Three Boulderites: Andrea Lagan (US Fencing), Theron Haan, and Me! (Check out our sweet US Fencing Pins)

I went to my first Olympic event ever yesterday. My good friend, Theron Haan, whom you might remember from a previous post, gave me call and invited me to go to the fencing (sabre) quarter and semi-finals. As it turns out, Andrea Lagan, the US Fencing Team Director of Sports Performance and a Team Manager, is also a fellow Boulderite and Theron’s ex-fencing coach. Theron and I struggled our way onto the subway at a terrible 7:30 AM to meet up with Andrea at Beijing Normal University. We took a cab from there to the Olympic Village. At that point we were bombarded with both requests for tickets and scalpers hawking their wares. I thought this was supposed to be illegal, but I guess the authorities gave up on that. We then weaved our way through empty waiting lines, and every 10 meters or so a suspiciously cheery Beijing volunteer would pipe a chipper: “Walk this way please!” Well, we were walking in that direction anyway… as you can tell, getting up at 6AM is very early for me. I was not in the best mood, even with the electric excitement of seeing my first Olympic event coursing through me.

We took some great pictures of all of us in front of the Bird’s Nest. Andrea is a woman on a mission and getting her to stop her amazingly brisk stride was difficult. I can compare it to asking the US Fencing Team Manager to slow down and take her mind off the impending matches… We finally got to the gate when, get this, one of us lost our ticket on the way over. Andrea can be a quite forceful personality and almost talked her way into the venue without a ticket- finally we called a guy on the inside that Andrea knew. He came out to give us his extra, all while we stood fuming outside the stadium.

Fencing Stadium- US and South Africa

The interior of the building was breathtaking. The fencing hall is an ultra-modern facility that supposedly will be used for conventions after the Olympics. (Beijing will definitely have an over-supply of “convention centers” over the next few years.) Inside, where the action takes place is cooled to a chilly 16 degrees Celsius. The fencers themselves wore the traditional white fencing garb that covers their entire body. (It’s white because before there was an electrical scoring system suits the fencers would dip their swords in ink, so a touch would be discernable. Now, the swords are electrified and create a circuit when a touch is made to light up a Green/Red light.) The first round was rather boring as the US demolished South Africa. We waited around for the semi-finals for about an hour. I had never seen fencing before, but the semi-finals was action packed awesomeness. Theron and I were on the edge of our seats as the US team went point for point with the team from Ukraine. The Chinese team battled the French on the other side of the stadium and the crowd, full of Chinese, would go wild at every point. Considering it goes to a possible 45 points per team in team events, there was a lot of screaming. The Chinese would chant “Zhonguo dui jia you” (literally, China Team Add Oil, or a better translation is “Go Team China”) every 2.5 minutes. Finally, it came down to the US team behind a staggering nine points. Our hearts pumped in unison as the final US female fencer tried to rally her team back from the back-breaking deficit. With two questionable calls by the ref (yeah, I’m biased), including the last point, the US lost. In the next three minutes the Chinese team won and the crowd let out a unified congratulatory cheer. Theron and I hung our heads- the women’s team had won the Gold, Silver and Bronze in the individual sabre events and were the Gold hopeful in the team event too. But, oh well, it was an awesome show.

We met back up with Andrea who had been standing white-knuckled in the back of the stadium. Her emotions were palpable. It hit me then just how hard this team had trained to get to where they are now. Before Athens, the whole US fencing team had never won a Gold medal in the past 100 years, and this year they swept the podium in the individual sabre event. Their hearts had been set on proving to the world the US was finally a fencing powerhouse. It struck me then, just how much raw emotion went into winning an Olympic Gold. Lives and dreams are made and crushed over this one shiny object. I had never realized the intensity before, having always been a spectator. But standing next to this fellow Boulderite, who had experienced the Golden emotion a few days earlier but now whose best hopes was a Bronze, sent a shiver down my spine. (They did win the Bronze against France last night). It was a powerful feeling to be overcome by such raw emotional power. So, for all of us watching the Olympics far removed from the action, take a second to think of the athletes who have given everything for this one moment. Regardless of nationality, Gold, Silver, Bronze or nothing, their sacrifice for their sport and country is awe inspiring. So… this is the Olympics.

At the Stadium- Theron and Me

Caution: Chinese Crocs-ing!

spencerjemelka — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:18:32 +0000

After all these buzz-kill, serious posts I decided to do a warm and fuzzy one. I was on my way to watch my friend’s modern dance performance when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Crocs! Remember those rubber shoes with holes that everyone wore (still wears?) in Boulder. I heard that the guy who owns Crocs lives in Boulder, right? So in the spirit of cross-cultural interaction during the Olympics here is Boulder’s contribution to China. I hadn’t noticed before but they really are popular in Beijing. I decided on my way to the performance to stop every person wearing Crocs for a quick picture. I ended up taking so many, just on the way to the subway, that I was late for my friend’s show. This was all within about an hour. I must have missed four or five on the subway because it was so crowded I couldn’t get over to them. Here is the march of the Crocs! (Sure most are cheap, Chinese knock-offs but it’s the idea that counts)

The entire modern dance troupe wears Crocs!

As for the modern dance show, it was amazing. I think CU should invite the team over for a performance. It was absolutely incredible. I saw the same dance team in New York when I was working there, so they do travel. Just throwing it out there.

Media Censorship and the Olympics

spencerjemelka — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:59:43 +0000

I decided to show you in person the censorship issues in China. Here’s a quick example of how “sensitive” searches can kick you off sites like Wikipedia and Google. Pretty good all around example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bck3Zoattg

Freetibet.org: IE Message of Doom

(It took me many hours to put this post up. The internet was a lot slower when I was editing this and I had to go through a lot of hassle just to post it, who knows exactly why…)

Online censorship during the Olympics. What exactly does that mean for us that surf the web in China? It is important that China promised unfettered media access during the Olympics: http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-08-voa28.cfm. Although, how complete is that media access? Those of us on the inside are very well acquainted with the Internet Explorer Message of Doom. While you can get search results through Google, opening these sites is a different story. Google images are especially finicky- many images come up with the little red X in the corner, like a side-view of a deceased rectangle monster. James Reynolds of the BBC once described his search as Click, Wait, IE Doom Message, Click, Wait, IE Doom Message… he got a lot of flak from the netizens out there for having a plush job. Click and wait would be nice to be paid for.

Free Tibet Google Images: Dead Rectangle Monster

But honestly, checking this sort of access is absolutely crucial to studying freedom of the media in China. It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my stay here to finally access the forbidden Amnesty International’s Official Website (all caps on purpose, mind you). Media restrictions have been greatly relaxed over the past two weeks, mostly due to an uproarious foreign media community when they realized they couldn’t access many sites at the Olympic Media Village. See- sometimes international pressure does work. But how far does this censorship rabbit hole go? I have done a little testing over the past few weeks of sites that were off limits three weeks ago. On the first day of supposed media openness I went search happy with all the sensitive things I could think of and our entire office lost internet connection for about an hour… could be coincidence, and maybe I’m paranoid, but still…

Amnesty International:

Accessible, pretty much all the time. All reports are downloadable and visible. Major progress here.

BBC (in Chinese):

Off and on accessibility. The real problem is that it just looks accessible. When I try to click on stories they all come up as the dreaded IE can’t access screen. It’s a complete Potemkin village of media censorship on this site. It appears to work fine until you scratch the surface. Sometimes it works, but mostly not. All English BBC reports are visible, including ones that are critical of China, and always accessible, except James Reynolds’ blog which is 50/50. I think this might be more likely to internal BBC stuff than the Chinese “Man.” This is a huge step, as before March the BBC was never available.

Wikipedia (in Chinese):

Just try and type in Tiananmen Square. I dare you- so I did. I got an innocuous report about the history of the square, its importance to Chinese dynasties, blah blah (in Mandarin.) No mention of 6/4 (the Tiananmen Square Incident). I tried Falun Gong and BOOM! No more web access to Wikipedia for about 10 minutes. Kicked off, just like that. Wikipedia in English first became accessible two years ago during my summer in China. Now, it depends on what you search before you are booted off. The Chinese version is about 80% off, 20% on.

Youtube:

It depends on what you search. Anything about the Tiananmen video or Tibet protests and you can maybe watch 3-5 minutes before your connection gets cut. I feel honored that my video of us getting kicked off the bridge during the Opening Ceremony was at one point inaccessible, as well all of youtube, for me. They must have really liked it to have checked it that thoroughly!

Facebook:

Everyone has problems with Facebook all over Asia. So I don’t know if my connection problems are due to censorship within China- but it really isn’t stable. Just thought you should know.

Tibet reports:

Anything that is pro-Tibet independence is hard to find. Party line, or anti-Tibet stuff is not a problem to access at all.

Blogs, like this one:

I knew a high school student with a photo blog that wrote about Tibet, and he even wrote it like this: T!bet. He didn’t write anything but the name- nothing political. Still, a month ago you could not get access his site. Now look- I have written pretty much every sensitive word in the book on this blog and I have no problem seeing it from Beijing and writing for it. This is a huge leap forward.

Online Newspapers:

Depends, really. Some are totally blocked- others only depending on what they write. It’s hit or miss.

So, everyone is asking, will this openness last after the Olympics? Unprecedented media access has not led to the fall of the government as so many on the inside feared. I attribute this to 1.) A distinct distrust by Chinese of foreign media. Foreign media, like the BBC, are heavily attacked by Chinese newspapers as anti-China and therefore untrustworthy and biased news sources. Whenever I cite bad things happening in China, even citing the source and showing it to my friends, it’s still looked at as untrustworthy. I remember one person I knew said that these pictures of the Qingdao algae had to have been photo-shopped to make China look bad before the Olympics: http://www.sail-world.com/photos/Med_assetContent.act.jpg 2.) Many people within China don’t take the time, or are unable, to read English news reports. In this respect, even if there are glaring differences in reports made by the state-run media and foreign media people don’t know about it. 3.) People don’t really care. When you live in a system where the prevailing sentiment is “I’m too small to change my government” it really doesn’t matter what is said or done. If you’re life is going well otherwise- who cares?

There are enclaves of active Chinese netizens that bypass “The Great Firewall” through proxy servers to get news from Taiwan and overseas Chinese. Often great scandals are revealed this way and flow over the internet as underground stories. China has one of the most complex and intricate online surveillance apparatuses in the world, so the Man often keeps track of these stories and deletes them when possible. There have been some huge incidences that were covered up, like riots in southern China after a CCP official raped a girl and hired thugs beat up her uncle when he sued for justice. Also, a man in Shanghai stabbed police officers at a police station. The reason, or so the netizens report, was that a year earlier the police had beaten him after he complained of unfair treatment by the police over a small incident. The man was traveling in Shanghai with a bike that he claimed he had rented but the police said he had stolen. They had beaten him so badly that he lost the ability to reproduce. He was so enraged that he stabbed some workers at the police station a year later. The Chinese media only reported on the stabbings, not the reasons behind them until they were forced to condemn all the internet accusations as lies. They then arrested a group of people that had protested the incident and wrote their opinions online. The list goes on and on. James Reynolds posted this on his blog about the forced migration of people living in the way of progress: (WARNING: This is a violent incident and might not be suitable for all readers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6mbT9HlSp0) The point is, these stories are not getting reported, or inaccurately reported, by the state-run media but English reports are now accessible for the most part within China. I will not say that “Western” media is perfect, far from it. But I have problems with the bias argument because most, like the BBC, criticize all governments. To me, I trust a BBC report far more than Xinhua- but then again, I grew up in the “West.” No one likes to be criticized, but I believe criticism from outside observers is critical for positive change. I do not criticize China to cause harm, but as one who wants to facilitate positive change and offer a different point of view. The difference is important, although often lost with the China vs. US mentality, which is how criticism is received. A common rebuttal to criticism about the Chinese government is “But your government does this…” (Note that I also heavily criticize my own government, and I believe it is my duty to do so as a citizen).

To sum up, media access is not as perfect as was hoped. Indeed, there are still strict restrictions on Chinese accessible sites, which are the most important in facilitating accurate news. Just because most reporters are English speakers doesn’t mean they shouldn’t care about access to the Chinese language portions of their own news sites. If these people want change then this is what needs to be accessible. I found this article to be an accurate depiction of the new policies here: http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/beijing_olympics/china_officials_give_up_on_censoring_world_settle_for_their_own_citizens_91373.asp

For me, I genuinely hope this increased media access trend will continue after the Olympics. This may be the lasting political legacy of the Games. In my opinion a free, independent, and most importantly critical media will be the impetus for liberal change in the Middle Kingdom.

p.s. I am quite aware of the sensitivity of what I have written above, and I honestly believe my blog may become blocked in China at some point in the future. If this happens I will email my posts directly to the Daily Camera. I understand that I run the risk (although probably very small) of being blacklisted here in China and unable to get a visa in the future due to these posts. I accept that risk.

Why no one is coming to the Olympics

spencerjemelka — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:57:06 +0000

I don’t know why this isn’t screaming across news headlines. Buried in a report I can no longer find on the BBC website (my search engine crashes when I look for it…) only 45,000 foreigners are here for the Olympics. (All I can find now is a BBC report that says “…tens of thousands of world leaders, athletes and spectators [are] expected in Beijing for the Games: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7545593.stm) I actually heard about this first from a Chinese newspaper that wrote only 50,000 came. For those of us who were looking for a party this is disappointing news. According to estimates from over a month ago there were supposed to be over 500,000 of us laowai coming! Read one of the estimates here: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/03/oly.foreigners.ap/index.html I work for a homestay non-profit organization and we only got 14 visitors to use our service. The government run homestay got none (I’m proud of that. They even called us to interview us about our success.) Word on the street is hotels right next to the Olympic Green are only half full and prices are falling every day. So… what happened? Here is my analysis:

1.) Visas- everywhere you want to be?

Not really. Fact is, the Chinese government cracked down hard on foreign guests through strict visa policies. China officially stated that “no change was made” in the official visa policy, but the fact is, the infamous Hong Kong visa run was no longer a shoe-in for your visa. I had friends here who had worked for 2 years teaching in BJ and all of a sudden were not able to renew their visas. The black box was worse for those outside of China. 3 month visas became impossible, then even 1 month visas. I heard a rumor the longest you could get from HK was for 11 days! I didn’t even know they had 11 day visas. One of our customers from Indonesia could only get a 1 week visa. The government said that the new (although never admitted new) policies were for safety. They particularly feared terrorist attacks (and, of course, protests) here in Beijing, so they limited who could come. I heard down the line that what you look like and what country you are from directly related to how likely you are to get a visa. Look middle-eastern or from that region? No joy on the visa. There were some American athletes that also got blacklisted last minute, including one previous Olympic medalists that had a connection to Team Darfur.

2.) Game TICKETS!

If you are flying for over 14 hours to a country for the Olympics then you want at least a few event tickets. I heard from the rumor-mill even the Olympic teams had trouble getting tickets for their own events. The tickets policies were so strict, and inconsistent, that many people threw their hands up and said forget it. For example, BOCOG decided at the last minute that all Opening Ceremony tickets needed to have a picture and passport sent in to be placed on the ticket. 80,000 tickets?! The logistics are mind boggling. Let’s just say the idea didn’t work out well in practice. Scalping is also illegal here and many Chinese websites that were selling tickets have been shutdown. Now you have to know someone who knows someone. From what I hear, many tickets are in drawers collecting dust as there is an oversupply but no way to sell them! I heard a horror story about three Opening Ceremony tickets found on a desk the day after.

Sweet, sweet Olympic tickets

3.) The Economy

People just aren’t traveling like the used to. Americans are tightening their belts and not going as far for vacation. Don’t blame them, especially with the falling worth of the dollar (which hurts us expats every time we go to the ATM.)

4.) Oil Prices

This figures directly into airline ticket prices. With the sky high (perceived) demand for Olympics tickets plus crude oil prices going through the roof made an expensive flight indeed. Oil prices are state controlled in China, so not a big deal here.

5.) Earthquakes and Disease

The Sichuan Earthquake was not good for China- which I admit did a pretty amazing job with the aftermath. Fact is people don’t want to travel to a country that suffered a huge disaster, even if it’s on the other side of the country. Add in the disease scare in Anhui killing infants and adults alike, plus a supposed cover-up of a mysterious disease in Qingdao makes for not so good a travel destination.

6.) …The D, T and X problem

Everyone knows about Darfur, although many are probably still unclear about exactly what is going on there. Even after doing an internship at the United Nations and being briefed by the very people who are stationed in Sudan I’m still a little puzzled about the exact mess in Darfur and China’s role in it. It’s pretty complicated. Everyone also knows about the Tibet issue- particularly us Boulderites. People know a little less about Xinjiang (I’m surprised I can access my blog after writing all this…). I won’t delve into the details of the issues here, but I have strong opinions about these three that tend to follow the stereotypical “foreigner thought trends.” Let’s just say that China is providing weaponry to the oppressive Sudanese government, there were riots in Tibet and bombings in Xingjiang and in southern China by Uyghur activists. When there are controversial weapon sales, bombings and riots, people don’t like to visit. Here is a link to some t-shirt artwork, all anti-Olympics and most focus on D, T and X (or human rights). http://www.redbubble.com/people/rossman72/journal/916686-boycott-beijing-artwork

7.) The Blood Olympics

I got this “Blood Olympics” comment on one of my youtube videos. There is a strong anti-China stance held by some, particular targeting the Olympics and China’s human rights abuses. Just look at the picture of the Olympic rings as handcuffs. Or even better, Amnesty International’s report “The Olympics Countdown: Broken Promises” which outlines China’s negative trend in human rights (http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/chinese-authorities-broken-promises-threaten-olympic-legacy-20080728). I’ll be the first to say these abuses exist and are terrible. However, I believe that by being here you support the Chinese people, not so much the government. By being in Beijing foreigners are agents of cultural diffusion which can pressure for liberal change (look how the media was opened up after foreign journalists and the IOC pressured the CCP for less censorship. I’ll write about this later.)

Add these together and what do you get? A pretty poorly attended Olympics. I can attest to this just by the lack of foreigners that I see around. I was expecting droves, and all I see are scattered packs. Why isn’t someone in the major media writing this story? They said 500,000 and only 45,000 are here…. but why? This is certainly noteworthy.

Beijing’s Pollution- yesterday at 278 micrograms/cubic meter?!

spencerjemelka — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:00:13 +0000

Today, August 11th

Yeah, I know it’s hackneyed but I’ll write about it anyway. The first thing you’ll notice about Beijing is the pollution. The heavy fog, mist, smog, smist or whatever it is that drapes the city in a gloomy cloud really can affect your mood. Being from Boulder I’m used to a brilliant blue sky. So, every now and then the fogmistsmogsmist opens up and the city is dazzling. Some people might come to the Olympics and only see the dreary side. But- if we’re lucky, we might get some Blue Sky Days during the Games. It rained last night, so at least I can see the mountains, but they are still shrouded in a grayish cloud.

I’ve noticed this only happens after it rains or a large wind blows through. Then it scrubs the sky clean for a breathtaking sky. The government is “cloud seeding” to try to get it to rain. Only the USSR and China have ever said they can control the weather, and there isn’t any scientific proof that it works. I was always a little skeptical when people told me the smist was really just fog, but I’m starting to buy it. When I went with the wrestling team to the great wall the smist was still as thick- and it’s just not possible for there to be that much smog. Besides, according to the IOC most of what we see these days is just mist- but wouldn’t it burn off? The BBC is keeping track of particulates in the air everyday, viewable here on the right side (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/default.stm) They reported yesterday at, get this, 278 micrograms per cubic meter. The WHO recommends 50 for developed countries and 150 for developing. That’s over 5 times the recommended limit. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a marathon athlete wading through that. Furthermore, all I know is the “mistiest” days also coincide with having a high particle count. I’m just saying.

Well, the weather was affecting me so much last month that I decided to do a countdown to the Opening Ceremonies by taking a picture from my office window everyday for comparison purposes. Viewable here: (http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027695&l=5569d&id=14500792). I did a pretty good job of taking the pictures at around the same time and documenting the current weather. The BBC used a few of these pictures, and one made the front page of the BBC’s Asia-Pacific section on July17th. Some are still up here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7494999.stm.

For those that don’t know, Beijing has been trying really hard to “clean up its act” with the environment for the Games. There are also new emergency procedures in place, like only half of private cars can be on the road alternating days, and some 90% will be taken off during marathon events. I don’t know if it has helped all that much, to be honest.

As an observation, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has made a very good effort at trying to look like it cares about the environment. On the subway there are videos of little kids doing environmentally friendly things and waste baskets around the city all have recycling bins, with the words “Protect the Environment.” So, at least on the outside they look like they are trying, it’s also a big step to educate the younger generations about the importance of environmental protection. For the record, China has some of the strictest environmental laws in the world. It’s just that the people who write the laws tend to own the businesses that break the laws… and since they are the ones writing them they know how to use their guanxi (connections) to break them.

Just for posterity, there are many arguments on both sides about China’s development and the conflict with environmental protection. Personally, my Boulder upbringing resonates strongly here, so I tend to be skeptical of the “you developed dirtily so let us do it too” argument. But for a good synopsis James Reynolds of the BBC does a great job detailing both sides. I read his blog everyday and think he is a pretty balanced reporter with a good grasp of China. Here’s his analysis: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/jamesreynolds/2008/07/capping_emissions.html

One of the Worst Days, July 11

One of the Best Days, July 12

So, if you’re here just know that there is “debate” on what that gray stuff out your window is. You can try to ignore it, or do as the Romans do, and just say it’s mist: which has become my way of coping.

Actually Being at the Opening Ceremony

spencerjemelka — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:35:04 +0000

Before the Bird's Nest

(I wrote this the day after the Ceremonies, but didn’t get a chance to post until today). China put on one of the greatest shows on Earth last night. I wouldn’t know, actually I have yet to see the Opening Ceremonies. I had quite an experience last night. My friends and I were determined to see the fireworks. We figure the country invented the stuff, so the Ceremonies should be a dazzling pyrotechnic spectacle. And that it was.

We took a cab from Beijing Language and Culture University to the Bird’s Nest. Our friends had reserved a table at a restaurant near the Nest. We all split up and it ended up being myself and a Brit with a cab following us with three people (one of whom is a fellow Boulderite, Theron Haan. We studied in Nanjing together). By the time we got to the Nest at 6:30, it was a complete madhouse. We had somehow jumped off of our taxi in mid-traffic, after throwing 15 kuai to the driver and duck-and-rolling out of the cab into a nearby bush. From there it became a rendezvous operation to meet up with the rest of the group. It is pretty accurate to compare last night’s adventure to a warzone or refugee camp. We knew where our friends were- sort of- but getting there was nearly impossible. We went through checkpoint after checkpoint of guards, in the opposite direction of the stadium. Since we didn’t have tickets we couldn’t actually get close to anything. In a summarized list, this is what we experienced:

1.) Being kicked off a bridge

2.) Jumping a fence and running across a highway

3.) Being caught in the midst of a taping for a Chinese news show with a throng of college students chanting Go China (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEi2DrORbx4)

4.) A labyrinthine journey through twisting alleyways

5.) Sweet talking my way past a guard by saying we lived in a nearby apartment

6.) Calling the restaurant to locate my friend and having a local 60 or so year old woman take me by the hand and weave use through the crowds to get the restaurant, walking over a kilometer with us. What a nice lady.

Theron Doin' His Tai Chi to manage stress

There were a few burst of fireworks that got our hopes up, but then around 12:30 AM the real show started. And what a show it was. Including over 3 minutes of non-stop explosions, at one point in the shape of the Olympic rings. A small child (watch the video) kept saying “So pretty! So pretty!” I have to agree with him and shared in his excitement. After the Nest’s works ended it seemed the rest of the city got a show too. I could hear explosions in front and behind me, and saw the reflections of the fireworks off the glass of the skyscrapers. What a show.

(I just put up a youtube video of the action, but I can’t access youtube after I posted it. Censorship is still pretty serious. I’ll write another post on what I can and can’t access later. When I can sneak through the filters I’ll post the videos. This sort of stuff is pretty common here…)

Yes, I got through, here are some videos:

The Fireworks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVuFQfuyMig

Getting Kicked off the Bridge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69aUz3IHO8c

The walk back was terrible as no cab was empty. Took us an hour to get home- but it was so worth it.

Here’s a look at the night in pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028828&l=e2a96&id=14500792

Here are some other amazing pictures another Boulderite sent me: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/2008_olympics_opening_ceremony.html