I am lucky to be able to see Beijing in person during the Olympics. The athletic accomplishments aside--and the Chinese had 16 gold medals last I checked--the people's pride in being a host to the games is palpable. Putting on the Olympics is a lot of work. Designing, constructing, staffing, planning and delivering demand a significant amount of resources, including workers. Since the modern era of Olympic games (post-1896), organizers have recruited volunteers in addition to paid workers to help with all aspects of the hosting the games. Chinese who were interested in participating were given a choice between paid worker and volunteer. The Beijing Olympic committee hoped to recruit 150,000 to be volunteers--a lot even by Olympic standards--out of those who wanted to work. Over 2 million people signed up to work and over 1.1 million of them as volunteers. Many of them students and retirees. I never realized how serious a commitment being an Olympic volunteer really … [Read more...]

It is certainly true that the media in China is biased; however the western media is also at fault (if that's the right word) here in their presentation. You would have to talk to these kids and see the general attitude on the streets to see that to them this is not propaganda. The question I am most often asked is why the western press can't give China a compliment without qualifying it with some problem. I disagree with those who criticize Bush's visit as "making nice" and not addressing the "real" issues. There is a time and place for everything. His appearance here was a great honor and one that will create a lot of good will. It has been mentioned by everyone we visit: students, businessmen, and friends (who generally tell us what they really feel). From a positive psychology point of view, I think that creating respect between countries will go a long way to overcome the fundamental distrust between the countries. Chinese culture and sensibility are very different … [Read more...]