They focused too much on Player #1 Wang Yimei. Sure, she definitely has, well, the size to make her a powerful attacker, but she doesn't have the capability to contribute to China's notorious quick wits, fakes, and surprise attacks. Sigh. That's exactly how China's women volleyball team won gold in Athens. Our volleyball team isn't supposed to focus on sheer force and power, but rather smart plays and blocks. And why does a country with 1 billion skinny people have a volleyball team that is just plain oversized?I know I'm being mean. I'm usually not mean to oversized people, by the way, given that I was a victim of oversized-ness in my elementary years. But geez! It's the volleyball team people!
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On another note, I'm very worried about the number of gold medals China is getting in the Olympic games.
Alright, I'm actually very proud of the Chinese people, we've really worked hard on our facilities, logistics, volunteers, etc. and it really is impressive, having experienced it first-hand. But the Olympics is also a way for China to open up, absorb outside criticisms, embrace temporary free speech, and most importantly, with outside influence from the whole entire world, it just might encourage a more transparent government. Instead, with 46 golds and counting, we're just boosting our egos, and China is essentially patting itself on the back for defeating the rest of the world with World #1's.
And no matter how much pride this gives us, it also pushes us back.
China's absolute biggest problem is that for everything we do, we need to "save our face," or rather, protect our 面子． It's an essential part of Chinese culture (and I must say, I am very guilty of this practice). However, in China's quest to save its face, we fail under the surface. 46 golds means that our 面子 is absolutely saved, but everything that happens under the surface is completely shoved to the side, ignored, or cleverly covered by our all powerful government. And what happens under the surface is what matters.
Gold in "women's" gymnastics. But what about the physical abuse? The underage controversy? The fact that these little girls are essentially manufactured from day one to become the gold medal winners of all-glorious China?
Free areas of demonstration during the Olympic games. What about the 5 Americans that were arrested for protesting against the Chinese government's treatment of Tibet? Or the two elderly women subjected to "re-education" just because they were protesting their meager compensation for relocation? Is it just a coincidence that even though the Chinese government has allowed "areas of free protest," there has been no visible signs of open protest all through the city of Beijing? Does it really just mean that the "system is working"? I think not.
But anyway. I do want to applaud China for hosting a great Olympic games, with really beautiful facilities and a jaw-dropping Opening Ceremony. But I guess I'm just disappointed that the Olympic Games didn't do more to open up China for all the Chinese citizens itching to contribute to free speech and demonstration. All I really want is for my country to figure out a way to improve its problems, because I am just sick of those typical, anti-Chinese statements about its human-rights, transparency, and corruption. All of which are clear and prevalent problems that no one can really deny.
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