Beating up on China

Warning: somewhat long winded rant ...

Although I enjoy watching the Olympics I am almost happy that they will soon be coming to a close. The daily bashing in the media of the host country China has become overdone and tiresome. No other venue, in my memory, has been so scrutinized and ridiculed. I have serious doubts if the Games had been held in a western country that so much criticism would have been levelled at the host.

Admittedly I am somewhat biased towards China. It is the birthplace of our youngest daughter. We have friends who live there. I am not blind to the objectionable policies of the Chinese government, but I do not feel that the daily western witch hunt to find flaws with these Games, or more specifically the host country is necessary or fair. It borders on racism.

Does it really matter that the little girl from the opening ceremonies was lip syncing to someone else's words? Prerecording music is used all the time in the entertainment industry. This was certainly not the first or last time it will be used during an Olympic opening or closing ceremony. By the outcry in the media you would think that the Chinese Olympic committee had beaten the poor child. Sure, it seemed mean spirited to replace the child behind the voice with a little girl that the officials deemed to be prettier, but how often in life are children judged by their looks? It happens all the time, in Hollywood, the media, in school yards. That doesn't make it right and I don't think it's appropriate when it happens, but the Chinese are certainly not the first to judge someone based on their looks. Was it a heinous act worthy of an international media frenzy?

Then it was revealed that, gawd forbid, some of the firework sequences from the opening ceremonies were prerecorded and digitally enhanced. So what?! It was a show. It added to the entertainment value of the production. But again, it was portrayed as yet another example of how those untrustworthy Chinese tried to pull a fast one on the rest of the world.

Now we hear accusations that some the Chinese women's gymnastics team was under aged (apparently their younger, tinier bodies would give them an advantage). I have to wonder if this would have been questioned at all if the team hadn't dominated in the event and it wasn't a western team that was perceived as being thwarted in the process.

What about Michael Phelps? Here is an athlete who grabbed eight gold medals and smashed world records in the process. His accomplishment seems implausible, but is he questioned? Does anyone point the finger and say "he must have cheated?" No. He is celebrated. I wonder if the attitude would be different if he was Chinese.

Then there is the Jamaican track team. They dominated "the big" races in winning the men's 100m, 200m, 4 x 100 m relay and women's 100m. Again, in the process world records fell. Does anyone accuse Usain Bolt of doping? No, they line up to hand him endorsement contracts.

I am not accusing any of these athletes of cheating. What I am commenting on is the public perceptions based on the athlete's home country. I have even heard suspicions of judges throwing decisions to the Chinese in situations where there were judgement calls to be made. So now the long arm of the Chinese government has reached out to influence the international judges in several sports?

This China bashing is not limited just to the Olympics. For the last few years there seems to be a marked increase in negative press regarding China.

The Chinese are sending us toxic toys! The toys that were found to contain led paint were but a drop in the bucket of Chinese made products that flood our stores. If the west didn't have such a voracious appetite for cheaply made Chinese goods perhaps incidents such as this would not happen.

The Chinese are selling us poisonous pet food! Don't trust any food products from China!
How about not trusting any food products from Ontario? The current Maple Leaf meats recall in Canada due to an outbreak of listeria shows that any source in the food chain can be vulnerable.

Why the China bashing? I think it goes beyond human rights and remants of a communist ideology controlling the ruling regime. It has to do with power. Economic power and power in sheer numbers. And it has to do with oil. The emerging economies in Asia, with massive populations to support, are now starting to put demands on the supplies of oil that the west is so addicted to. China is seen as a threat.

Maybe I'm overly sensitive because of my child's ties to China. But I don't feel that my sensitivity is unfounded. When the media continuously portrays a particular country in a negative light it isn't long before these negative attitudes begin to permeate public perceptions. Yes, my daughter is Canadian, but simply by virtue of her beautiful face she is first and always seen as Chinese. When adopting transracially we knew we would have to deal with issues of race, we just didn't count on this issue being exacerbated by the media.