So, pomp and fanfare are set to characterise the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing today - complete with the tightest security since post- Tiananmen Massacre nearly 20 years ago.
Had four foreigners not unfurled a huge “Free Tibet” banner near the iconic Bird’s Nest Stadium two days ago - the whole occasion would have escaped my attention.
I would say the four 'troublemakers', briefly detained by Chinese police, had spot-on timing. At a time when the attention of the entire world is focused on Beijing, who in his or her right mind would believe the Chinese authorities might do something stupid to spoil the party, a coming-of-age sort of exercise eagerly anticipated by millions of Chinese worldwide?
So the four “foreign devils” were released without charge, prompting me to suspect all this could have been a propaganda stunt on the part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Was it a counterplot by the Chinese government to first arrest and then allowed them walk free just to make itself look good?
Who says we Chinese don’t respect human rights? But the consequences might be different if the culprits were Chinese!
Never forget that top party officials – acutely aware of their lack of legitimacy – always vow to nip every sign of unrest in the bud.
To this end, closed circuit cameras are installed in the Chinese capital to monitor all movement – suspicious or not - of the city folk. I once stood in front of Xinhua Gate, the magnificent but feudalistic-looking entrance to the headquarters of the CCP government, seeking to study its architecture that is said to have been modified by Yuan Shikai, the warlord whose attempt to revive the monarchy ended with ignominious overthrow by republican forces.
Barely twenty seconds later, a police officer came up to me and issued a warning for me to stay away. Not wanting my vacation to be cut short, I complied at once.
Not to say I am ready to boycott the Games. Far from it. Ever since China won the right to host the biggest and grandest sport event on earth seven years ago, I have not changed my feeling toward it- just lukewarm.
For those who cannot wait to shame the CCP at every opportunity, especially the British, they should be reminded of the fact that London was awarded the chance to show off its abilities to host the Olympic Games in 1948 despite a global war that had almost bankrupted the empire’s coffer. No one made any noise about millions of people being colonised by the British then. Free whatever
Had the Soviet Union initiated some form of economic reform earlier and brought tangible benefits to global capitalists, I doubt much of the 'free world' – Malaysia included – would have boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
Why bark at the Chinese authorities only? I would rather see these self-righteous campaigners of Free Tibet, Free China or Free Whatever apply part of the pressure on western capitalist groups – gigantic or minuscule – who are now rushing to tap into China’s Olympic fever.
In any case, the Olympic-mania across China today only indicates that the CCP has deviated too far from its Marxist-Maoist ideology. To the Chinese leadership, a successful Olympics is pivotal to maintaining its legitimacy to rule, an affirmation of sorts for want of universal suffrage.
Even the date and time of the opening ceremony – on 08-08-08 and at 8.08pm – was carefully chosen. In Mandarin, 8 sounds like fa, which means sudden fortune and prosperity. Hence, quintuple 8 could mean quintuple or even endless fortune and prosperity of this nature. It cannot be more auspicious indeed.
Some say one of the greatest achievements of the Cultural Revolution is the elimination of superstition in Chinese society (although the catastrophic movement itself elevated the status of Mao Zedong to that of a semi-god). Ironically, the revolutionary party has just proved to the world that all old traditions die hard. Once a tragically idealist party, the CCP now knows it cannot shine without money.
What about those who claim to be “leftists representing the workers and peasants”? Many of them too are euphoric at the “greatest” moment of the Chinese nation in more than five decades, never mind that hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, who had laboured around the clock to make “the Chinese dream” come true, are now being forced off the streets in Beijing for fear that they could be potentially troublesome.
Meanwhile, I personally know of a few dissident writers who are now under 24-hour surveillance of the state security officials, at least until most of the foreigners desert the Chinese capital after the Games. I wonder what fate would have befallen the 'organic intellectuals'- sitting and writing comfortably overseas about "the proudest hour" – if they happened to have a critical mind while in China.
Is it not an oxymoron for one to identify so strongly with the CCP that has lost its zeal to champion the cause of the oppressed and the downtrodden?
Having said that, all the grandiose setting fails to disguise the siege mentality, and all the more so after the riots in Tibet and the recent bombings in Yunnan province and the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, all of which are inhabited by huge numbers of various ethnic groups alongside the Hans.
Restive minorities
The Chinese government does have reasons to worry. Take Kosovo for example. Pristina declared independence unilaterally early this year, an act against a UN resolution of 1999 that recognises still the territory as an integral part of Serbia.
As far as Beijing is concerned, the Kosovars were audacious enough to break away because Serbia is economically and politically weak, while the international community watches on. That major European Union countries and the United States are supportive of a sovereign Kosovo is also a cause for concern for countries with restive ethnic minorities. This drastic development could have far-reaching implications around the world and boost separatist movements in many hotspots, ranging from Basque, Catalan, Tibet, Xinjiang and, needless to say, Taiwan.
Kosovo’s ‘success story’ could serve as a valuable precedent for other Southeast Asian independence forces too, like the troubled provinces in southern Thailand, although it may seem unlikely in the case of Aceh in Indonesia. Still, Jakarta is watching Papua very closely.
The Chinese leadership will never forget the shocking experience of seeing the erstwhile Eastern Bloc states in Europe turn westward in the late 1980s that culminated in the total defeat of communism.
This chain reaction and the subsequent disintegration of the Soviet Union continue to haunt the CCP, which explains why a strong state and a prosperous economy are key to maintaining its legitimacy not only in China Proper, but in the ethnic minority regions also.
In some way, Beijing understands the difficulties confronting the Russian populations in the Baltic republics and the Serb minority in the now independent Kosovo. Should the separatists gain the upper hand in both Tibet and Xinjiang, ethnic tension between the native populations and the Hans would ensue, or escalate into all-out war.
How are the CCP elites to resolve all these explosive issues while keeping the economy going? A world-acclaimed Summer Games may be part of the answer. Then again, what is good for the goose may be bad for the gander. As the majority of the Chinese population is immersed in this moment of national pride, it may be deeply unsettling for the marginalised communities – Hans and non-Hans alike – to know a successful Olympics will in all likelihood affirm the CCP’s legitimacy and, worse, prolong its rule.
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I would say the four 'troublemakers', briefly detained by Chinese police, had spot-on timing. At a time when the attention of the entire world is focused on Beijing, who in his or her right mind would believe the Chinese authorities might do something stupid to spoil the party, a coming-of-age sort of exercise eagerly anticipated by millions of Chinese worldwide?
Not to say I am ready to boycott the Games. Far from it. Ever since China won the right to host the biggest and grandest sport event on earth seven years ago, I have not changed my feeling toward it- just lukewarm.
In any case, the Olympic-mania across China today only indicates that the CCP has deviated too far from its Marxist-Maoist ideology. To the Chinese leadership, a successful Olympics is pivotal to maintaining its legitimacy to rule, an affirmation of sorts for want of universal suffrage.
Is it not an oxymoron for one to identify so strongly with the CCP that has lost its zeal to champion the cause of the oppressed and the downtrodden? 
Kosovo’s ‘success story’ could serve as a valuable precedent for other Southeast Asian independence forces too, like the troubled provinces in southern Thailand, although it may seem unlikely in the case of Aceh in Indonesia. Still, Jakarta is watching 
