Why Number 1 means a lot to 1.3 billion people
By Zhen Ming
NUMBERS mean a lot to the Chinese.
It was no coincidence that at 8.08pm, on the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of perhaps Team China's eighth millennium as a civilisation, they finally had their Olympic moment
The critics, of course, ask: But at what expense
They point to human rights abuses and curbs on freedoms.
But for the full story, one should first take a walk to the ruins of the Summer Palace, or YiHe Yuan, not far from the Beijing Olympic Park.
This will evoke the time when Britain forced opium on China which 'enslaved a generation of Chinese and caused corruption on a scale that dwarfs anything in present-day China', as writer Richard L King noted.
'The burnt Summer Palace remains a symbol reminding China of its past weakness and humiliation,' said Travis Hanes and Frank Sanello in their book Opium Wars.
REINVENTING ITSELF?
Is it any wonder that China is sparing no expense to reverse such memories?
A whopping US$43 billion (S$61 billion) has been spent to build roads, stadiums, parks and subway lines to create a world-class Olympic city.
Athens spent only U$S12.8 billion, in current dollars, to play host in 2004.
In theory, the Olympic Games are not supposed to be about national pride over individual and team achievement.
The reality is very different.The Beijing Games has become a perfect metaphor for Team China's desire to be No1 in a hurry.
Barely two decades ago, bicycles dominated the streets of China - even in downtown Beijing.
Today, while Team China is still only the world's fourth largest economy, the Chinese are set to outdo the Americans by 2015 in cars owned.
LOOK OUT, USA
Team China is also set to soon overtake Team USA as the world's largest producer of manufactured goods - four years earlier than expected.
Proclaims blogger JXie in a recent posting on the Fool's Mountain website:
In 2002, the GDP of China was 10.2 trillion yuan (S$2.1 trillion) while the GDP of the US was US$10.6 trillion (S$15 trillion).
Last year, China's GDP was 24.7 trillion yuan and the US's was US$14 trillion.
'If we assume the relative paces of the underlining economic numbers remain the same, China will catch up ... in 2019,' he asserts.
On a 'Big Mac' purchasing-power-parity basis, however, Team China's GDP could overtake Team USA's sooner - by 2013. That's barely five years from now.
So the Beijing Olympics is indeed the coming-out party for Team China. Hard to believe, isn't it? What a Long March to become Number One!
But, for now, the world will only remember the great video moments at the Bird's Nest and the snapshots of iconic buildings like 'The Egg'.
Source: The New Paper, Wed 13 Aug 2008
By Zhen Ming
NUMBERS mean a lot to the Chinese.
It was no coincidence that at 8.08pm, on the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of perhaps Team China's eighth millennium as a civilisation, they finally had their Olympic moment
The critics, of course, ask: But at what expense
They point to human rights abuses and curbs on freedoms.
But for the full story, one should first take a walk to the ruins of the Summer Palace, or YiHe Yuan, not far from the Beijing Olympic Park.
This will evoke the time when Britain forced opium on China which 'enslaved a generation of Chinese and caused corruption on a scale that dwarfs anything in present-day China', as writer Richard L King noted.
'The burnt Summer Palace remains a symbol reminding China of its past weakness and humiliation,' said Travis Hanes and Frank Sanello in their book Opium Wars.
REINVENTING ITSELF?
Is it any wonder that China is sparing no expense to reverse such memories?
A whopping US$43 billion (S$61 billion) has been spent to build roads, stadiums, parks and subway lines to create a world-class Olympic city.
Athens spent only U$S12.8 billion, in current dollars, to play host in 2004.
In theory, the Olympic Games are not supposed to be about national pride over individual and team achievement.
The reality is very different.The Beijing Games has become a perfect metaphor for Team China's desire to be No1 in a hurry.
Barely two decades ago, bicycles dominated the streets of China - even in downtown Beijing.
Today, while Team China is still only the world's fourth largest economy, the Chinese are set to outdo the Americans by 2015 in cars owned.
LOOK OUT, USA
Team China is also set to soon overtake Team USA as the world's largest producer of manufactured goods - four years earlier than expected.
Proclaims blogger JXie in a recent posting on the Fool's Mountain website:
In 2002, the GDP of China was 10.2 trillion yuan (S$2.1 trillion) while the GDP of the US was US$10.6 trillion (S$15 trillion).
Last year, China's GDP was 24.7 trillion yuan and the US's was US$14 trillion.
'If we assume the relative paces of the underlining economic numbers remain the same, China will catch up ... in 2019,' he asserts.
On a 'Big Mac' purchasing-power-parity basis, however, Team China's GDP could overtake Team USA's sooner - by 2013. That's barely five years from now.
So the Beijing Olympics is indeed the coming-out party for Team China. Hard to believe, isn't it? What a Long March to become Number One!
But, for now, the world will only remember the great video moments at the Bird's Nest and the snapshots of iconic buildings like 'The Egg'.
Source: The New Paper, Wed 13 Aug 2008
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