Not sure what he big deal is. There are a lot of people here who are small and missing teeth. Hell, I fit that description. In general, the reaction here is, ‘well it’s a dumb rule’ (no quips about child labor, please).

Not that I’d put a conspiracy beyond the reach of the central government (some people here are saying that the entire Chinese olympic team is doping). That seems a bit far fetched.

Also, am back from Beijing. Had a chance to see Men’s Beach Volleyball, and the fateful Track and Field event on Monday.

Western coverage of on-the-ground conditions of the Olympics seems focused largely on the extensive ad-campaigns and the massive promotional-political megaplex. It is indeed ubiquitous (and has been for the past 2+ years) so much so that it seems to have numbed the general populace to the campaign’s intent: excitement about the games.

Official promotionfanatacism is matched only by extent of lethargy towards the event among Zhou-everyman – ‘Beijing08′ seems to have become a permanent fixture of life, no more interesting or unusual than one of the several state sponsored holidays. Come Friday, of course, I imagine there will be a lot more interest – but even then it seems unlikely that support will match the promotional infrastructure ($14 million was spent on a project to teach everyone the official Chinese chant, “奥运加油，中国加油” – “Go China,” basically). At present, it’s impossible to walk more than two blocks, or watch more than 10 minutes of television without being inundated by Beijing08 kitsch or sponsorships, or the omnipresent “One World, One Dream” (同一世界,同一梦想) slogan. So what’s going to happen after dismantling the politico-commercial-promotional megaplex? (Seems as though a lot of people will have to find new jobs, for starters).

The answer likely depends on how things proceed throughout August. Should China take first place with total golds, I could see that number being incorporated as some pseudo-sacred symbol (“Beijing 08 / China 35″). I’ve opined before that the Olympics are not an appropriate forum for political statements – though Beijing did itself no favors by choosing the capital city as the host site, and then turning it into an idyllic-yet-farcical fortress parody of itself functional modern city. Pragmatism, however, suggests browbeating the self-styled monolith that is China’s central government will only lead to more inane justifications for absolutism.

So there’s a couple of possibilities, but for whatever reason I’m stuck with the prospect that world reaction fails to live up to domestic (in China) hype, barring even some minor snafu on the part of an insensitive tourist. Unfortunately, apathy and shallow acceptance may be more damaging in the long run. At least alienation can lead to engagement. Better that such engagement, uncomfortable as it may be, come sooner rather than later.

Anyone want to work in China? The newspapers here are always looking for English ‘proofers’ of stories that are translated / created specifically for the foreign branches of state media. They are needed to avoid the following:

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Apparently there’s still a hangup on whether or not Taiwan will participate in the 08 Olympics – Taiwanese officials want their official title (to be displayed on flags during ceremonies) at the games to be Chinese Taibei; Beijing officials would rather it be Chinese Taibei – the actual distinction being 中华台北 vs 中国台北 – the first version refers to ‘Chinese’ in a broad, ethnic diaspora sense – the latter clearly labeling Taibei as part of the country China, as well as being ethnically Chinese.