Beijing (CNN)On the road to the Winter Olympics, there was much talk of two host cities – one inside a tightly sealed bubble where the games would take place and one outside where daily life would go on as normal.
But the past two weeks have also shown the world two very different games: For China, Beijing 2022 was a resounding success that exceeded all expectations. For the rest of the world, it remained a deeply polarizing event, projecting not only China’s growing power but also its growing assertiveness, poised to defy and challenge its critics.
In its meticulously managed “closed loop,” the ubiquitous face masks, endless spraying of sanitizer, and rigorous daily testing have all paid off. Infections brought into the country were quickly identified and contained, allowing the games to run largely free of Covid even as the Omicron variant raged around the world.
On the medal tables, Team China picked up nine gold medals for a total of 15 medals, their best-ever result at a Winter Olympics – and ranked ahead of the United States. The outstanding performances of the new Olympic stars – from freeski sensation Eileen Gu to snowboarding prodigy Su Yiming – captivated fans in the stands and across the country, inspiring pride.
As of Wednesday, nearly 600 million people — or 40% of China’s population — had watched the games on television in China, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). And while U.S. viewership has dropped significantly compared to previous Olympics, the surge in Chinese audiences is likely to make Beijing 2022 the most-watched Winter Games in history.
Even the official mascot, Bing Dwen Dwen, a panda with an ice shell, turned out to be a domestic success. The chubby bear, which has been largely ignored for more than two years since it was first revealed, rose in popularity during the games and was routinely trending on Chinese social media. At souvenir shops inside and outside the bubble, people queued for hours — sometimes in the freezing cold — to take home replica stuffed animal toys.
And for the ruling Communist Party and its supreme leader, Xi Jinping, the most important thing is the local audience. Xi personally supported Beijing’s bid to host the Games and made numerous visits to the ice rinks and snow slopes to inspect the preparation work. The success of the Games brings Xi a moment of national unity as he prepares for an unprecedented third term this fall.
But for the Chinese government, part of its domestic success comes from avoiding major political scandals or embarrassment. While the doping saga surrounding a teenage Russian figure skater has cast a shadow over the Olympics, it has been downplayed in China. The same applied to criticism of the games in general, which was largely censored and blocked.
At the start of the Games, many athletes from Western countries were stunned by the severe Covid restrictions they encountered upon arrival in Beijing. Some have been isolated for weeks after testing positive, while others have complained about the bland food being served in quarantine. But her criticism – including an emotional cry for help from a Belgian athlete – has not been reported in China.
Instead, Chinese state media eagerly shared social media videos, posts and comments from athletes portraying their life in the Olympic village in a positive light, praising the food, the Covid measures and the friendly volunteers.
And much to the relief of government officials in Beijing, not a single athlete or Olympian attempted to use the event to publicly protest China’s human rights record – a hot topic in the run-up to the Olympics (though some have expressed it). critical views).
In December, the United States and its allies declared a diplomatic boycott of the Games over China’s crackdown on Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang — what Washington has described as genocide. But apart from the notable absence of Western leaders at the opening ceremony, the impact of the boycott was rarely felt on the ground.
“You can’t write stories about people who aren’t in Beijing — that’s the problem with the diplomatic boycott. There’s no story once the games start,” said Susan Brownell, an expert on Chinese sports and the Olympics at the University of Missouri-St. Ludwig.
“I predicted at the outset that political issues would take a back seat and sport would take the headlines and that would be the memory that would linger, at least for the general public. I think that’s largely happened,” adds Brownell.
Go on the offensive
But Beijing wasn’t just waiting for the political controversies to subside. It has gone on the offensive, using the Games to spread its own political message and slam back criticism — despite repeatedly taunting Western governments for “politicizing” the Olympics.
As the torch relay began just before the Games, state media reported that a Chinese soldier involved in a deadly border battle with Indian troops was among the chosen few to carry the Olympic flame. The report prompted immediate outrage in India and prompted New Delhi to join the US-led diplomatic boycott.
The next day, at a symbolic conclusion to the highly choreographed opening ceremony, Chinese organizers selected Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a little-known Uyghur cross-country skier, to carry the flame to the Olympic cauldron. (Her name could also be spelled as Dilnigar Ilhamjan.) To many outside China, this was seen as a deliberate attempt by Beijing to confront critics over its treatment of the Uyghurs.
Then came the high-profile performance of Peng Shuai, a Chinese tennis star and three-time Olympian who became the focus of global concern after she was silenced for accusing a former top Communist Party leader of sexual assault.
At those games, Peng met IOC President Thomas Bach for dinner, gave an interview to French sports news site L’Equipe, in which she denied she had – and has – ever accused anyone of sexual assault or disappeared from public view in the stands to see Team China compete in events such as curling, figure skating and freestyle skiing.
Their many activities have made headlines around the world – and like their previous public appearances, they have not allayed wider concerns about their freedoms. In China, however, none of this was reported by state media or shared on social media, where Peng’s name continues to be censored.
And as the Olympics drew to a close, the political messages became more combative.
At a press conference on Thursday, Yan Jiarong, a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee (BOCOG), was asked whether Taiwan’s delegation would appear at Sunday’s closing ceremony.
Yan, a former Chinese representative at the United Nations, took the opportunity to assert China’s claims of sovereignty over the self-governing democracy. “What I want to say is that there is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an indivisible part of China,” she said.
She also chimed in on CNN’s question as to whether the uniforms for the Xinjiang Olympics were made through forced labor, calling the allegations of forced labor “a lie concocted by forces with ulterior motives.”
Yan’s comments – which appeared to be a blatant violation of Olympic rules on political neutrality – prompted a rare rebuke from Bach, the IOC President.
“We were in contact with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) immediately after this press conference,” Bach said, “and both organizations, BOCOG and the IOC, have reiterated an unequivocal commitment to remain politically neutral as required through the Olympic Charter.”
While the Chinese government may see these hawkish statements as a propaganda victory, for many in the international audience they serve only as a reminder of just how politically tense these games are, despite the organizational success and sporting achievements.
“The Games as a standalone event have been very well run and China has done well. The organization was phenomenal,” said Mark Dreyer, founder of China Sports Insider in Beijing.
“But again, it depends on what perspective you’re looking at. Do you only see through that narrow lens? Because if you look at China as a whole, the narrative (from outside of China) is a lot more about China using these games for sports laundry… I don’t think it’s really going to change people’s perspective of China as a country.”
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