The Games China Plays

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday April 2, 2008

Joanne McCarthy

BEIJING is not the most attractive city on earth.

It is vast and home to millions. Many of its buildings are monolithic, intimidating and just plain ugly. It's a government city, it's a Communist country's capital and the comrades of last century chose imposing over beautiful.

Paris, it ain't.

Which is not to say it isn't fascinating and without appeal. Some of the most extraordinary modern buildings the world has seen are in Beijing. There's the one locals call the "Alien Egg". There's the "Twisted Doughnut" and neighbouring buildings best described as a wonky letter Z, alongside something shaped like a trapezoidal boot.

All this only a few kilometres from the austere expanse of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, where 980 buildings are spread over more than seven hectares and your average tourist is begging for a seat after ogling 200 of them.

The extremes of Beijing the ultramodern beside the forbidding, the conservative suits and eyes-down approach of many older Chinese alongside screeching 20-somethings with mobile phones and green-spiked hair are both enervating and unnerving to experience.

Choose to be amazed and overwhelmed by the obvious signs that China has embraced capitalism, and you can be. The Chinese-made goods that have fuelled heady consumerism in Australia are even cheaper when you buy them at the source.

But when you stand in Tiananmen Square and have your photos taken in different directions one with a big Mao's head in the background, the other with the Beijing Olympics countdown clock you can't help but stop and think about the lone man standing in front of the tanks in 1989, and wonder in which part of the expanse he stood.

Chinese President Hu Jintao was in Tiananmen Square this week, launching the Olympic torch relay on a four-month journey that will test China on the commitments it made to the International Olympic Committee to secure the 2008 Games.

It will also test the world's commitment to human rights particularly in Tibet over trade, sport, indifference or the fear of confronting an economic powerhouse that clearly hasn't forgotten how effective the tanks were nearly two decades ago.

It was Hu Jintao in 1989 who, as Communist Party Secretary in Tibet, was responsible for enforcing a brutal crackdown on dissidents in that country.

Early signs that China is ready to be as open as it promised the IOC are not good.

Tibet is closed off after protests by monks a few weeks ago, journalists are out, Chinese officials have grabbed centre stage as the victims in clashes and there are still four months to go.

Mayfield's Liam Phelan climbed a Beijing building in 2004 to unfold a banner that said "No Olympics for China until Tibet is free".

His protest lasted for 10 minutes before police arrived, the banner was removed and he was arrested.

Mr Phelan is still a member of the Australian Tibet Council and hopes Australians will consider what Tibetans are peacefully campaigning for if the Olympic protests continue during the torch relay.

"I don't know what may happen in the future but one thing is clear, and that's that Tibet will remain an issue until it's resolved," he said.

"The way forward is for the Chinese Government to hold genuine negotiations with the Dalai Lama that respect the right of the Tibetans to live in peace."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd meets with President Hu Jintao in China during his current overseas trip.

The fluency in Mandarin that so impressed the locals back here in Oz with the possible exception of Francophile Alexander Downer places Mr Rudd in a unique position as the only world leader who can speak directly to Hu Jintao on such a sensitive topic, at such a sensitive time.

His years as a diplomat don't hurt, either.

Liam Phelan believes Mr Rudd can persuade the Chinese to compromise enough to talk to the Dalai Lama. Let's hope his cautious optimism or maybe it's just a glass half full attitude is right.

The alternative more protests and violent crackdowns, an increasingly embarrassed and defensive China and a world spotlight on an event that is supposed to symbolise our common humanity doesn't bear thinking about.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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